The Big Deal Enterprise Competition 2013 Briefing for school/college staff

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2 The Big Deal Enterprise Competition 2013 Briefing for school/college staff The Big Deal is an enterprising competition for students, the competition has been running since The Big Deal was shortlisted for the Times Higher Education Widening Participation Initiative of the Year The Big Deal is a 10-week programme that develops students innovation, creativity and risk-management skills, and promotes a positive attitude and the drive to make ideas happen. School/ college business teams and staff attend a detailed briefing at the Launch Day on Friday 22 March 2013 at the University of York, where teams will also get the opportunity to meet their professional mentors. High-achieving business professionals act as mentors to school business teams who are required to develop a business plan over the 10 weeks. Teams are set short online tasks around key business areas to help develop their plans. Teams communicate online with mentors via a website designed specifically for this purpose. The website features all the security measures you would expect. The online activity is much more than e-mentoring: the website includes a huge bank of resources and case studies to explore, discussion forums and the facility to communicate with business mentors as a team. The website is constantly moderated and mentors are CRB checked. Child protection and online safety are the priority. At the conclusion of the 10-week mentoring period, the business plans that teams have developed are presented at the Dragons Den final event in June at the University of York. The winning team will walk away with a fantastic once-in-a-lifetime business trip to New York City. The Excellence Hub for Yorkshire and Humber is delivering The Big Deal collaboratively with Brightside, an educational charity highly experienced in providing facilities for students to safely engage with mentors online

3 Why should our school/college and our students be involved? Enterprise education is a key component of learning and statutory at KS4. Enterprise education can help raise aspirations and develop valuable skills for both higher education and employment. Enterprise opportunities can challenge the most able students, enhance a range of curriculum subjects and drive up standards as part of the school improvement agenda. Ofsted reports that students are motivated by enterprise learning. They enjoy being given the autonomy to tackle relevant problems, take responsibility for their own actions, engage in real issues and evaluate the outcomes of their decisions. Students from more disadvantaged backgrounds are unlikely to have access to the social networks and information that more advantaged students may take for granted. This competition will afford these students an opportunity to explore an area of work that is often mystified and can seem daunting. Students will have access to a huge range of information and a unique opportunity to develop new skills and, most importantly, they will navigate this with the support and guidance of a friendly, experienced business professional. The programme is an easy way for your students to be engaged with high-achieving professionals, and to work on a programme that is exciting and purposeful. The students can access the website whenever / wherever they like and there is a focus on individual work as well as team working. Who can take part? It is essential that students entering meet the following criteria: In your gifted and talented/high achieving cohort In Years 9 or 10 (teams should not be mixed year group) In teams of 3 to 4 (it is not possible to accept applications from larger teams) The majority (i.e. three out of a team of four, or two out of a team of three) of participants should be from a more disadvantaged background and must meet one of the following criteria: come from a family with no prior history of higher education be eligible for Free School Meals reside in a postcode identified as disadvantaged have a disability live in, or have experience of living in, local authority care from an ethnic minority background Schools can enter up to three teams and spaces will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

4 What are the events that students and teachers attend? There are two local events which students and teachers must attend. Launch Day: Friday 22nd March 2013 at the University of York This introduction to the competition will include workshops for teams on some of the skills they will have to demonstrate in the final presentation, such as financial awareness, marketing, risk management and creativity. It is also an opportunity for teachers from the students schools to meet, share ideas and feedback questions or queries. There will also be guidance on how you might like to support your students and an opportunity to hear the ideas of others. This will be a great opportunity to meet with the mentors and to launch into an exciting few weeks! Dragons Den Final: Wednesday 12th June 2013 at the University of York The Dragons Den final is where students pitch their business ideas to a panel of business experts and compete to win a business trip of a lifetime to New York. Students can hear each other s business plans and celebrate their achievements. There will also be guidance on pursuing business careers and interesting and useful ways that students and teachers can further enhance the skills and ideas that students have developed during the competition. What are the benefits to students? Students participation in the competition will help support: Enterprise Knowledge and Understanding Enterprise capability e.g. organisation, innovation, risk, team work, managing change and personal effectiveness. Financial capability e.g. money, credit, investment, costing projects, personal finance and insurance. Economic and business understanding e.g. market, competition, price, efficiency, economic growth, organisation of business, world of work. Enterprise Skills Enterprise capability e.g. decision-making, thinking and learning skills, design and make skills, leadership, managing risk, selling, team working and key skills. Financial capability e.g. budgeting, financial planning, personal risk management. Economic and business understanding e.g. decision making, judgements, investigating hypotheses. Enterprise Attributes Enterprise capability e.g. self-reliance, 'can do' approach, responsibility, ambition, open-mindedness, respect for evidence, pragmatism, commitment. Financial capability e.g. taking responsibility for the impact of financial decisions. Economic and business understanding e.g. taking an interest in economics, resources, role of business and its responsibilities.

