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Added February 2010
Teachers and Headteachers from Doncaster primary schools attended the launch of my-work-experience.com’s my-bizidea website to primary schools at an event held on Tuesday 2 February hosted by Hexthorpe Primary School.
The event, hoped to be the first of a series of ongoing meetings to develop enterprise learning in Doncaster primary schools, started with a market place of displays of enterprise activities by children of Hexthorpe Primary School and a group of students from Hayfield secondary school.
This was followed by presentations introduced by Hexthorpe headteacher, Liz Ellison. DMBC schools adviser, Kath Fitzpatrick, set the scene with an overview of enterprise education in Doncaster and the work of the DE4L project.
Phil Porter and Ron Robinson gave their view of enterprise education in the primary curriculum and described how, with the help of resources such as the DE4L and my-bizidea websites, they could support primary schools in developing enterprise activities.
Karen Fuller, of the Personal Finance Education Group, described some the free resources and support that pfeg could offer primary schools to help teach primary pupils about personal finance.
Finally, Liz Ellison proposed the formation of a Doncaster Primary Enterprise Network for all teachers and headteachers present who would wish to meet again to share ideas and experience of enterprise learning activities.
Phil Porter announced that my-work-experience.com was willing to sponser such a group, and it was agreed that Liz Ellison would convene a meeting in July.
All teachers and headteachers attending the event were given access codes to the my-bizidea website to enable them to use it with groups of their pupils.
There will be a drop-in training session in the use of my-bizidea for primary teachers from 3.30pm to 5.30pm on Monday 15 March at the CarrHouse Centre.
Added November 2009
As part of the Global Entrepreneurship Week (16 -20 November) the DE4L Project invited schools to participate in an Enterprise Showcase event “A Great DE4L to Shout About” on Wednesday 18th November at The Hub, Doncaster College.
Students from six Doncaster schools attended the event and showcased enterprise activities that they had participated in over the past year. An outline of each school’s activity may be found here.
The event was also a celebration for the employers who have supported DE4L activities. Employers voted for a series of awards for schools, and all the participating schools were presented with an achievement plaque to recognise the work they had done. At a later ceremony later in the evening the participating employers were presented with certificates to celebrate their contribution to Education.
The team from Ridgewood School, judged by employers to be the 'Best Innovation', receive their plaque.
Added July 2009
Team work, knot tying and nautical skills were the order of the day as students from Doncaster teamed up with Doncaster businesses to turn their hand to building and racing their very own rafts.
The heat was rising as construction skills were put to the test by all students, each with their eye on getting the fastest time trial during the event held at Rother Valley Country Park on 1 July.
Nine Doncaster secondary schools took part, each school providing teams of students to build a raft that would carry their team. To help prepare for the event the schools were each allocated a local business mentor who assisted and advised on the construction of the rafts.
The Armthorpe School conquered the overall time with their team finishing in a time of 5 minutes 43 seconds, they also scooped the prize for ‘most initiative’ for the pre-planning that went into their raft design.
Ridgewood and Hungerhill schools also won prizes for second place and best designed raft respectively. Several schools were not so lucky, their rafts could not stand the conditions and failed to stay afloat leaving a number of wet students.
Peter Dale, Director of Development at Doncaster Council said: “The raft race was an excellent example of schools and businesses in the Doncaster area working together and achieving a goal while showing students the value of team work. Everybody involved played a big part in making this an event to remember and it was a huge success.”
Nigel Pattinson, Head Teacher of The Armthorpe School said: “The amount of work put in by the students and businesses together is apparent through the success of the event and the enjoyment of everybody involved. It has been an ideal opportunity to showcase the talent and enthusiasm of the young people of Doncaster. Students are still talking about the event 24 hours later and planning future raft designs.”
The idea to pit teams of youngsters against each other on the water was first proposed by the schools, and the idea was then taken up and developed by Success Doncaster, Doncaster Enterprise for Learning initiative (DE4L), Doncaster Chamber of Commerce and Business and Education South Yorkshire.
All students that participated in the event were presented with commissioned medals and certificates in recognition of their achievements.
