Something good is brewing at the Penrith Adolescent Centre – and it’s not just the coffee made by the centre’s Year 9 and 10 students.

The team of seven students spend their mornings making coffee and serving customers in a coffee shop named “The Coffee Den”, which has been established in the centre’s canteen area.

The centre, which is managed by Blaxland High School in the Western Sydney region, works with students with behavioural and learning difficulties.

“The project came about when teachers at the centre decided to improve their students’ employability skills,” Blaxland High principal Keith Miles said.

The teachers looked for a project that would provide their students with skills and qualifications, as well as practical experience, and hit on the idea of the coffee shop.

The students attended barista school and continued their lessons in coffee making and hospitality with TAFE NSW Outreach teacher Marc Warrin.

“Marc was terrific – he trained the kids really well. He taught them not just to make coffee, but also how to make scones,” Mr Miles said.

He said the students, some of whom had high truancy rates, “really took to” the barista program and it encouraged them to come to school.

As the Penrith Adolescent Centre is based at the same site as the education department’s Penrith regional office, The Coffee Den, which opens from 8.30am-11am, has a ready-made clientele. The students make up to 40 cups of coffee each morning.

In addition to the connection with the TAFE Outreach program, the school successfully sought partnerships for the program from the Penrith, Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury Schools Industry Partnership.

Funding from the partnership helped the school purchase a commercial-grade coffee machine.

Penrith Panthers “Panthers on the Prowl” community foundation was also a key partner and inspired the coffee shop’s name.

Some local businesses have supported the project and provided the café with a coffee grinder and industrial fridge. The Western Sydney region also contributed $1,000 towards the project. Mr Miles said the coffee shop had been “a powerful tool to give the students solid employability skills”, including communication, leadership, entrepreneurial and team-building skills.

“These are some of the most challenging students in Sydney,” Mr Miles said. “Yes, they make a great coffee, but the point is they’re learning some really critical skills for the long term.”