News: Swift take up of enterprise advisor roles in Rotherham

The Enterprise Adviser Network in the Sheffield city region now has over 50 confirmed matches, more than half way to the regional goal, with Rotherham leading the way.

The national Enterprise Advisers programme, sees volunteers from the world of work and business team up with schools to increase the quality and quantity of careers and enterprise learning for young people.

After being one of five pilot areas that helped to develop the scheme last year, the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) wants to match a volunteer Enterprise Adviser from the business and public sector with every secondary and special school and college in Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.

New Enterprise Adviser Ian Goodall is keen to get creative about helping the school he has been matched with to engage with more business and employers. Ian, who runs creative and digital recruitment agency Aardvark Swift in Rotherham, has joined the Enterprise Adviser Network and has been matched with St Bernard's Catholic High School in the borough.

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Ian recently met with Kevin Wright, the school's careers, enterprise and PSHE lead, and is looking forward to working together to create more links between the school and the world of work and business.

Ian (pictured, right) said: "As well as the links I have personally with creative and digital businesses, and the connections being made across Sheffield's growth sector areas through this new network of Enterprise Advisers, I'm keen to work with the school to be more creative with the resources it already has at its finger tips. For example, parents and alumni will work across a range of sectors and have brilliant and interesting experiences they can share – sometimes it is just about asking!"

Kevin (pictured, left) added: "We know it's important for our students to meet more people from the world of work and business who can help them make informed choices about their next step in education, and to be excited about the range of opportunities in the world of work. We look forward to working with Ian to build more links."

Enterprise Advisers will help schools and colleges to prepare young people for future jobs and careers, develop a whole school strategy for careers, enterprise and employer engagement and link them to local business contacts and networks.

Nigel Brewster, Vice Chair of the Sheffield City Region LEP, has stressed the importance of employability skills and how these skills are an opportunity for economic growth, further reinforcing the importance of the programme for the economic growth of the region as a whole. He said: "This programme is vitally important and personally dear to my heart, the number one thing businesses ask is what are we doing around employability and this programme is one part of the work we are doing. It's about young people and making sure they get the best employability education they can."

SCR Enterprise Adviser Network website

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News: PM's advisor sees enterprise education in action

The Prime Minister's Enterprise Advisor, Lord Young marked the start of Global Entrepreneurship Week by visiting a Rotherham school to see how teachers inspire pupils as young as four to learn more about the world of work and business.

Lord Young was visiting to learn more about Ready Unlimited, which develops teachers skills and confidence to create enterprising and entrepreneurial learning for all children, from as soon as they start school.

Evolving from Rotherham Ready and originally established as a council-run project by Rotherham Council in 2005, Ready Unlimited became an independent not-for-profit social enterprise in June.

As part of a roundtable discussion, Lord Young said: "I'd like to see a world in which enterprise is in all subjects, where examples of learning include enterprise examples, because learning about that enriches the core curriculum.

"Too often, young people are insulated from the lives they are going to live as adults. To see children this young learning about enterprise as part of their everyday curriculum shows just what is possible. If we could see this everywhere, it would be a significant step forward. Unless a young person leaves school with these skills and knowledge, they're not really prepared for the world ahead of them."

As part of his visit to Rotherham, Lord Young saw how staff developed enterprise through a "Mini Beasts" curriculum topic, with children setting up companies to respond to a design brief. He saw how children took on different company roles, from managers and accountants to designers, and had to work to a strict budget.

Lynne Pepper, head teacher at Herringthorpe Infants School, said: "It is fantastic to be able to show that enterprise doesn't have to be a bolt on, but can be an integral part of children's learning that demonstrates the relevance of the curriculum they experience."

Catherine Brentnall, managing director of Ready Unlimited, added: "We share many of the same goals as the Government around preparing children to lead fulfilling and rewarding lives, making them more entrepreneurial, improving educational attainment and encouraging citizenship.

"It was great to be able show Lord Young real examples of how we are actually supporting teachers to do this and discuss the opportunities and challenges around scaling these approaches across the country."

The Rt Hon the Lord Young of Graffham PC DL became Secretary of State for Employment in 1985 and in 1987 became Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and President of the Board of Trade. He was Executive Chairman of Cable and Wireless pic from 1990 to 1995 and then Chairman of Young Associates Ltd, which invests in new technologies.

