The mini store has been established to mimic the operations of a Woolworths supermarket, with baskets for fresh food, shelving for groceries, ticketing, signage and uniforms, and aims to support the education of St Dom's students while providing hands-on learning experiences.

St Dominic’s Centre Principal, Rachel Jones, said the new Mini Woolies will provide a space where students can build their confidence and independence. 

“A Mini Woolworths will provide students with real-life skills within a structured learning environment that they can feel safe, regulated and focused in. It will give those students who are unable to access the wider community regularly, a space to learn and practice the fundamentals of accessing community supermarkets without the barriers they may experience in the community," Ms Jones said.

“We will be able to tailor our curriculum to incorporate the Mini Woolworths across multiple Key Learning Areas and across multiple stages including our future stage 6 program which will commence in 2023. This will provide our school with a one of a kind resource to engage all of our students and equip them with skills they can generalise across settings  in their every day and post-school life.”

Dom’s Fresh Food in Mayfield was brought to life over the last few weeks through a partnership with Woolworths and Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand, with local Woolworths team members from the nearby Warabrook Woolworths supermarket helping students stock shelves and provide register training. Watch more in the NBN News story below!