An Altrincham-based social enterprise has secured funding of over £250,000 to develop a digital version of its innovative classroom-based programme, Enterprise Education.
Stepping into Business was founded two years ago when chartered accountant Donna Irving and teacher Dylan McCarthy joined forces to try and introduce more real-life business into McCarthy’s classroom, at Bowdon Church School.
The resulting course was a huge success, and it has since been rolled out to a network of over 20 schools in the North West.
It works by matching schools with businesses, who will sponsor a bespoke programme for each school that can encompass everything from one-day workshops to embedded school programmes lasting several weeks. There are also professional development programmes for the teachers themselves.
The latest investment is the second round of funding that Stepping into Business has secured from Innovate UK.
The first round went on researching Enterprise Education and how best to take it online, and the new investment will be used to turn the research and design phase into a reality for school children in 2016.
Hale-based Dinah Turner, who joined the organisation as a director last year, said: “We need to help young people and children understand enterprise and business from an early age so they are as familiar with that as they are with other subjects and topics we cover at school.
“For instance, we need to develop skills that help creative problem solving as our future world is so uncertain. We make our learning as experimental, fun and engaging as possible, which is why we think our different approach caught the eye of the bid assessment team.”
She added: “We hear all the time about what great GCSEs and A Levels our schoolchildren are getting. But when they come out of the education pipeline, employers are still saying there is a shortage of skills.
“Our programmes are not about spoon-fed learning designed to pass exams; they’re about broadening education into real-life skills. Often kids really come alive with what we do – they may be noisy in class but they really excel at something else, such as selling.”