He has produced reports for the Prime Minister on growing micro businesses and supporting the start-up and development of small business.

Rotherham leads the way in enterprise education and has become internationally acclaimed for its approach to integrating enterprise into learning for all children aged 4-19. Professors and business people from Japan, Finland, Lithuania and Spain have visited Rotherham to find out more.

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News: Rotherham schools ready to work with local business to support hospice

Staff and students have been tasked with finding innovative ways to raise money for charity as part of The Rotherham Hospice Enterprise Challenge.

A record 48 teams are taking part in the challenge that was launched last week at the Carlton Park Hotel by Ready Unlimited, the Rotherham-based service that supports educators to embed enterprise and entrepreneurship across the curriculum.

Sheffield-based solicitors, Irwin Mitchell, are providing £50 loans for each team and business mentoring, but it will be up to the students to come up with enterprising ways of turning the initial investment in to much, much more for the Rotherham Hospice.

The only adult hospice in Rotherham for the people of Rotherham, Rotherham Hospice is an independent charity and must raise significant sums of money each year in order to pay for the quality care provided free of charge to patients, their families and carers.

Anne Giblin, fundraiser at Rotherham Hospice, said: "This is a really exciting challenge. We've worked hard to build on previous fund raising activities with Ready Unlimited and Rotherham schools, and with our sponsor Irwin Mitchell on board this year, we're hoping to take the challenge to the next level."

The challenge will conclude in January 2014 when the students' fundraising activities will come to an end and the groups who have best met the enterprise skill-related judging criteria will win prizes. All groups have been tasked to share their fundraising experiences and enterprising learning at a closing ceremony with a panel of judges made up of Rotherham business representatives.

Claire Bracewell, legal executive at Irwin Mitchell said: "We're really looking forward to seeing how the students approach their fundraising and how they draw on their enterprise skills to develop their ideas."

Catherine Brentnall, managing director of Ready Unlimited, added: "We're very proud of the partnership that has been developed – it's great that young people are raising money for a great cause, whilst developing important enterprise skills and linking with business mentors from Irwin Mitchell."

Evolving from Rotherham Ready and originally established as a council-run project by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council in 2006, Ready Unlimited became an independent not-for-profit social enterprise in June.

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News: Parkgate pilots Ready Hubs

Parkgate Shopping is supporting a pilot project that offers four lucky Rotherham students a chance develop enterprise skills among young people.

The Ready Hubs scheme offers a unique mentoring opportunity that will see the students working closely with Parkgate Shopping to develop retail skills.

Rotherham Ready support schools across Rotherham to develop a 4-19 enterprise entitlement meaning that young people in Rotherham have their education enhanced by developing a range of skills and capabilities that enable them to be enterprising and entrepreneurial in order to reach their goals for the future.

Rotherham Ready is working with the Learning Communities of Wingfield, Winterhill and Clifton to develop Ready Hubs, that will empower young people and communities to create a better social and economic future by transforming lives though enterprise.

With representatives from schools, the community and business, Ready Hubs will co produce a range of activities and initiatives that offer young people a rounded experience of enterprise learning.

Four year 11 students from Wingfield have secured enterprising placements at Parkgate Shopping through retailers, Next and Marks & Spencer, and are being mentored to develop their enterprise skills and options for the future.

Joanne Sorby, Careers/Work related Co-ordinator at Wingfield Business and Enterprise College, said: "As a college we are committed to providing experiences for students to enhance their employability skills and increase their knowledge of the world of work. The chance to work closely with Rotherham Ready and local employers to provide work placements for some of our students was an excellent opportunity to develop this further."

Billy Smith, regional operations manager at Parkgate, added: "This is an excellent initiative from Rotherham Ready, and we are very pleased to be working with them and Wingfield Business and Enterprise College. I'm sure that the students will gain valuable experience during their time with Next and Marks and Spencer, and that it will benefit them greatly as they consider their career and further education options."

The creation of these Hubs has been supported by Nesta through the Creative Councils programme. Nesta is an independent charity with a mission to help people and organisations bring great ideas to life and the Ready Hub Schools and their partners are doing a great job at making the most of this opportunity.

Kate Penney, Ready Hubs coordinator for RMBC said: "The collaboration and input from partners with a different range of skills and experience is a key strength of the Ready Hubs and all of the schools and their partners from business and the community have shown real commitment to improving outcomes for young people. This partnership is a clear example of the value of working together to achieve a shared goal."