Look North news story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8129572.stm
Added March 2009
A new, innovative website from DE4L partner my-work-experience.com was launched at the Mount Pleasant Hotel, Doncaster, on the 19 March 2009 in front of an invited audience. The audience was made up of representatives from 10 of the 17 Doncaster secondary schools, DE4L partners Doncaster Childrens Services, Business and Education South Yorkshire and NALD, organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, and North Doncaster Development Trust that support Doncaster businesses, and special guest Chris Harrison, Doncaster’s Entrepreneur of the Year.
Pictured from left to right:
Stephen Shore –Doncaster Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, Chris Harrison – Doncaster Entrepreneur of the Year, Barbara Robinson – my-work-experience.com, Jane Laister – Don Valley School and Performing Arts College, Ron Robinson – my-work-experience.com.
Watch a video introduction to my-bizidea
After lunch my-work-experience.com directors Ron Robinson and Phil Porter gave a presentation of my-bizidea website, but as the only way to really appreciate the power of the website is try it oneself, all members of the audience had been provided with access codes to log in to the site at their leisure. School representatives also received ‘keys’ to enable them to set up 6 usergroups of 30 students in each of their schools.
The website, my-bizidea.co.uk, has been designed by my-work-experience.com as part of its commitment to the Doncaster Enterprise for Learning (DE4L) Project funded by Success Doncaster. Its purpose is to promote and develop our young peoples’ skills and spirit of enterprise through a series of exciting and fun steps, involving business planning, market research, marketing techniques and financial planning, leading to displaying their fully developed business idea on a their own bizidea webpages.
Although my-bizidea was developed by my-work-experience.com primarily for use by students in Doncaster schools, Ron and Phil believe it will prove useful for anyone who wishes to develop a business idea. Other Success Doncaster organisations such as the North Doncaster Development Trust are being asked to enlist their clients to register to use the website. Website registration is free to Doncaster residents.
Added February 2009
Technology Challenge is an initiative which gets pupils from Doncaster schools to solve real problems facing industry could be bigger and better than ever before this year. Businesses can still get involved in the 2009 Technology Challenge. >> more
Added January 2009
Employers working with students in Doncaster have praised a training scheme that is helping them make a successful return to the classroom.
Directions The National Aviation Academy and Mount Pleasant Hotel are among the local businesses taking advantage of an innovative new training programme that brings them up to speed with the modern education system and the needs of today's students and teachers.
Before going into Doncaster's secondary schools to talk to students about local job and career opportunities, employers are learning about the school curriculum, presentation skills, child protection issues and how to present to the students.The free training is provided by Jacqui Jameson Associates and is available to employers in the Doncaster area.
Alison Redfern, Training Co-ordinator at Directions The National Aviation Academy said: "I found the course extremely useful and informative. It taught me a lot about the ever-changing education system. The way the programme is delivered made the whole experience very enjoyable." Alison is going into Heatherbank Special School to give students an insight into working at an airport and all the associated health and safety issues.
David Rowley, Deputy General Manager at Doncaster's Mount Pleasant Hotel said: "The course has been so enlightening and I now have a much better understanding of the schoolchildren of today." David will be working with children at Hungerhill School sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm for the hotel industry that he has been a part of for 29 years.
Jacqui Jameson's team of training and education experts delivers the programme as part of the Doncaster Enterprise for Learning (DE4L) project. She said: "This training is at the heart of the Success Doncaster (LEGI) programme and is helping businesses understand how students and teachers operate in an education system that will have changed enormously since they were at school. Having a better understanding of all the issues faced by students and teaching staff is essential for helping employers enjoy successful partnerships with schools across the borough from where the next generation of workers will hopefully come."
Dave Irons is Assistant Head of the 14 to 19 Curriculum at Danum School Technology College. He said: "When people from industry bring their knowledge and experience into the classroom it really does enhance students' understanding of the subject. Schools now deliver a wide variety of vocational subjects and are always keen to make links with industry - this scheme has enabled us to do just that. We are extremely grateful for their input - it adds colour and variety to the normal diet of teaching and learning, and helps bridge the link between education and the real world."
