Creating the Enterprising school

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Creating the Enterprising school

• Helping leadership and staff teams understand and
  implement enterprise capability

Prepared by the Reed Foundation Academy of
Enterprise in partnership with Sharon
Forghani Director of Business and Enterprise, The
Maplesden Noakes School On behalf of the
Specialist Schools and Academies Trust Schools
Enterprise Education Network (SEEN)
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These slides aim to ...

• Provide a context for why the Government sees
  Enterprise education as important
• Provide discussion points for senior staff and
  wider staff groups
• Provide some ideas for creating a more
  enterprising school

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These slides assume ...

• You know something about enterprise education
  (but we give you a brief overview anyway)
• You have time to think and talk about this
  carefully first (which we know is tough in
  schools)
• You will work out what is best for you in what is
  still a developing area (so that should be good
  news!)

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First, the official view... THE DfES 3 PART
DEFINITION OF ENTERPRISE EDUCATION
Enterprise capability is innovation, creativity,
risk-management, risk taking and a can-do
attitude and the drive to make ideas happen. It
is supported by Financial capability which is the
ability to manage ones own finances and to
become questioning and informed consumers of
financial services and Business economic
understanding which is the ability to understand
the business context and make informed choices
between alternative uses of scarce resources.
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So there is still room for debate ...

• This is an unusual, some would say unique,
  initiative because of its openness and
  flexibility.
• We are not making schools follow some
  prescriptive guidance. We aim to create a new
  effective demand when schools want enterprise
  because they believe its the right thing to do.
  (Phil Hope, Minister)
• Maybe thats because teaching financial
  capability or business is relatively easy in a
  subject based curriculum, BUT change, innovation,
  uncertainty and risk management do not fit
  naturally in most current school structures.

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ENTERPRISE EDUCATION IN CONTEXT

• These slides link Enterprise education to the
  needs of the economy.
• This may provoke some serious thinking about how
  staff see the role of a school in a wider
  economic context.

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WHY IS ENTERPRISE ON THE GOVERNMENT AGENDA?

• Enterprise links what we teach in schools to what
  the economy needs.
• Gordon Brown has said that if we want enterprise
  in our boardrooms we need to start in our
  classrooms.
• Employers often complain education isnt really
  providing the skills they need - the so called
  soft skills.

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Why do Australians, for example, say they need
enterprise education?

• It can assist in raising the skill level of the
  workforce, which
• is central to improving our competitiveness in a
  global
• economy.
• It can help develop in students a realistic
  knowledge and
• understanding of business and working life.

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Or the Scottish view

• The world is becoming a smaller place.
• Scottish businesses compete with others from all
• over the world.. If were to prosper, we need to
  
• encourage and increase business start-ups and
• develop a strong, skilled workforce. Without a
• strong economy, our public services and our local
  
• communities become weaker. So its essential that
  
• we create a Scotland where everyone has the
• opportunity to make the most of their ability and
  
• talent...

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DISCUSSION POINT 1EDUCATION AND / OR BUSINESS?

• What are the schools responsibilities towards
  the wider economy?
• How far should we be preparing our students for
  the world beyond school?
• Isnt it enough to give them good literacy and
  numeracy skills, and good qualifications?

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We may not know the exact skills our students
will need in a rapidly changing world but the
more creative, adaptable and organised they can
be, the better..
The old Third World is now a new Fourth
World where countries like China, India and
Brazil are working very hard and developing very
fast. We dont want our young people to become
tomorrows Third World Citizens.
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DISCUSSION POINT 2 ARE QUALIFICATIONS ENOUGH?

• School qualifications do not really qualify us
  for anything, not in the way we are qualified to
  drive a car, or qualified to fly a plane (Demos
  think tank)
• It used to be land that made you rich. Then it
  was capital and the factories that were built
  which created wealth. But now it's the knowledge
  and creative skills of people that make the
  difference. (Professor Alec Reed)
• In the 21st century, our natural resource is our
  people - and their potential is untapped and
  vast. Skills will unlock that potential. ( Leitch
  Review of Skills 2006)

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Enterprise capability is innovation, creativity,
risk-management, risk taking and a
can-do attitude and the drive to
make ideas happen
BUT WAIT ENTERPRISE EDUCATION IS NOT SIMPLY
ABOUT BUSINESS SKILLS.
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• Enterprise education is about enterprising people
  not just entrepreneurs after all, not everybody
  can be an entrepreneur- some people say it cant
  be taught, and anyway, who would employ one? They
  would steal your paperclips, and then your
  ideas, But
• EVERYONE CAN LEARN
• TO BE MORE
• ENTERPRISING

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Being enterprising is

• using initiative
• resourcefulness
• determination
• turning innovative ideas into something of value,
  even when things are difficult, uncertain or
  risky
• developing your ideas to help other people
• learning useful and transferable skills

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So, Enterprise education is really about ...