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Rotherham Ready website

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News: Enterprising Rotherham infants learn through taking risks

As part of the innovative "Are You Ready?" enterprise education initiative, pupils at Herringthorpe Infants School in Rotherham are being encouraged to learn through taking risks and are learning from their mistakes.

The Are You Ready? team, train teachers to develop enterprise and entrepreneurship through the curriculum, to enhance learning and develop children's enterprising attitudes and behaviours. It has grown out of the acclaimed enterprise project, Rotherham Ready, which developed the concept of a 4-19 Enterprise Entitlement to engage all children and young people in enterprise learning from as soon as they start school.

Year 2 children at Herringthorpe worked to a real design brief set by younger children in the school who were keeping chickens and wanted to sell their eggs, but kept dropping them. The children were asked to design durable and attractive packaging, pitch their ideas and risk testing them with an "egg drop."

Lynne Pepper, head teacher at Herringthorpe Infants School, said: "Developing enterprise has helped us create a learning environment where children have the opportunity to take risks and make mistakes, and learn from both. Part of this approach is about stepping back and letting children take the lead and develop their confidence and resilience from being independent and bouncing back from failure."

Entrepreneurship expert Dr Tim Vorley, from the University of Sheffield, is evaluating the programme which provides innovative and high impact enterprise education training and provision, supporting schools, colleges and universities to work with young people, business and the wider community to create a culture of enterprise in education and beyond.

Dr Vorley said: "This approach is powerful because it creates an environment and culture which encourages students to embrace uncertainty and recognise there can be multiple solutions and outcomes to challenges."

The approach to enterprise education has garnered world wide interest and acclaim, with professors and business people from Japan, Finland, Lithuania and Spain visiting to find out more and Rotherham being crowned "The Most Enterprising Place in Britain" in 2010.

NESTA, the UK's leading innovation charity, is investing in supporting the scale up of model, and has been supporting the development of the Are You Ready? social enterprise which operates nationally.

Catherine Brentnall, managing director of Are You Ready?, said: "Being able to take risks and handle uncertainty are key enterprise capabilities and crucial life skills for young people in the 21st century. Our approach harnesses the unique opportunity teachers have to influence the development of young people's skills and attitudes by creating opportunities for learning about, through and for enterprise as part of the everyday curriculum."

Are You Ready website

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News: Enterprising students win retail challenge

A group of Rotherham students will be testing out their entrepreneurial skills after winning a retail challenge.

Santa's Little Bakers were one of two groups that presented their business ideas to a Dragon's Den style panel of judges.

It was part of an event that saw StartUp Britain's double-decker bus visit the town centre campus of Rotherham College of Arts and technology (RCAT).

Santa's Little Bakers will run a stall at the upcoming Rock Around the Tree event in Rotherham town centre on December 1, selling their delicious cupcakes, gingerbread and mince pies.

They are hoping to raise money for two local charities, Hallam FM's Help a Hallam Child Appeal and Sheffield Children's Charity.

The panel of judges, including: Tom Jones of Props Skate Store; Garnett Dickinson's Group Communications Director, Nicky Holt; George Elliott from the Source Skills Academy; Jackie Frost, Enterprise Manager for Are You Ready; and the Principal of the College, Gill Alton, had a hard choice to make between Santa's Little Helpers and their competition, Jolly Jars.

George Elliott from the Source Skills Academy, said: "The pitch is important, very important, but it's what the product is and how it will sell that won it for the team.

"The best ideas are going to be coming from students and young people and it's up to business to listen."

Stacey Monaghan, team leader at Santa's Little Bakers, said: "We've all put so much effort into it. The ideas just started flowing. We could bake and bake and bake."

The team has been given a budget of £100, funded by both the College and Are You Ready, Rotherham's enterprise educations programme. The stall itself was donated by the Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council Market's Team.

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News: Businesses urged to get involved with Rotherham Ready

Rotherham Council's award-winning Rotherham Ready enterprise education programme is looking for more local businesses to get involved and support the development of the borough's entrepreneurs of the future.

Rotherham Ready, which was launched in 2005, has become internationally acclaimed for its approach to integrating enterprise into learning for all children aged 4-19. The town won the prestigious Enterprising Britain competition in 2010 for this work which is now being replicated nationally through the Creative Councils programme, creating a culture of enterprise in education.

