Upon discovering a new unit on the local high street was opening as a retail training space for young people with additional learning needs, TMPR offered press support to help the project launch with impact.
Hubbub’, ran by school Ysgol Y Deri – which gained national fame after featuring in BBC documentary ‘A Special School’ – aims to create meaningful work-experience opportunities for SEND sixth form students, helping them build confidence and employability skills before leaving school, while strengthening their connection with the local community. Hubbub’s inception was inspired by the stark reality that only 4% of adults with additional learning needs in Wales are in paid employment.
TMPR worked closely with Hubbub’s organiser Stacey Long to develop clear messaging and deliver targeted media outreach to local and business titles ahead of the shop’s soft-opening. The activity secured local coverage, boosted Hubbub’s profile and helped amplify the mission behind the shop.
Challenge
Hubbub wasn’t just opening “another charity shop” on Penarth’s high street. It was launching a retail training space designed to create meaningful work experience for young people with additional learning needs – and that distinction needed to be clear from day one.
The aim was to develop clear messaging and deliver targeted media outreach ahead of Hubbub’s soft opening, raising awareness both about the shop itself and the wider issue behind why it exists.
It had to spotlight why Hubbub matters, the lived experiences of Ysgol Y Deri students, and the wider employment gap facing SEND young people after leaving school. Without that context, the significance of the project’s existence risked being overlooked. With Wales in particular having even lower rates than the rest of the UK, it was particularly important to get these statistics in front of the local press through targeted media relations.
Solution
After meeting with Stacey, we understood she wanted the local community to know that the space was not “just another charity shop” in Penarth – but something much more. Hubbub was a retail training space with a social mission at its core – designed to build confidence, employability skills and community connection for SEND sixth form students. The launch relied on this not being overlooked. It was the launch not just of a new place to shop but the start of a conversation that was long overdue.
Within days, keeping this message in mind, TMPR focused on shaping a simple but purposeful narrative that we knew would attract local attention. We delivered targeted outreach to core media, securing coverage that highlighted Hubbub’s mission.
Outcomes
The launch generated strong local coverage and helped establish Hubbub as more than a retail space – but as a platform for opportunity and inclusion. TMPR secured four pieces of coverage, which led to an interview on BBC Radio Wales, extending awareness beyond Penarth and ensuring the shop’s purpose wasn’t overlooked.
By putting the purpose front and centre, the campaign helped shift the local narrative and reframe understanding of Hubbub – positioning it as an opportunity-building space for SEND sixth form students. The story travelled beyond the town and helped sustain attention on the under-reported SEND employment gap, delivering both breadth and depth of impact.
“TMPR helped us refine our story and communicate the real purpose of Hubbub – not as “just another shop”, but as a training space creating meaningful opportunities for our pupils. The media coverage has made a real difference in awareness and understanding, and we hope it inspires others to back SEND young people for what they can do, not the statistics they’re too often reduced to.”