• Providing students with learning opportunities
  to
• Be innovative and creative
• Take risks and manage change
• Take ownership and leadership
• Develop a can do attitude
• Develop the drive to make things happen
• Be a problem solver, team player and good
  communicator
• Experience the world beyond school

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Enterprise learning internationally

• Relevant curriculum (Australia)
• Teachers and students are flexible (Australia)
• Students see learning at school as learning for
  life and
• beginning of lifelong learning (Australia)
• A process where pupils learn by taking
  responsibility for
• the decisions and meet the needs of a real
• audience / customers (Scotland)
• The vision for success is agreed and the
  relevance and
• purpose of the task understood (Scotland)

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Australian, English and Scottish thinking about
enterprising skills and attributes

• Generating and using creative ideas and processes
• Identifying, creating assessing and taking
  advantage of opportunities
• Using initiative
• Identifying, assessing and managing risk
• Gathering and managing resources
• Matching personal strengths and weaknesses to
  undertakings
• Being flexible and dealing with change
• Monitoring and evaluating personal and others
  performance
• Interpersonal communication and influencing
  skills

• Create and implement new ideas and ways of doing
  things
• Make reasonable rewards/risk assessments and act
  upon them in ones personal and working life
• Handle uncertainty
• Respond positively to change
• Have a can do attitude
• Make ideas happen
• Confident / able to use initiative
• Self aware / aware of others
• Team players / risk takers
• Decision makers / flexible
• Responsible / resilient
• Driven to achieve / co-operative
• Independent / creative
• Able to cope with change

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OFSTED ON ENTERPRISING TEACHING LEARNING

• Ofsted identifies the importance of a learning
  environment where students have the autonomy to
  tackle problems involving risk and uncertainty
  about final outcomes to gain a reward for their
  successful resolution.
• The enterprise process generally has four stages
• Tackling a problem or need
• Planning the project or activity or enterprise
• Implementing the plan
• Evaluating the processes

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DISCUSSION POINT 3DEFINING ENTERPRISE
CAPABILITIES

• Do we encourage these skills already?
• How far do they already form part of other
  agendas e.g. citizenship?
• Are they already part of school policy on good
  teaching and learning?
• What makes them about enterprise?

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Enterprise education is a process whereby
pupils learn by meeting the needs of a real
audience / customers, and by taking
responsibility for their decisions ( the
enterprising school, University of Strathclyde)
THE FIVE Rs.. REAL - nor simply a realistic
simulation RELEVANT -it answers a real need that
pupils understand RISK - the outcome is not
always clear RESPONSIBILITY - whatever happens,
you take responsibility REFLECTIVE -you learn
from the experience, especially the mistakes!
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DISCUSSION POINT 4HOW MUCH DO WE NEED TO CHANGE
?

• A recent newspaper article asked are teachers,
  who spend their lives keeping classrooms in order
  and worrying about league table rankings the
  right people to encourage risk-taking and
  independent thinking?
• BUT, a Head responded, How many professions
  require such high levels of creativity and skill
  in risk taking, problem solving and
  communication? Every day, we motivate and inspire
  pupils. If we dont embody enterprise then Im
  not sure who does!
• BUT are schools, governed by rules, timetables,
  bells and doing what youre told, really the
  places where we can teach risk taking and
  learning to cope with change?

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• MAKING IT HAPPEN
• The following slides provide a 10 step guide to
  get you started.

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BEFORE WE START, REMEMBER ...

• Enterprise education is not about- transmitting
  a body of knowledge - holding a one-off event
• - just teaching entrepreneurship
• It is about
• - shifting attitudes
• - developing a mind-set
• - characteristics and attributes
• - real projects to develop these

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1. Share, Discuss and Develop Your Definition as
widely as possible.

• Try to see this as an opportunity for discussion
  and debate.
• Talk with staff, students, governors and parents.
• Use a SWOT analysis rather than an audit.
• Look at the wider picture, not just how you fit
  what you already do into enterprise.

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2. Once its agreed, spread the word.

• Articulating enterprise in the vision of the
  school in the mission statement, prospectus,
  policies etc. - will show your school is about
  providing students with skills for the world
  beyond the school gates.
• This is a powerful message for parents and
  families. They know the world is changing - but
  that schools often are not!
• Make sure local employers also know - this will
  help them with, for example, identifying skills
  for work experience.