Within Rotherham, enterprise education and training is being coordinated at three Learning Communities, known as the Ready Hubs, and more businesses are being sought to get involved in exciting work with schools and colleges.

A business briefing is taking place on Tuesday November 27 from 8.30am – 9.30am, at Rockingham Professional Development Centre, on how local businesses can offer meaningful support at a manageable level.

Kate Penney, creative councils coordinator at Rotherham Ready, said: "I am really excited to be working with Rotherham Ready to develop the already successful and highly regarded enterprise provision across Rotherham.

"I am particularly excited by the further development of the programme that will promote and engage representatives from schools and colleges, the wider community and businesses.

"The business briefing event on the 27th November is an excellent platform for businesses to get involved with young people and the community to raise aspirations and give enterprise education and skills a real life context. There are a number of different ways that businesses large and small can support this and we encourage them to come along to the event to find out more."

Previous work includes the innovative "Make £5 Blossom" scheme where businesses are invited to loan children £5 each, with a maximum loan of £150, with the aim of introducing children to the skills involved in running a business by letting them have a go themselves.

Jacqui Saxon, creative director at The Ultimate Balloon Company in Rotherham, said: "I've been involved in Make £5 Blossom and I've been a Young Entrepreneur's Club mentor. As a business person I believe we should educate about self employment and support the development of crucial workplace skills. These projects are brilliant at doing that.

"Young people show such energy and creativity and you see them grow in confidence."

To book a place at the Rotherham Ready business briefing email Kate.Penney@rotherham.gov.uk

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News: Are You Ready? and Gripple Ltd team up to inspire primary entrepreneurs

Rotherham's award winning enterprise team Are You Ready? has joined forces with Sheffield manufacturer Gripple Ltd to pioneer primary enterprise on an innovative web-based student-business platform.

Are You Ready? and Gripple have worked together to create the first ever challenge aimed at primary school pupils on national enterprise challenge website MyKindaCrowd.

Until now, MyKindaCrowd has been focussed on secondary schools, colleges and universities. The website connects students and teachers directly with brands including Cisco, Nike and McDonalds through exciting enterprise challenges. Young people benefit by connecting with the world of work and business and teachers can integrate real life industry challenges into the curriculum.

The new challenge aimed at primary schools is called "Innovating for the Environment" and asks pupils to develop an idea for a product or service that would have an environmental benefit. To support teachers and pupils there are comprehensive learning materials to provoke and develop new ideas and innovations.

A £350 prize is available for the winning idea, and the chance for the winner to work with Gripple to produce a prototype of their idea.

Catherine Brentnall, director of Are You Ready?, said: "It has been great to work with Gripple Ltd and get the first ever primary challenge onto the MyKindaCrowd website.

"We love what Gripple Ltd stands for – it's a global business that is employee owned and puts sustainability at the heart of everything it does.

"Gripple Ltd has worked with us to develop its innovation methodology into a resource for primary school teachers and set a really exciting challenge. This is an amazing opportunity for teachers to stretch young people's creativity and excite them about how innovation and enterprise can benefit people and planet."

Gordon Macrae, special projects manager at Gripple Ltd, said: "We believe that business has a key role to play in inspiring young people about the world of work and business.

"Are you Ready? is leading the way in enabling teachers to make learning about enterprise part of children's school experience, and that is impacting on young people's skills, attitudes and ambitions.

"It is great to play a part in the process and be able to share our values and expertise with the next generation of entrepreneurs and enterprising employees."

Are You Ready? website

Gripple website

MyKindaCrowd website

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News: National recognition for Rotherham Ready

Rotherham Council's Rotherham Ready enterprise education programme has been recognised as a radical new way to deliver public services.

It has been selected to move into the second phase of the Creative Councils programme run by the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA) and the Local Government Association.

Rotherham was one of just 17 councils from across the country selected to work intensively with the organisers and now just one of six that will be further developed as part of the programme.

The Creative Councils programme, which launched in April 2011, supports pioneering councils to develop, implement and spread transformational new approaches to meeting some of the biggest medium and long-term challenges facing communities and local services.

