Former Derwen college Thrive student celebrates 10 years with Premier Inn
A Premier Inn housekeeper is celebrating 10 years at the business after joining through the company’s transformative ‘Thrive’ scheme which supports young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Claire Brunt currently works at the Berwick – Upon -Tweed Premier Inn as a housekeeper and is an incredibly popular member of the team due to her bubbly personality and resilient spirit.
The day was marked with a joyous celebration between Claire, her parents and colleagues. It was a surprise for Claire, where after her shift, she had everyone waiting for her at the Premier Inn with balloons, cards and cakes set up.
As a housekeeper, Claire has makes up Premier Inn’s famous bedrooms to the hotel’s standards to help its guests get a great night sleep. She has learnt this craft through the Thrive Programme, which was set up by Whitbread, who owns Premier Inn, to help SEND students’ progress into paid work through hospitality skills training.
Once graduated, Claire went to work at the Worcestershire M5 J5 Premier Inn, where she started paid work for the first time back in 2015. Just under three years ago she moved to her current role, at Berwick – upon – Tweed where she currently works for Hotel Manager Rosalind Bache and Head Housekeeper Terri Drummond.
Rosalind said: “Claire is incredibly bubbly and lively, and also quite cheeky, everyone gets on well with her.”
She added: “We’re very excited to be a part of the Thrive Programme, it’s a fantastic scheme and we were thrilled when we were asked if we’d take Claire as a transfer. It keeps everyone open minded and reminds us not to judge people or make assumptions about what they’re capable of. The day was lovely, Claire was made to feel so special which she absolutely deserves. Terri, our head housekeeper, was very emotional, she’s so proud of Claire’s achievements”
Claire said: “I’m so happy here in Berwick, I have so many friends and I love working at Premier Inn”.
The college where Claire learnt her skills was Derwen College, in Oswestry, which was the first college to be part of this programme. One of four current colleges in the programme, Derwen was provided with a ‘Mini Premier Inn’ inside their facility, where training and learning takes place. It features three en-suite bedrooms (one accessible), one linen room and a reception, all to Premier Inn standard, to replicate a genuine hotel. The environment allows learners to train in a completely authentic Premier Inn environment where they can develop practical hospitality skills, build confidence, independence and the wider life skills needed for long-term employment.
This partnership, as well as Whitbread’s partnerships with Hereward college, Wirral Met college, and InspireU college, demonstrates Whitbread as a Force for Good in action, and its intention is to keep growing and offering more opportunities in work to students with special needs.
By 2026, Whitbread aims to create 100 supported internships every year, helping to close the disability employment gap and set a new standard for inclusive recruitment in hospitality.
Thrive is part of Whitbread’s Force for Good programme and has already helped hundreds of young people into work in Premier Inn hotels and beyond.
ENDS