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Ofsted expects enterprising schools to

• Have a clear vision about enterprise learnings
  potential for raising standards and preparing
  young people for adult life.
• Develop enterprise learning as part of a coherent
  programme of vocational and work related
  learning.
• Have an ethos which encourages both staff and
  pupils to take responsibility for decisions.

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3. Build an alternative working party

• A working party can often be the kiss of death!
• Why not try a new term that gets across the
  message that enterprise is a new way of doing and
  thinking, and applies to everybody?
• Why not create an action tank that includes
  students, parents, teaching, support staff, and
  local employers?
• Build programmes to take forward ideas to develop
  enterprising activities.
• Build your allies. Dont expect everybody to want
  to rush to embrace your ideas - think big, but
  start small.

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Ofsted expects enterprising schools to

• Have a clear vision about enterprise learnings
  potential for raising standards and preparing
  young people for adult life.
• Develop enterprise learning as part of a coherent
  programme of vocational and work related
  learning.
• Have an ethos which encourages both staff and
  pupils to take responsibility for decisions.

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4. Use available resources

• The Government has
• Given your school through the Standards Fund
  between 15-17,000 for 3 years (2005 2008) to
  embed enterprise learning.
• Established the Schools Enterprise Education
  Network (SEEN), and over 300 specialist
  enterprise hub and spoke schools to offer you
  localised support and guidance.

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5. Keep the CPD (and the debate) going ...

• Change is tough and it takes time. Even if staff
  are committed to the ideas, they need
  opportunities to revisit and refresh their
  thinking.
• Take 5 minutes of staff meetings to look at some
  creative thinking texts - e.g. whatever you
  think, think the opposite (Paul Arden) or
  Creative Block ( Lou Harry)
• Use texts like these ,and Change the World for a
  Fiver
• (www. wearewhatwedo.org) for form time and PSE
• Make www.idea-a-day.com the school intranet home
  page
• Create a whole school enterprising INSET
  programme.

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Ofsted expects enterprising schools to

• Have a clear vision about enterprise learnings
  potential for raising standards and preparing
  young people for adult life.
• Develop enterprise learning as part of a coherent
  programme of vocational and work related
  learning.
• Have an ethos which encourages both staff and
  pupils to take responsibility for decisions.

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6. Dont Forget the Business Side

• A lot of the easier enterprise is about helping
  students set up and run business ideas.
• Then there are all the opportunities to make it
  real -e.g. school shows, school magazines etc.
• Your Business Studies Department will certainly
  help with this.

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7. Get involved in social enterprises

• Social enterprise is great for schools (for more
  info on social enterprise see www.socialenterprise
  .org.uk where you will find that they contribute
  18 billion annually to the UK economy.)
• This is a good way of involving areas like PSE,
  Citizenship, RE and Geography.
• It also is a great way of community involvement
  and answering real needs.

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8.Find Local Enterprising Heroes

• Stories of local enterprising people will include
  local entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs and
  just people who made their ideas happen.
• Local papers will be happy to help.
• These may be more powerful role models than the
  Alan Sugars and Richard Bransons.
• Look close to home - who are the most
  enterprising people in your school?

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9. Evaluate progress and celebrate success

• Regularly get students to complete a review to
  assess where they think they have attained
  enterprise skills and attributes, developed
  financial capability and business and economic
  awareness.
• This may be through lessons, specialist Focus
  days, work experience or extra curricular
  activities.
• Offer most enterprising awards to teachers,
  learning support and office staff, students and
  parents.

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10. Be enterprising - steal ideas!

• Enterprise education is buzzing there are lots
  of examples and case studies.
• No point in reinventing wheels - whats happening
  in other schools can make it clearer for your
  staff.
• But remember lots of people could be doing lots
  of different things, and they could all be right.
  Enterprise education may stem from global trends
  - but it needs to make local sense.

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The Academy of Enterprise is a not-for-profit
initiative promoting the teaching of enterprise
throughout the UK. The founder of the Academy
of Enterprise is successful entrepreneur,
Professor Alec Reed CBE. (Reed Executive
Recruitment Group) We offer ideas, training and
support in developing enterprise across the
curriculum. For more details contact either
Alastair Falk at afalk_at_reed.co.uk or Bronagh
Hasson at bronagh.hasson_at_reed.co.uk or telephone
02072019980 We are very grateful to Sharon
Forghani of The Maplesden Noakes school for her
help and advice in preparing this resource.
www.academyofenterprise.org