The Costa Foundation, the charitable arm of Costa Coffee, has announced its first-ever UK funding initiative, investing £50,000 to support education and employability projects for young people facing barriers to work due to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The funding will support two specialist schools in Hampshire and Kent, marking a significant expansion of the foundation’s work beyond its long-standing international focus on education in coffee-growing communities. The initiative is aimed at helping young people develop practical skills, confidence, and pathways into future employment.
One of the funded projects, based at Treloar’s School & College in Hampshire, will support a programme called Planting Possibilities. This initiative provides hands-on horticulture experience, allowing disabled children and young people aged 4 to 25 to build skills in gardening, enterprise, and independence.
The second project, at Five Acre Wood School in Kent, will transform a teaching kitchen into a commercial-style training facility. The Made FAW You programme will give pupils aged 11 to 19 real-world experience in cooking, food production, and small-scale sales, helping them develop employability and life skills in a structured environment.
The funding comes in the context of ongoing employment challenges for young people with learning disabilities and those not in education, employment, or training. The projects aim to address these barriers by offering practical, supported pathways into work-related learning.
School leaders have highlighted the importance of the investment in building confidence, independence, and long-term opportunities for students with complex needs. The Costa Foundation has described the initiative as a milestone in its mission to support education as a driver of opportunity.
The funded projects will be formally celebrated through school events in early June 2026, bringing together students, staff, and partners to mark the launch of the new programmes.
