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Working with Schools & Young People
Inspiring a new generation to support and engage with co-operative values and principles is a key part of the College's work.
Trust Schools
Trust Schools are a key part of the Government's education reform strategy for England and the College has worked with the Co-operative Group and schools to develop a distinct co-operative trust model that enables schools to embed co-operative values into the long term ethos of the school.
Reddish Vale Technology College in Stockport became the first school in the UK to adopt the new Co-operative Trust model enabling parents, staff and learners to become members in the multi-stakeholder co-operative.
We are now supporting the development of Co-operative Trusts throughout England and working with the Co-operative Group to develop a strong national network.
For further information on Trust schools, case studies etc, please look at the special section on
Co-operative Trusts on the school.coop website
school.coop - Co-operative Curriculum Resources for Schools
school.coop is a collaboration between The Co-operative College and the co-operative Business and Enterprise Colleges sponsored by the Co-operative Group.
school.coop contains teaching resources developed by the network of Co-operative Business and Enterprise Schools and Colleges. The materials are freely available for use within education and have been developed co-operatively benefiting from the national and international co-operative network.
Young Co-operatives
The Young Co-operatives programme enables young people to set up and run their own co-operative enterprise 'putting ethics into practice'.
Initial programmes focused on setting up a retail operation promoting fair trade products enabling young people to learn about fair trade as well as developing enterprise skills. Face-to-Face events provide opportunities for young people to meet fair trade producers and learn more about the impact that consumer actions have on the lives of producers.
A wider range of models with a strong ethical aspect is now available nd includes a horticultural model. A manufacturing model based on recycling is under development.
For more information please visit the Young Co-operatives website.
Business & Enterprise Colleges
The College works with a network of Business & Enterprise Colleges sponsored by the Co-operative Group developing a wide range of resource material introducing co-operation across the curriculum. Resources are freely available to schools via the www.school.coop website which has been developed with support from the Co-operative Fund.
The College has helped schools in the network to develop a wide range of international partnerships with schools working with co-operatives across Europe and increasingly in Africa building curriculum links and teacher and pupil exchanges.
You can find information about the Business & Enterprise Colleges network at www.becolleges.coop
Why we work with schools!
Over 50 years ago, A V Alexander MP, a Co-operative Party supported Member of Parliament described a visit he had made to a school:
"I asked them if they could tell me how many wives Henry V111 had and what were their names. The majority of boys in the class could answer that question straight away, but when I asked if they could tell me who was Robert Owen and when he was born, or on what day the British co-operative movement was founded, they could not give me any answer."
In many schools today the answer would remain the same which is why the Co-operative College supports efforts to get co-operation and its values understood in schools.