Meet our new addition to the Principle team; Lauren Regan who began her year-long work placement at Paddington Central last month!
We visited Lauren at 2 Kingdom Square (2KS) to find out how she is finding her new role and we’re delighted to see she’s already an established and popular member of the team.
Lauren is used to life at 2KS thanks to successfully completing a two-month work placement for Fruitful at the site last summer. Fruitful is the social enterprise of PiP (Pursuing Independent Paths); Paddington Central’s long standing community partner of more than ten years which supports adults with learning disabilities to achieve their ambitions and gain invaluable skills for independence. Fruitful enables PiP students to gain work experience by serving fruit and making smoothies at a number of community partner’s offices, for staff and visitors.
Samantha Dodd – Community Manager at Paddington Central explained the partnership’s background: “Our place-based approach and place-based priorities for Paddington Central is to create inclusive and accessible opportunities. Our local communities have lots of skills and talents and we, as a property and land owner and manager, want to create opportunities to bring out those skills and talents, and working with PiP and adults with learning disabilities is just one way that we can do that.”
Zuleika – Lauren’s Employment Coordinator at PiP – adds: “British Land is a partner that pays PiP students, which is brilliant. It’s really important for the student’s empowerment and it shows appreciation for a job well done.”
Lauren has been at PiP for 12 years and is one of the longest standing students. She is really enjoying her Cleaning Operative role with Principle and it’s one she’s good at after learning some skills from one of her colleagues at PiP.
Lauren splits her week with two days at 2KS week and three days at PiP. Each summer PiP holds a leisure programme filled with activities, and highlights for Lauren this year were a day at the beach, seeing the Lion King at the theatre and the leisure programme’s finale; a carnival themed party.
A very committed and punctual team member; Lauren is always in early for her shifts and she enjoys sitting with Samantha and having a cup of tea before she joins Daniella – also a Cleaning Operative for Principle – and makes a start with cleaning the tables, dusting and tidying in the reception area. Daniella has been a very supportive colleague for Lauren since day one and, as well as showing Lauren the ropes, she is teaching her to speak Portuguese.