5 What are staff expected to do? We do request that a member of staff (this could be a learning mentor, TA, etc.) attends both the Launch Day and the Dragons Den final with students. Beyond this, during the ten-week period we would like teachers in schools/colleges to support students through the process by motivating them and providing them with online computer access. We would also like you to let us know if we need to provide further support such as local workshops, a visit from mentors, etc. We understand that teachers are extremely busy and have accounted for this in the design of the programme: the website and the mentors are there to provide most assistance to students. In the task booklet there will be short, practical suggestions for staff input, e.g. providing PowerPoint and laptop, providing craft resources / IT facilities. While staff are required to keep students motivated and involved, we have not designed the programme to be dependent on a lot of teacher time. What if students are busy during the ten week period? We are aware that students will have some other commitments during the ten-week period. Depending on the Local Authority, this may include things like half term, exams, work experience or extended school trips. This is fine. The programme is designed to be flexible and accommodate this. What are the tasks the students are set? Teams are set a series of short business tasks that will help inform their business plans. Tasks are linked to resources, information and case studies on the website. In addition to the bank of information, the business mentor is, of course, on hand to answer questions, offer support and provide encouragement. What is the mentoring? Business Teams have access to a business mentor, who is a high-achieving professional. The mentors come from a variety of businesses and are trained to work with young people and to provide them with focused guidance on things like finance and planning, but are also there to offer more general career and study advice, and to motivate and encourage the teams. Each team is allocated one mentor and students can use the website to discuss things with their mentor as a team. The tasks will provide the drive for focused, purposeful discussion. However, there will also be plenty of time for informal discussions around careers, prospects, advice on higher education and general conversations.

6 Is there a theme to the competition? The DFE have placed an emphasis on promoting and facilitating enterprise in the school curriculum and the business world, while recognising that to build a true knowledge economy Britain needs to ensure that it continues to produce scientific innovators. It is with this in mind that we would particularly welcome business projects utilising STEM. Who will judge the winning team? A panel of (friendly) experienced, high-achieving business people ( Dragons ) will make up the judging panel. The criteria for judging will be clearly outlined at the opening launch day What is the prize and when will it happen? The prize for the winning team is a business trip to New York. This will be arranged in liaison with the winning school and we would expect one teacher (of the same sex as the majority of the team) to attend with an experienced member of staff from the University of York. It is critical that you ensure you have read the guidelines below, regarding the prize, before you enter teams for the competition: The trip is fully funded for all of the students and one teacher including insurance, trips and transfers. The date for the trip will be negotiated with the winning team s school. However, a date must be agreed within two weeks of the Dragons Den final event so that flights can be booked and it is likely that a date in October/November will be most convenient. To ensure that we can arrange business meetings in New York, the trip usually departs on a Thursday morning and returns on a Monday Morning. Students must have the permission of their parents/carers to attend. Please ensure that the parents/carers of participating team members are content for their children to attend the trip, should they win, before you register them to take part. Students must hold a valid passport, which Port Authorities in the USA deem to be satisfactory for entry. Students who require a visa levied by the USA Port Authorities at the time of the trip must ensure they secure the necessary permissions to enter the country. Students signing up to a code of conduct which will be drafted by the University of York, and agreed with the students school/college and parents/carers. If you have any questions regarding the Big Deal and the application process please get in touch. Lorna Bowling lorna.bowling@york.ac.uk