Georgie Sherry, Northern Racing School; Chris Harrison, Tech Support (Holdings) Ltd; Michael Richardson and David Rowley, Mount Pleasant Hotel; Julie McGuigan, Lux Hair Salon; Alison Redfern, Directions The National Aviation Academy ; Emma Annandale, Cooplands; Jacqui Jameson, Jacqui Jameson Associates; Dave Irons, Danum School; health and social care students Kelly Voss and Hannah Collis. |
For more information about the training programme and to book places, contact Jacqui Jameson on 07703 127974 or by email: jacquijameson@msn.com
Added December 2008
Hexthorpe Primary school Y6 students won first prize in a recent ‘Bright Ideas’ Competition for local schools funded by Success Doncaster with their Hexfiles school magazine project. The judges thought this project generated a high level of financial and business awareness amongst the pupils. Two of the schools current Y6 students, Zahra Ahmed and Dylan Stewart, attended the ceremony and received a cheque for £250.
The secondary school prize went to Heatherwood School with their ‘Gifts Galore’ business enterprise project. The judges were particularly impressed by the level of planning that went into this project and the sense of fun generated by the pupils. Three of the pupils, Joanne Bromilow, Patrick Queen and David wall also received a cheque for £250.
The aim of the competition was to invite students to submit their bright ideas to celebrate Enterprise Week and to showcase entrepreneurial talent across the Borough in the form of a visual presentation.
Mayor Martin Winter said “this competition is all about encouraging young people to translate their imagination into reality. This is a fine example of what youngsters can do when they get the chance”.
The standard of entries was so high that two other schools were awarded prizes. Pupils from Y8 Hayfield School and Y10/11 students from Pennine View School received highly commended awards, and both schools received a cheque for £50.
The Bright Ideas winners received their awards at a presentation held at Sedum House on Monday 15 December.
Added December 2008
Staff from Balby Carr, Northcliffe, North Ridge, and Don Valley attended the second training event organised by my-work-experience.com at Carr House Teachers Centre on 10th December 2008. Following lunch and a presentation by my-work-experience.com Directors, Ron Robinson and Phil Porter, there was hands on experience of the use of the my-work-experience.com website. At the end of the afternoon each school was given enough copies of the my-work-experience.com data book to use with their students during the coming year.
Added November 2008
Below we report on a number of activities, inspired by DE4L / Success Doncaster, that took place during the National Enterprise Week from 17 - 23 november 2008.
Doncaster Business Showcase
A business and networking event to showcase new Doncaster businesses has been declared a resounding success.
More than 600 people attended a full day of exhibitions, guest speakers. performances from local dance schools and Doncaster’s M101 band at the Success Doncaster Business Showcase Enterprise Event.
More than 100 local businesses supported by the Success Doncaster programme showcased their products and networked with like minded individuals.
The event was staged as a celebration of Enterprise Week and to mark the first anniversary of the Success Doncaster programme. Figures to date show that the Success Doncaster programme has:
With such diverse and exciting new businesses here in Doncaster, the enterprise event provided a great opportunity for people to meet with potential new suppliers, as well as promote innovative business ideas, products and services.
Enterprise Workshop for Special Schools
On Monday 17 November students from four Doncaster special schools, Heatherwood, North Ridge, Stone Hill and Pennine View, attended an enterprise workshop at Castle Park Rugby Club organised by Kate Lavin of Nord Anglia Lifetime Development.
In the morning the young people were introduced to the basic ideas of entrepreneurship and met with and questionned eight local entrepreneurs.
After lunch much fun was had by all as eight teams of students under their business names such as North Ridge Rafters worked on a mini enterprise project to see which team could make the most profit by ‘buying’ raw materials to make model rafts and ‘selling’ them.
Launch of enterprise materials for special needs
DE4L partner, my-work-experience.com, was delighted to announce as part of its contribution to Enterprise week the launch of its new range of resources to support work experience and enterprise for students with learning difficulties.
Schools Media Presentation
As part of National Enterprise Week, the Doncaster Schools Consortium of Schools comprising of Balby Carr, Edlington, Hayfield and Mexborough Schools showcased student video productions at the Doncaster Hub theatre on Tuesday 18 November.