The second phase will build on some of the strongest ideas that have the potential to spread to other councils, by providing up to £150,000 in follow-on funding as well as non financial support such as legal advice and support with community engagement.

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council submitted an idea to explore how the town's award winning enterprise education programme – Rotherham Ready – could be replicated nationally, creating a culture of enterprise in education.

Rotherham has a unique borough wide strategy for developing a culture of enterprise. Rotherham Ready, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund, promotes enterprise and entrepreneurship throughout education and then Rotherham Youth Enterprise supports young people to start businesses in the town, with 232 youth businesses launched in the last five years.

This approach led to Rotherham being crowned The Most Enterprising Place in Britain in November 2010, beating off stiff competition from across Great Britain in the prestigious Enterprising Britain competition, headed up by Dragon's Den Star, Peter Jones.

Ready programmes have been developed in other parts of Yorkshire and the Humber, supported by the Young People's Enterprise Forum. Hull Ready, North Lincolnshire Ready, Calderdale Ready and Scarborough Ready have all been launched.

Catherine Brentnall, project officer for Rotherham Ready said: "We are thrilled to be one of the final six Creative Councils and to be able to continue working closely with NESTA. The level of challenge and support we have experienced being involved in the programme has really helped us develop new ideas about how to embed enterprise culture in education and in our communities."

Philip Colligan, executive director of NESTA's Innovation Lab, said: "Now more than ever we need local government to take the lead in shaping the public services of the future. All of the Creative Councils 2012 have showed a level of ambition and capability around innovation that deserves national recognition and attention. It's an amazingly diverse and exciting portfolio that we'll be working with over the next year and we'll be working hard to share their experiences and learning with the wider sector."

Rotherham Ready website

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News: Duke meets Rotherham's young entrepreneurs

His Royal Highness The Duke of York has given his seal of approval to Rotherham Ready, the flagship programme which is transforming children as young as four-years-old into budding entrepreneurs.

The Duke, who has a special interest in business and enterprise, visited Herringthorpe Infants school in Rotherham, where he met teachers, pupils and staff involved in the award-winning education programme.

Herringthorpe is the only infant school in the world to have an entrepreneurship speciality and the Duke saw children as young as four who are learning about the skills and attitudes needed in the world of work and business.

Rotherham Ready, which was launched in 2005, has become internationally acclaimed for its approach to integrating enterprise into learning for all children aged 4-19. The town won the prestigious Enterprising Britain competition in 2010 for this work. And in 2011, following the launch of the national facing part of the programme, ‘Are You Ready?’, won the StartUp Britain ‘Best Enterprise Support’ award at the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

Catherine Brentnall, project officer at Rotherham Ready, said: "The Duke recognised the disconnect between education and business and seemed genuinely impressed with the way we're bridging the gap and the real impact our work is having on children and young people.

"What was really encouraging was that he seemed interest in the national significance of the programme and the wider impact we can have across the UK."

Nancy Cresswell-Hall, 6, was one of the many pupils who chatted to the Duke during his visit to Herringthorpe Infants. She told him all about a classroom exercise based on the shoddy service given by the company who provided the Emperor’s New Clothes. The Duke also met Danny West who set up his own successful piazza party business and now also works as a Rotherham Ready mentor.

Following the success of Rotherham Ready, the programme has been replicated in Hull, North Lincolnshire, Calderdale, Scarborough, and most recently, Derbyshire in a bid to help young people develop alternatives to the unprecedented challenges they now face amidst youth unemployment of a million plus.

In the afternoon, His Royal Highness opened the Wentworth Building at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology in Rotherham town centre.

Rotherham Ready website

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News: Rotherham Ready for royal appointments

Rotherham school children are set to show The Duke of York, Prince Andrew what makes Rotherham the most enterprising place in Britian.

The royal visitor is scheduled to meet with pupils at Herringthorpe Infants School next week and discuss the world-leading enterprise education programme, Rotherham Ready.

The pioneering scheme, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund, works with schools and colleges to embed enterprise in education from 4-19 and beyond. Hundreds of teachers have been trained to develop enterprise in schools and colleges, and the scheme has harnessed the passion of the business community to promote enterprise and entrepreneurship in education.

Over 100 schools and colleges in Rotherham have also achieved the Warwick Award for Excellence in Enterprise Education - the quality mark for enterprise learning.

