Shaped By Solent

Led By: Georgina Shepherd – Retail Manager, Gunwharf Quays

The Shaped by Solent project brings together Solent Academies Trust, Shaping Portsmouth and a range of high-profile businesses to mentor and provide experience in business and public speaking to classes of Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND) students. 

Their task is to brainstorm, create, and present products that the students will then sell at the Shaping Portsmouth Conference, with profits from funds raised going to the schools to benefit their students and facilities. This year the winning product will also be sold in the Mary Rose Museum shop.

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Objectives

  1. To provide mentoring and experiential learning opportunities to SEND students. 
  2. To promote creativity and innovation among SEND students. 
  3. To teach entrepreneurial and business skills to SEND pupils and promote their employability to Portsmouth businesses.  

Current Initiatives

  • Team mentoring
  • Dragons Den-style pitch session
  • Manufacture and sales of student-designed products

Impact

  • 7 groups of special education needs students from Solent Academy Trust schools took part in 2023

  • The groups were supported by 7 mentors and 4 judges from the Portsmouth Business Community

  • Shaped By Solent Shop ran at the Shaping Portsmouth 2024 Conference, raising £791.42 for Solent Academy Trust

  • New retail outlets at Spinnaker Tower & Collective Shop

Shaped By Solent is delivered in partnership with:

The latest news from Shaped By Solent:

Testimonials

“Stagecoach have been proud to support the Apprentice Bus programme since 2018. As part of our community engagement, we have been delighted to continue our support in conveying apprentices to a number of education establishments across the city of Portsmouth.”
Steve Thorpe
Steve ThorpeMarketing Officer, Stagecoach South

Want to know more about this programme? Contact us.