We're in Business
Year 8 We’re in Business – case study
Introduction
Students in Year 8 were set a project to plan a summer event for their year end summer party. They had several tasks to do throughout the day.
As an introduction students were briefed by an employee from the Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest, who went through the format of the day and the main tasks that they were to do as well as explaining the business terms used in the information given. Students then moved out to their base for the day and were split into their teams. There they completed a personality and skills quiz which was to help them decide on who would take each role in the team for the day.
The Challenge
“You are a catering company which has been asked by a prospective customer to tender for a special dinner. The dinner is for 100 guests and the overall budget is £1800 .
The tasks that they needed to complete during the day were:
- Decide on a name for the company
- Write a letter telling the customer about the company and explain why they should be considered for the tender
- Design a logo and business card
- Create a menu card and sample table decoration using craft materials
- Complete the costing sheet
- Prepare a presentation to sell the company including the menu, the tender price, the reasons why the customer should choose your company.
The winning team from each tutor group was chosen at the end of the day and they moved to another group to be scored again so that the overall winner could be selected.
The day went very well and the majority of students were well engaged with the project.
Critical Success Factors
Below are examples of the feed back given by students and visitors which indicate what students have learnt by doing the project, using the 9 point Work Related Learning Framework against which Solent Skill Quest maps its activities.
- Recognise, develop and apply their skills for enterprise and employability.
Students recognised that they needed to work well as a team in order to complete all the tasks in time, they also understood that the lessons they learnt while doing this activity were different from what they learn in the classroom.
“I learnt new things about business that you can’t learn in a classroom
- Use their experience of work, including work experience and part-time jobs to extend their understanding of work.
This part is not covered by this event as it is aimed at KS4 students who are doing work placements.
- Learn about the way business enterprises operate, working roles and conditions and rights and responsibilities in the work place.
All the groups were of 5 or 6 so once students had completed the personality skills quiz they had to negotiate their roles and decide where to double up, or to create new roles. They also learnt about the value of including all the team members and listening to everyone’s opinions.
“Everyone listened to each other and did something without arguing. In the end we produced some really good work
- Develop awareness of the extent and diversity of local and national employment opportunities.
Although not specifically covered by this activity, because they had to consider paying staff wages and the costs of running a business, students have begun to understand this concept. One of the top ten answers to “What have you learnt today was, “How hard it is to run an enterprise
- Relate their own abilities, attributes and achievements to career intentions and make informed choices based on an understanding of the alternatives.
This part is not covered by this event as it is aimed at KS4 students who are doing work placements and practice interviews.
- Undertake tasks and activities set in work contexts.
As they are in Year 8 this was the first experience that many students had had of working independently and setting their own timetable. Many of them struggled with the time but have learnt valuable lessons about time management. When asked what they would have done differently, one of the top ten answers was “Managed the time/resources better
- Learn from contact with personnel from different employment sectors.
Students were able to interact with the business visitors who were with them and gain some valuable insights about the business world. Including, working to a budget, having to work with new people, and learning new ideas about business.
- Have experiences (direct or indirect) of working practices and environments.
Many students were uncertain to begin with, but they soon discovered that team work and leadership was important, and that competition is part of business, as well as working to deadlines. Some of the top ten answers on things learnt during the day were:
Teamwork, working to a deadline/being organised, delegating tasks/roles
- Engage with ideas, challenges and applications from the business world.
Students have seen from the work that they did during the day that there were challenges to face, some of them of their own making, many of them would have “changed the name and or theme , “prepared or practiced their presentation more , “communicated better
Students noted that some of the best things about the day were,
Being creative
The team
Having freedom/no timetable
Working with new people
Learning new ideas about business
They all recognised that to put together a business plan and present their ideas was very difficult and required a lot of effort.
Business visitor’s feedback supports the student comments:
I think the students learnt valuable lessons about working together
I think the students understand more about how a business idea is put into practice
I thought it was a well thought out activity that the young people enjoyed very much. I was amazed at how well the young people did: their ideas and teamwork were brilliant. I got on really well with the young people in my tutor group. I think that all schools should offer activities like this.