Rotherham Ready is internationally recognised as a model of best practice and it has been successful rolled out in other areas of the UK. A national enterprise education programme called "Are You Ready?", which is based on the ground-breaking work taking place in Rotherham, was launched last year.

It was the culture of enterprise fostered by Rotherham Ready and Rotherham Youth Enterprise that earned Rotherham the title of the most enterprising place in the UK when they won the Enterprising Britain competition in 2010.

The Duke of York will also be attending a business lunch at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology (RCAT) in the town centre.

Rotherham Ready website
RCAT website

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News: Rotherham is creating a culture of enterprise in education

A Creating a Culture of Enterprise in Education event has been held as the culmination of a two and a half year project run by award-winning enterprise education programme Rotherham Ready.

Rotherham Ready has been working with secondary schools and colleges to develop enterprise in education from Key Stage 3 upwards.

This work has included developing resources, training models and new approaches that support schools and colleges to champion and develop enterprise.

The programme has also included work to integrate enterprise into Initial Teacher Training (ITT). Through the programme more than 700 trainee teachers at Sheffield Hallam University have learned how to develop enterprise through the curriculum through the Inspire ITT programme.

Teachers involved in the project met to share their experiences and receive a complete set of ERDF resources for their school.

Also attending was international education speaker and former Head Teacher of the Year, Richard Gerver.

Richard, who visited Rotherham in 2009, said: "In the last year I have visited China, Brazil, India and Sweden and enterprise and entrepreneurship are firmly on the top of the education agenda in these countries.

"Globally, governments are looking for approaches that will develop young people's skills and creativity, and I'm really pleased to be able to come back to Rotherham to see the work they have been developing in this area.

"The challenges our young people will face in the future are simply too big to ignore. As school leaders we have got to stop discussing whether we do this, and simply get on with it, as Rotherham Ready is."

Catherine Brentnall, ERDF project officer at Rotherham Ready, added: "If we want young people to have the skills and personality they will need to succeed in the future, and if we want a dynamic economy, then enterprise needs to be a key part of young people's education, all the way through their education.

"We want all teachers, no matter what age, stage or subject they teach, to be confident and equipped to make enterprise and entrepreneurship part of young people's learning and we are incredibly grateful for the opportunity the ERDF funding has given us to help progress this aim."

Rotherham Ready website

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News: Rotherham programme launches campaign to transform young people’s education

Rotherham's award-winning enterprise education programme is launching a national campaign during Global Entrepreneurship Week to create a culture of enterprise in education.

"Are You Ready?" was launched by founding patron, Carl Hopkins in June 2011 and is a national programme based on the ground-breaking work taking place in Rotherham through Rotherham Ready. It works with schools and colleges to develop enterprising and entrepreneurial learning for young people aged 4-19 so they develop the skills, attitudes and aspirations necessary to survive and thrive in the 21st century.

Now the team are calling on the government to make enterprise and entrepreneurship a key part of all young people's learning and has launched a government e-petition to try and spark a debate about how young people are educated for life in the 21st century.

Catherine Brentnall, "Are You Ready?" project officer, said: "Changes in technology and the global economy have transformed business and employment beyond recognition. Young people have got to be ready for what's out there; we are doing them a huge disservice if they come through their education without understanding that if they want a job in the future they might have to employ themselves.

"Our campaign is about inspiring children and young people to become creative, resourceful and energetic adults who can help us all build a more prosperous future. But attitudes and mindsets are formed at an early age and that's why we believe enterprise and entrepreneurship must be a key feature of all young people’s education, from as soon as they start school."

In October 2011, the campaign gained national recognition when it won the StartUp Britain "Best Enterprise Support Award", presented by the Rt Hon Vince Cable at the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. Judges in the competition were impressed by the campaign's values and the potential scale and impact of the programme.

This followed from Rotherham being named the most enterprising place in the UK after Rotherham Ready showcased their approach to creating a culture of enterprise in education and inspiring young people about the world of work, business and self employment.

Jackie Frost, "Are You Ready?" project manager, said: "We are an extremely committed team – we have seen the positive impact enterprise and entrepreneurship in education has had, with children from as young as four years old learning new skills, and growing in confidence and aspiration.

"Now we want to inspire schools, colleges and universities nationally to prioritise enterprise, support young people's enterprise development and help create a dynamic economy."

