{"id":198873,"date":"2025-06-20T03:56:24","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T03:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/198873\/"},"modified":"2025-06-20T03:56:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T03:56:24","slug":"this-afternoon-tea-is-made-by-people-with-learning-disabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/198873\/","title":{"rendered":"This afternoon tea is made by people with learning disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Schemes like this are vital as just 5%<\/a> of the 1.5 million people with learning disabilities in the UK are in work as a result of the barriers faced by people with learning disabilities to finding employment.<\/p>\n

\"\"Aurora Foxes student serving the afternoon tea. Image: Nick Morrish\/Morrish & Co<\/p>\n

Six of the students designed their own signature lemon sherbet macaroon, the \u2018Foxes Showstopper\u2019, inspired by vintage sweet shop flavours and in the Aurora Foxes college colours, alongside Waldorf Hilton\u2019s executive head chef Malcolm Camilleri.<\/p>\n

The whole team received a standing ovation once the afternoon tea had been served and devoured.<\/p>\n

Hilton also partners with Down\u2019s Syndrome Association<\/a>, a collaboration which has led to 52 work placements, with almost 40 people working at Hilton to have come through the charity\u2019s WorkFit Programme.<\/p>\n

\"\"Sam Innes and his team at the Waldorf Hilton. Image: Waldorf Hilton<\/p>\n

Sam Innes, who is 25 and has Down\u2019s syndrome, is one of those people. He has worked at the Waldorf Hilton for two years as a food and beverage assistant, serving hotel guests their breakfast.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He was asked to speak ahead of the afternoon tea and had to pause during his speech because he was overwhelmed with emotion and happiness seeing so many people with learning disabilities being given the opportunity to work and show their talents.<\/p>\n

Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n

\u201cI really love having a job. It gives me value in life and it gives me something to do,\u201d Innes tells the Big Issue after he has finished eating a scone.<\/p>\n

\"\"Sam Innes loves his job as a food and beverage assistant. Image: Hilton<\/p>\n

Innes struggled to get a job because of the barriers people with learning disabilities face to getting employment. \u201cI was looking for a job but it was difficult,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He contacted the Down\u2019s Syndrome Association\u2019s WorkFit team to help him. \u201cThis job came up and they let my parents know and I was like: \u2018Yes, of course!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s the right job for me. I work to my strengths. I\u2019m drawn to other people and serving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hilton\u2019s survey of more than 500 people with learning disabilities and their carers<\/a> found that 79% believe businesses should do more to promote job opportunities and inclusive hiring.<\/p>\n

\"\"The serving team at the afternoon tea. Image: Nick Morrish\/Morrish & Co<\/p>\n

Its research suggests that doing so could have a positive impact on employment levels, as three quarters (74%) of people with learning disabilities would feel more confident applying for roles if they saw more people with similar disabilities in their workforce.<\/p>\n

Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n

Stephen Cassidy, senior vice president at Hilton UK and Ireland, says his team provides the \u201cright support where everyone feels valued\u201d and \u201cempowers individuals to reach their full potential\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"The event featured a special performance from blind, autistic musical savant Derek Paravicini. Image: Nick Morrish\/Morrish & Co<\/p>\n

Innes believes more companies could learn from his employer, saying: \u201cThere definitely should be way more programmes hiring people with special difficulties into work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alison Thwaite, head of employment services at the Down\u2019s Syndrome Association, says the afternoon tea is a \u201cwonderful celebration of the skills, talents and abilities of people with learning disabilities\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a pool of very talented people who are committed and they want to work and it\u2019s wonderful to see them being given every opportunity to shine and fulfil their ambitions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thwaite added that many employers are \u201cmissing out on incredibly talented individuals who have such a great range of skills\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"Harry Tulloch, a kitchen assistant at Hilton London, tucks into his afternoon tea. Hilton invited a range of staff who had benefitted from the programme. Image: Nick Morrish\/Morrish & Co<\/p>\n

George Griffiths has been a kitchen assistant at Hilton London Kensington for two years and says it is \u201cmost enjoyable\u201d to help prepare food. His colleague Harry Tulloch agrees, saying: \u201cI like making breakfast. It\u2019s really important getting it ready for tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n

Mark Costello, principal at Aurora Foxes, adds: \u201cWhen people with learning disabilities see others like themselves thriving in customer-facing roles, it inspires confidence and ambition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBy providing meaningful employment opportunities for people with learning disabilities, Hilton is transforming lives, challenging perceptions, and breaking down barriers in the wider community. Our work is about creating a society where everyone has the opportunity to contribute and succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additional public sittings of the afternoon tea will take place on 2 July at 12 noon, 2.30pm, and 5pm. Tickets are priced at \u00a349.50 and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. To book, contact:\u00a0Homage.Restaurant@Hilton.com<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Promises are easy to break. Sign\u00a0<\/strong>Big Issue\u2019s petition for a Poverty Zero law<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and help us make tackling poverty a legal requirement, not just a policy priority.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this?\u00a0Get in touch and tell us more<\/a>.\u00a0Big Issue exists to give homeless and marginalised people the opportunity to earn an income.\u00a0To support our work buy a copy of the magazine<\/a>\u00a0or get the app from the\u00a0App Store<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Google Play<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Schemes like this are vital as just 5% of the 1.5 million people with learning disabilities in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198874,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3092],"tags":[51,347,3374,1203,13975,897,11525,80492,80493,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-198873","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jobs","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-disability","10":"tag-employment","11":"tag-food","12":"tag-health-and-wellbeing","13":"tag-jobs","14":"tag-learning-and-employment","15":"tag-learning-disabilities","16":"tag-learning-disability-week","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114713682641486031","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}