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Not Just For Profit
Social enterprise in the curriculum - a resource pack for secondary schools.
The Not Just for Profit pack introduces social enterprise into the school curriculum for the 14–19 age group. Social enterprises are businesses which trade in order to bring about social and environmental improvements. It is a growing area which is receiving increasing recognition throughout society and is a rich seam for schools to mine.
The pack is the final output of a two-year research project undertaken as part of the West Midlands Social Economy Partnership programme funded by Advantage West Midlands under the SRB 6 programme. The overall aim of the project was to research and develop effective support structures for a successful social economy. A number of partners brought a range of relevant experience and knowledge to this curriculum project: The Marches Consortium, The Co-operative College, Dynamix, and Wolverhampton City Council.
The project has developed a range of fun classroom exercises to introduce the serious topic of social enterprise to students. These are complemented by a number of new case studies, based upon successful examples of social enterprise in the West Midlands.
The materials are put into context in a section on curriculum links and planning which will help teachers to develop appropriate lesson plans as well as programmes for extended projects. In the last section of the pack we offer a range of further ideas and resources to help schools develop links with social enterprises.
All of these materials have been successfully piloted with both teachers and pupils. The pilots took place in schools across the West Midlands located in a mix of rural and urban areas. The final pack has been much improved as a result of this engagement with the reality of classroom experience. It makes an important contribution to citizenship and business studies but is also of value to a number of other curriculum areas such as geography.
We hope this pack will make a substantial contribution to learning and allow students to gain new insights in a challenging but very enjoyable way. Some may even go on to find their vocation in social enterprise. By linking to ethical values and principles, social enterprise has the potential to inspire and enthuse a new generation of young people.
The pack is now out of print but is available to download as two documents, both in pdf format:
For more information, please contact Steve Kingman, Learning & Development Manager for IT, Events and Schools Enterprise on 0161 246 2966 or by email