Global Entrepreneurship Week has spread to 115 countries, with nearly 24,000 organisations planning more than 37,000 activities to celebrate enterprise. Rotherham Ready are hosting a number of events and challenges between November 14 to 20.

Are You Ready? website
Global Entrepreneurship Week website

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News: Are You Ready wins Start Up Britain award

Rotherham-based enterprise education project, Are You Ready? has won the StartUp Britain Best Enterprise Support Award sponsored by Ernst & Young.

The award recognises locally-based support projects targeting regional growth and enterprise, but which have the capacity for scaling nationally. It was open to start-ups or individuals that may have had a positive social and economic impact in their region, are sustainable, and have been running for less than three years.

Are You Ready? is a national programme based on the ground-breaking work taking place in Rotherham through Rotherham Ready. It aims to prepare young people for the challenges and opportunities of life in the 21st Century by inspiring teachers to integrate enterprise skills and culture into the life and curriculum of schools and colleges.

Successful businessman and Secret Millionaire, Carl Hopkins, launched the project in June and gave his backing to the pioneering programme by becoming a founding patron.

Representatives from Rotherham were in London last night to receive the award from Business Secretary Vince Cable. He said: "Enterprise is the lifeblood of our economy and the people represented in this competition show just how much British entrepreneurs can achieve.

"In government, we are working to create an environment that helps new businesses flourish and the entrepreneurs nominated for these awards are a shining example of the business success we want this country to be known for around the world."

Judges were impressed by the fact the initiative is "scalable and easy to replicate in other countries." 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.

Jackie Frost, project manager at Are You Ready?, said; "Winning this award is an amazing achievement for our campaign. We've been working hard to effect culture change through enterprise in education and we're going to use this as a platform to take our message even further across the UK."

Stephen Catlin, Chief Executive of international insurer Catlin Group, was named Ernst & Young UK Entrepreneur Of The Year. A finalist for the award was Mark Pearson, chairman of Markco Media, whose myvouchercodes business successfully grew from incubation space at RiDO's Moorgate Crofts business centre.

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News: Secret millionaire in Rotherham

Marketing expert, social entrepreneur and secret millionaire, Carl Hopkins, will be back in Rotherham next week in his capacity as founding patron of the enterprise education programme, Are You Ready?

Are You Ready? aims to prepare young people for the challenges and opportunities of life in the 21st Century by inspiring teachers to integrate enterprise skills and culture into the life and curriculum of schools and colleges.

The programme is based on the internationally acclaimed enterprise education programme, Rotherham Ready. The innovative programme saw Rotherham win a national competition and was named the most enterprising place in Britain.

The training event at Rockingham Professional Development Centre on October 4 will see the Are You Ready? team sharing how to use enterprise as a vehicle to drive school improvement and where our founding patron, Carl Hopkins will be exploring the most effective ways to engage with employers in order to raise aspirations.

Carl was "blown away" by the comprehensive strategy the team had developed to transform school culture and put enterprise at the heart of teaching and learning.

Carl said: "I'm really proud to be associated with this new phase of enterprise in education which the Are You Ready? team are creating. They're not just thinking about one-off opportunities for schools to work with businesses but they have a passion to change the way schools operate - creating an enterprising culture from the inside."

Are You Ready? website

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News: More national recognition for Rotherham enterprise education

Are You Ready? has been named in the finals of the StartUp Britain Best Enterprise Support Award competition sponsored by Ernst & Young.

The national enterprise education programme is based on the ground-breaking work taking place in Rotherham through Rotherham Ready.


Are You Ready? aims to prepare young people for the challenges and opportunities of life in the 21st Century by inspiring teachers to integrate enterprise skills and culture into the life and curriculum of schools and colleges.

Successful businessman and Secret Millionaire, Carl Hopkins, launched the project in June and gave his backing to the pioneering programme by becoming a founding patron.

Several "Ready" projects have been developed throughout the North following the success of the flagship project in Rotherham, which is internationally acclaimed. Hull Ready, Scarborough Ready, Calderdale Ready and North Lincolnshire Ready are all reaping the rewards the programme has had to offer through innovative employer engagement programmes and leading CPD to develop a culture of enterprise in primary schools.

The team will now face a panel of leading employers and entrepreneurs as they aim to win the Best Enterprise Support Award competition, sponsored by Ernst and Young. There are five finalists for the award, which will be presented at the UK final of UK's Entrepreneur of the Year in London's Hilton Park Lane hotel next month.

