Skip over main navigation
  • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
Bread and Beyond - Prior's Court Bakery
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
A Prior's Court Enterprise
Buy our bread Donate
  • Twitter
Menu
  • Our story
    • The story of Bread & Beyond
    • FAQs
  • Our baked goods
    • Our Product Range
    • Where to buy
  • Our bakers
    • Baker profiles
  • Get Involved
    • Become a stockist
    • Donate
    • Get in touch
  • News from the bakery
    • News
  • Admin
    • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
  • The story of Bread & Beyond
  1. Our story
  2. The story of Bread & Beyond

The story of Bread & Beyond

A bakery is just a bakery; the young people at Prior’s Court makes ours extraordinary

Dylan Needham, Artisan Bakery Manager

 

Autism and the Workplace

Young autistic person working in the Bread & Beyond bakery with job coachOnly 32% of autistic adults in the UK are in paid employment, despite over 80% stating a clear wish to work. This figure falls to a shocking 16% in full-time employment. This hasn’t changed in over a decade and for people with complex autism, the picture is even bleaker with the current expectation being that they will never enter the world of work.

Prior’s Court, a residential school and young adult provision for young people with complex autism, believe in extraordinary futures for young people with autism, and already 83% of 19-25 year olds enrolled at Prior's Court are successfully engaged in a work placement. The transformations seen through existing workplace programmes sparked the ambition to do a whole lot more...and Bread & Beyond was born.

 

Building our bakery

Bread and Beyond logoThe concept of a bakery was inspired by a trip to America where staff at Prior's Court were able to see some exceptional projects developing real work opportunities for people with autism. They came back enthusiastic and inspired. The idea for a self-sustaining bakery was born.

Baking really suits the strength and skills of people with autism; highly process driven, practical and with an end product which is rewarding and motivating. Using Prior's Court expertise in supporting young people with complex autism and consulting industry experts, our state-of-the-art bakery was built to provide work-skills training by teaching our young people to make amazing bread – the best in Berkshire our staff say!

Steve Fudge baking with ShaunThe bakery aims to be self-sustaining but was built and equipped thanks to some generous donations to the Prior's Court Bakery Appeal. We have been fortunate to have had valuable support from Fudge's Managing Director, confectioner and bakery guru, Steve Fudge (pictured right). He was completely won over by the potential of the project while conducting a baking session with two of our very first star bakers in the making, Jenny and Shaun (pictured with Steve). 

 

Bread & Beyond into the future

We called our bakery Bread & Beyond because it's about going beyond the expected or what's possible with bread and with our bakers' futures. Our aim has always been that Bread & Beyond will benefit young people with autism outside of Prior’s Court, as explained by Mike Robinson, CEO:

Prior’s Court is one of a small number of organisations in the UK with the skills and experience to successfully support people with complex autism into the world of work. Our ambition is that our bakery makes the single largest contribution in the UK to reducing the disability employment gap for people with complex autism by providing a ‘template’ for others to copy.

We are proud to also offer opportunities to young people with autism from other local schools, and are delighted that one of our original young bakers has since gone on to a work placement with JubyLee Bakes, where he is a key part of their new bread-making venture.

If you are interested in our 'template', or in becoming a stockist, please get in touch.

 

Amazing bread, professional standards

Sonny getting his gloves onBeing able to provide workplace experiences for young people changes their lives and future prospects. In addition to this, we also aim to make amazing bread. Young people work towards attainment levels to support them to work within the bakery as part of a bespoke training programme developed by Dylan and experts from Prior's Court.

Shortly after opening our bakery, we gained the highly sought after 5* hygiene rating from the Foods Standards Agency and our comprehensive training programme ensures that young people learn to adhere to the very highest standards.

Find out more about our product range.  You can also follow the progress our young people are making here.

Published: 23rd September, 2018

Updated: 11th August, 2021

Author:

Share this page
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Latest

  • TV coverage to mark award wins

    TV coverage to mark award wins

    ITV Meridian News paid a visit to our bakery to report on our recent two award wins in the Tiptree World Bread Awards Heroes with Brook Food 2021.

  • Bakery team earn brace of prizes at national awards ceremony

    Bakery team earn brace of prizes at national awards ceremony

    The Bread & Beyond team won two prizes in the Tiptree World Bread Awards Heroes with Brook Food 2021, which celebrates the very best of baking in the UK.

  • Shop closed

    The Bread & Beyond Staff Shop is closed from Monday 11 October - Sunday 24 October 2021.

  • Original star baker helping to pioneer charity’s bread-making venture

    Original star baker helping to pioneer charity’s bread-making venture

    One of Bread & Beyond's first cohort of young bakers has begun a work placement at a charity, playing a key part in their new bread-making venture.

Most read

  • Our Product Range

    Our Product Range

    We offer a range of products, all hand crafted and baked daily at our site in Hermitage.

  • The story of Bread & Beyond

    The story of Bread & Beyond

    How ambition for the young people at Prior's Court led to our ground breaking, state-of-the-art bakery, Bread & Beyond.

  • Where to buy

    Where to buy

    Find out where Bread & Beyond products are available to buy and if you're interested in becoming a stockist, find out how.

  • Original star baker helping to pioneer charity’s bread-making venture

    Original star baker helping to pioneer charity’s bread-making venture

    One of Bread & Beyond's first cohort of young bakers has begun a work placement at a charity, playing a key part in their new bread-making venture.

  • Bakery team earn brace of prizes at national awards ceremony

    Bakery team earn brace of prizes at national awards ceremony

    The Bread & Beyond team won two prizes in the Tiptree World Bread Awards Heroes with Brook Food 2021, which celebrates the very best of baking in the UK.

  • Become a stockist

    Become a stockist

    We are looking for businesses of all sizes to stock our bread and help us achieve our goal to get young people with autism into the workplace. Find out how to become a stockist here.

  • Thank you for booking your collection slot

  • Get in touch

    Contact details for Bread & Beyond.

  • Community store signs up to stock our products

    Community store signs up to stock our products

    Range of loaves for sale at village store while white rolls and baguettes used within shop's café.

  • Animal charity the latest to join our supportive stockist list

    Animal charity the latest to join our supportive stockist list

    Visitors to Trindledown Farm, the home of the Berkshire branch of the National Animal Welfare Trust, can now purchase a range of our goods at the centre's on-site shop.

Latest tweet

  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy Policy
  • Log in
  • My details
  • Log out

Bread & Beyond, Hermitage, Thatcham, Berkshire RG18 9NU
Phone: +44 (0)1635 247202 Email: [email protected]

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
Manage Cookie Preferences