The productions are the direct result of a successful £40 000 bid made to the Northern Enterprise Education programme in 2007. Video production work has been carried by year 10 students following a two day workshop provided by Doncaster South CLC and Fern Creative studios.
Students were tasked with running their own TV production companies to promote Doncaster or social issues relevant to a teenage audience such as knife crime or bullying.
Hannan Noel Year 11 student at Balby Carr ‘I really enjoyed the workshops and the chance to learn from media experts. I certainly know a lot more about the skills needed to be enterprising.’
Enterprise Skills Roadshow
During National Enterprise Week some 200 year 8 students from Balby Carr Community Sports College were involved in the Enterprise Roadshow organized by Hannah Rae Nord Anglia Lifetime Development funded by the DE4L, Success Doncaster initiative.
The college timetable was collapsed for the day to enable eight training providers including RTM Trador L Read P Read Adventures Are Us D.Laing Mechanic White Rose Construction and Elachi restaurant to run a series of workshops in conjunction with the PSHE department of the College.
Hannah Rae ‘ The Enterprise Skills Roadshows involving local employers provide an enjoyable learning experience for students to discover practical and employability skills.’
The activities ranged from construction ,food cuisine, hair and beauty, engineering and sports skills.
Bright Ideas Competition
Ron Robinson, Director of my-work-experience.com, announced the winners of the DE4L Bright Ideas Competition as follows:
Primary school winner – Hexthorpe Primary School
Secondary school winner – Heatherwood School
Also highly commended were Hayfield School and Pennine View School.
Tin Can ManAdded October 2008
Pupils from Woodlands Primary School beat pupils from five other Doncaster schools to in a Technology Challenge to design a recycling station to be placed in a 'green park' planned next to a business park in Carcroft.
>> more
Added October 2008
A successful DE4L menu launch event took place on the 19 September 2008 at Doncaster Racecourse. Including strategic partners and support staff the event attracted 88 attendees and it resulted in 48 pledge sheets being returned, indicating employer feedback and wide ranging support for enterprise partnership activities with Doncaster learners.
Six speakers provided a clear message that indicated the need to work together to enable Doncaster to achieve its full potential.
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DE4L partners and business representatives sat down together to address the challenges.
>> Download the full event case study.
Added July 2008
Three pupils of Edlington Hill Primary School beat five other local schools in a Technology Challenge, at The Topping Pie Company in Doncaster, with their creation the Sky high Pie.
What the papers said:
Here's what The Star wrote about other Technology Challenge successes:
Added June 2008
1. Risk Workshop
Partners of the DE4L consortium met up at Sedum House, Doncaster on 19th May to participate in a Risk Workshop facilitated by Place Group Ltd. The purpose of the workshop was to identify and assess the risks on the project and to define an appropriate Risk Plan so that DE4L has the best ability to both succeed and excel.
Kath Fitzpatrick, Doncaster’s 14-19 Curriculum Manager and DE4L Manager said: “The identification and management of risk is an essential element of any successful project. With the wealth of outputs captured at the workshop we have already been able to compile an initial project risk log and analyze the risks using impact and probability. The next step will be to more formally determine the action to be taken with each risk and then establish the final Risk Plan to define how new and existing risk will be identified, managed and monitored throughout the project.”
2. Team building
The Holiday Inn, Warmsworth, was the setting for a team building event staged for partners of the DE4L consortium on 23 June.
The session started with some 'fun' activities designed to help partner members to get to know each other better, and learn how to work better in partnership. This was followed by a whole group activity, led by consortium member Jackie Freeborn of B&ESY, to define the characteristics of a good partnership, identify the key elements of the partnering process and concluding with a plan of action for where the DE4L partnership should go next to develop and improve it's effectiveness.
Added June 2008
The concept of "Educational Enterprise Exchange" was launched at Doncaster Secondary Schools first Enterprise Conference (Tuesday 17th June).
The conference was delivered by Doncaster Spoke representatives of South Yorkshire Enterprise Hub in conjunction with the WRL/Enterprise Network. There were scores of delegates representing teachers, business representatives, local enrepreneures, Doncaster Chamber wilh an input from local students representing Mid Teenz promotion and the Young Entrepreneur Club.
