News: Making £5 blossom in North Lincolnshire

North Lincolnshire has become the latest area to replicate initiatives that helped Rotherham become officially recognised as the most enterprising place in the UK.

Rotherham Ready's innovative "Make £5 Blossom" scheme is being launched across local primary schools in North Lincolnshire providing businesses there with the chance to directly invest in the futures of young people.

The scheme, which is supported by Young People's Enterprise Forum, aims to introduce children to the skills involved in running a business by letting them have a go themselves.

Children will develop business plans and breakeven charts and will launch an idea or product with support from local businesses.

To be successful, the Make £5 Blossom scheme needs fresh and enthusiastic support from local business people.

Businesses are being invited to loan children £5 each up to a limit of £150 per school.

Business people will be able to meet children from the schools they've backed during an initial training programme.

Schools will be presented with the money on the basis that they have to make a profit - paying back the loan in full by the end of the school year with each school acting as guarantor for their individual loan.

In school, pupils will decide what they sell, where they sell it and to whom, before checking the profits and presenting their final results at a closing event.

The scheme has been running in Rotherham schools for five years and is a key part of Rotherham Ready. The project is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund and has trained hundreds of teachers to develop enterprise in schools and colleges, and harnessed the passion of the business community to promote enterprise and entrepreneurship in education.

An astounding 103 schools and colleges in Rotherham have achieved the Warwick Award for Excellence in Enterprise Education – the quality mark for enterprise learning.

Cllr Mark Kirk, Leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: "Make £5 Blossom is a great scheme with many benefits for both schools and businesses.

"Since it was first launched in South Yorkshire by Rotherham Ready, every loan has been returned in full after the children have made significant profits."

Rotherham's success has been replicated in a number of places – having successfully launched Hull Ready in 2008 and exporting "Inspire" enterprise training to Sheffield, Barnsley, Doncaster, Warrington, Liverpool and Spain.

Rotherham secured the top prize in the Enterprising Britain competition 2010.

Rotherham Ready website

Images: rotherhamready.org.uk