An audacious initiative in Brighton is bringing young adults with learning disabilities into work

18 December 2025, The Tablet

Rosa Monckton and her daughter, Domenica.

Teamdomenica.com

Fewer than 5 per cent of young adults with learning disabilities are in employment in England, but a phenomenal 80 per cent of the graduates of Team Domenica College find permanent, paid employment, often in hospitality but also in canteens, colleges, theatres and libraries.

A new pub opened in Brighton recently. It’s in the lively centre of the city, between North Street and the huge North Arch of the domed and turreted Royal Pavilion. But the fact that the pub is called the North Star has little to do with its location. The real North Star is a steady light, a fixed place in the dynamic turbulence of our galaxy, a “star to every wandering bark”, forever pointing those buffeted by storms towards the blessed safety of a harbour; it is an apt metaphor for the new tenants of this pub, Team Domenica.

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