The day comprised Key Note speakers (Success Doncaster, DE4L, NALD), showcase of good practices, Schools Enterprise Exchange followed by a short WRL/Enterprise Co-ordinators Network Meeting,
One of the delegates said that the "Enterprise Exchange is an exciting new development, bringing together employers, schools, colleges and others who want to see enterprise flourish in their local area and who are willing to roll up their sleeves to make things happen".
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Added June 2008
Teachers and other interested parties in Doncaster came together for two days training facilitated by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) to introduce an internationally recognised programme that teaches students how to run their own small business.
Steve Alcock, Director of NFTE said that in his experience of visiting many areas of the country to deliver their training programmes he was greatly impressed by the quality and depth of the enterprise activities already taking place in the Doncaster area.
Teachers Get Down To Business!
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Added May 2008
Doncaster teachers have been swapping the classroom for the factory in an exciting new initiative set up by Doncaster Enterprise for Learning (DE4L) and delivered by Business & Education South Yorkshire (B&E-SY).
By undertaking placements, school staff are given first hand experience of business and enterprise, enabling them to return to the classroom and develop an enterprise based resource for their students.
John Moulson Liaison Manager at Business & Education South Yorkshire said: “This exciting programme encourages teachers and other school staff to do their own ‘work experience’ in a business environment, which can count towards their continuous professional development, as well as giving their students a greater appreciation of a wide range of roles. By taking part in the project, school staff will be able to deliver enterprise programmes in the classroom and support their students to generate enterprising ideas.”
Staff from Hungerhill School, Balby Carr Community Sports College and Armthorpe School, have already signed up to the scheme. Textile teachers from these schools visited the John Smedley knitwear factory to find out more about textiles manufacturing.
The business placement will enable the teachers to support their Year 9/10 students in the Doncaster Schools Technology Challenge which requires the students to design a range of accessories that the exclusive knitwear manufacturer could produce to suit the teenage market.
Business Placements for School Staff is available to teachers, teaching assistants, school managers and learning mentors in both primary and secondary schools across Doncaster. Placements are available from between one to five days and staff are required to complete a case study on the business and develop a classroom task or resource from what they experienced and learnt during the placement.
For more information on business placements through DE4L contact Mary Milburn at Business & Education South Yorkshire on 01709 336 700.
John Smedley placement: Julie Bonaccorsi from Balby Carr Community Sports College, Chris Smith from The Armthorpe School, Carol Stevenson and Gill Jones from Hungerhill School, John Moulson from B&E-SY and John Mumby from Smedley’s
Added March 2008
Teachers from five Doncaster secondary schools attended the first training event organised by my-work-experience.com at Carr House Teachers Centre on 13th March 2008. Following lunch and a presentation by my-work-experience.com Directors, Ron Robinson and Phil Porter, introducing the work of the company and its unique work experience data book and website, teachers were given hands on experience of the use of the my-work-experience.com website. At the end of a very enjoyable afternoon teachers each carried off two to three hundred copies of the my-work-experience.com data book to use with their students during the coming year.
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Added Nov 2007
Students from Armthorpe School & North Doncaster Technology College invited local business to enter teams in a Pro Am golf tournament. The event, staged to mark the launch of the DE4L project, took place on Friday October 12th at Hickleton Golf Club. The action packed event featured 72 golfers. Organiser Alison Bridge of Montgomery Leisure Services, said ‘the golf day went very well and everyone had a great time’.
Added Oct 2007
Pupils from Hooton Pagnell All Saints Primary School have set up a mini enterprise to generate income for school funds, growing and selling vegetables and plants. A greenhouse has been constructed in the school grounds from recycled bottles, and members of the local community will use their gardening skills to help the pupils make a success of the growing process. Learning will be linked into the curriculum, through a range of subjects, and pupils will develop their own sales and marketing strategy, selling their produce locally. Headteacher, Jan Gillard, believes that ‘Pupils will learn about the process of running a business, and develop enterprise skills and a can-do attitude’
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