Becky Mollart, schools liaison officer at Rotherham Council, said: "We're so excited about the prospects the StartUp Britain award can offer. We believe we have a blueprint for success in developing enterprise and we're keen to share our expertise across the UK."

Are You Ready? website

Images: areyouready.org.uk

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News: NESTA could take Rotherham Ready national

Rotherham Council has been shortlisted to take part in the innovative "Creative Councils" programme that could see the award-winning enterprise education programme, Rotherham Ready, replicated across the UK.


Rotherham was one of just 17 councils from across the country selected to work intensively with the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA) and the LG Group over the coming months to challenge and develop their ideas, before five are selected to receive financial and non-financial support to put them into practice.

The Creative Councils programme, which launched in April, will support pioneering councils to develop, implement and spread transformational new approaches to meeting some of the biggest medium and long-term challenges facing communities and local services.

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council submitted an idea to explore how the town's award winning enterprise education programme – Rotherham Ready – could be replicated nationally, creating a culture of enterprise in education.

Rotherham has a unique borough wide strategy for developing a culture of enterprise. Rotherham Ready, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund, promotes enterprise and entrepreneurship throughout education and then Rotherham Youth Enterprise supports young people to start businesses in the town, with 232 youth businesses launched in the last five years.

This approach led to Rotherham being crowned The Most Enterprising Place in Britain last November, beating off stiff competition from across Great Britain in the prestigious Enterprising Britain competition, headed up by Dragon's Den Star, Peter Jones.

Ready programmes have been developed in other parts of Yorkshire and the Humber, supported by the Young People's Enterprise Forum. Hull Ready, North Lincolnshire Ready, Calderdale Ready and Scarborough Ready have all been launched.

Rotherham Ready recently launched a national brand – "Are You Ready?" – supported by Channel 4's Secret Millionaire, Carl Hopkins.

Catherine Brentnall, Rotherham Ready ERDF Project Officer, said: "It's fantastic news that our approach to enterprise is recognised as having potential to transform communities across the UK. Developing a culture of enterprise in education and supporting youth business is crucial for a dynamic economy, long term growth and to enable young people to fulfil their potential. We are excited about working with NESTA and the LG Group to see how our ideas could be taken to scale."

Rotherham Ready website
Are You Ready? website

Images: rotherhamready.org.uk

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News: Are You Ready to be like Rotherham

A national enterprise education programme based on the ground-breaking work taking place in Rotherham was launched at Magna this week.

Are You Ready? aims to prepare young people for the challenges and opportunities of life in the 21st Century by inspiring teachers to integrate enterprise skills and culture into the life and curriculum of schools and colleges.

Successful businessman and Secret Millionaire, Carl Hopkins, was at the launch to give his backing to the pioneering programme and become a founding patron.

The social entrepreneur met the Are You Ready? team during Enterprising Britain competition, which he judged.

Showcasing their original project - internationally acclaimed enterprise education programme Rotherham Ready - the team demonstrated how enterprise had transformed teaching and learning and raised aspirations.

Rotherham Ready was launched in 2005 and was such a success that Hull Ready, Calderdale Ready, Scarborough Ready and North Lincolnshire Ready have followed. Through these projects more than 1,000 teachers have been trained to develop enterprise through the curriculum and bring learning and teaching to life for pupils.

Carl was "blown away" by the comprehensive strategy the team had developed to transform school culture and put enterprise at the heart of teaching and learning.

Rotherham won the competition and was named the most enterprising place in Britain.

Carl said, "I'm really proud to be associated with this new phase of enterprise in education which the Are You Ready? team are creating. They're not just thinking about one-off opportunities for schools to work with businesses but they have a passion to change the way schools operate - creating an enterprising culture from the inside."

Jackie Frost, project manager at Are You Ready? added: "This is a really exciting time for us and for schools and colleges everywhere. Being enterprising is critical in every sphere of life, as well as profession.

"Whether young people want to work in the private, public or voluntary sector, they will need an entrepreneurial mindset and transferable skills. We want to transform the hearts and minds of teachers and learners with an enterprising message that will help prepare young people for their future."

Rotherham Ready website
Are You Ready? website

Images: areyouready.org.uk

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