We know that the levels and grades of our
students are important, but they aren't
everything.
Enabling Enterprise was set up by a team
of teachers in 2009 because we wanted
our students whether five years old or
18 years old
be developing the enterprise skills,
experiences of work and aspirations to
succeed. To make this as tangible as
possible we focus on systematically
building eight key skills and attitudes.
Having great interpersonal skills by
mastering working in a team and leading.
Being able to tackle big challenges by
developing their creativity and
problem-solving. Communicating
effectively by listening and
understanding others and presenting well
and then building resilient aspirational
young people who can aim high and stay positive.
We know that there's no quick fix in
building these skills and that it's teachers, who know their
students best, who are best placed to build them. So
our programs have three elements for the
students and two more for their teachers.
Challenge days which bring the whole school
together to build their skills around a
particular challenge, whether designing a
new society on the moon running a
political campaign or setting up the
small business. Lesson time projects
which help students build the skills
through challenging projects in their teams.
Students might work in teams to make a radio show
run, a fundraising campaign or design a
new vehicle.
In many areas we are also able to
organise trips to employers for students, for example
learning about how to be an investment
banker at UBS or designing gadgets to
improve the work life at Morgan Motors.
Because we're all about supporting
teachers, we also provide training and
support to get them started. There are
opportunities to meet up with other
Enabling Enterprise teachers and to
learn and share best practice too. Finally
we know that for students to learn the
most they need to be in their stretch zone. Our skills
assessment allows us to pinpoint where
students strengths and weaknesses lie
for each of the eight skills, appropriate
for their age. It is this skill focused
approach that means that our teachers
see real progress in their students
abilities.
It also ensures that we're really
putting our children and young people on
the trajectory of success,
better able to learn in school and
succeed in the rest of their lives. Since
we started, Enabling Enterprise has grown
from just a handful of our classrooms
to working with over two hundred and twenty
primary and secondary schools
across England.
Our partnership has grown to include over
100 employers too.
If you'd like to get involved just get in touch!
