Barnes Farm Primary School, in Chelmsford, has been selected as the school to take part in the first Social Enterprise Schools: Dragons’ Den competition to take place in Essex, where its pupils will pitch social enterprise ideas to a panel of judges.
The initiative, held in collaboration with Social Academy Partnership and Aegon, is dedicated to empowering young people to drive social change, develop essential life and work skills alongside entrepreneurial thinking through the creation of pupil-led social enterprises. 30 pupils from Years 4, 5 and 6 were split into groups and chose five issues affecting their local community to tailor their social enterprises to: children’s mental health, cost of living, environment and recycling, vandalism and graffiti, and social media addiction among young people.
Chris White, Deputy Headteacher at Barnes Farm Primary School, who organised the opportunity, said: “We are ecstatic to have been chosen for this opportunity and give our pupils the experience of tackling social, economic and environmental problems within their community. I’ve been blown away by all the brilliant and mature discussions that have taken place during their mentor sessions and workshops, and we look forward to seeing their pitches to the Dragons!”
Over the next three months, pupils will continue to work in groups with mentors to research localised challenges, their causes, and generate potential solutions. Through the experience, the pupils will learn key business skills, including basic finance concepts, and transferable life-long skills, such as public speaking.
In April, the competing groups from Barnes Farm Primary School will pitch their proposals to a panel of judges, who will guide them on their social aim and trading ideas, with one winning group being granted seed funding towards their social enterprise.
Erin, a pupil at Barnes Farm Primary School, said: “I’ve had lots of fun learning what social enterprises are, and working with my friends to figure out what causes local problems and how to overcome them. I look forward to speaking to the Dragons and telling them how we can make the community even better!”
Later in the year, the winning group will be entered into the Social Enterprise Schools Award and will have a chance to attend and speak at the awards in London – an event previously attended by young changemakers from locations such as Scotland, Egypt and Malaysia.
