The Co-operative s Green Schools Revolution Fair Enterprise Run a Co-operative Fairtrade shop in your school for pupils aged 11-14 and 14-16
Teacher Delivering a co-operative Fair Enterprise challenge: A co-operative Fairtrade shop About this challenge In this Fair Enterprise challenge students work together to plan and operate a school shop selling Fairtrade food products, to raise money that can be split between the school and communities in the developing world. Working co-operatively in small teams, students plan a range of stock to sell, which can be any combination of bought-in Fairtrade products and their own snacks made from ingredients that include Fairtrade products like cocoa, bananas, and blueberries. The challenge includes a planning phase that you can deliver through a suspended timetable or across four or five sessions and adapt it to suit the time and resources you have available. Students then operate the shop for a period of time, with individual students or teams rotating each day or week to staff the shop. You can adapt your approach to suit your needs, or to link to Citizenship, English, Business Studies and more. Use this challenge alone or combine it with the first Fair Enterprise challenge, a more detailed look at promoting Fairtrade foods across your school. About Fairtrade When you buy a product made with Fairtrade ingredients, you make a real difference for workers and farmers in the developing world. Choosing Fairtrade means a better price for their crops, fair terms of trade and decent working conditions. Fairtrade products usually don t cost more, and their taste and quality is often the very reason people choose to buy Fairtrade once they ve given it a try. It s an ethical choice that won t leave you any worse off! This challenge gets students to think about the kinds of snack foods they and their peers enjoy and might buy from a Fairtrade shop at school. It s a great way to showcase Fairtrade products and get students thinking about the impact of their buying decisions, as well as developing important enterprise skills along the way. The delivery guides that follow include ideas on how to use the Fair Enterprise case study for pupils aged 11-16, which provides lots more information, ideas and inspiration about Fairtrade and working co-operatively. To find out more about Fairtrade and The Co-operative, you can also visit: Fairtrade Foundation http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/what_is_fairtrade/ The Co-operative and Fairtrade http://www.co-operative.coop/food/ethics/ethical-trading/fairtrade/ How to get started When you buy a product made with Fairtrade ingredients, you make a real difference for workers and farmers in the developing world. Choosing Fairtrade means a better price for their crops, fair terms of trade and decent working conditions. 1. Read this guide, and the student materials 2. Explore the Fair Enterprise case study 3. Choose how you d like to deliver the challenge and how you d like your Fairtrade shop to operate 4. Use the planning and delivery guides and ideas that follow to get your challenge off to a great start.
Choose how you ll approach this challenge Work co-operatively Co-operatives are at the heart of Fairtrade: today, over 75% of Fairtrade goods are produced by co-operatives in the developing world. Working as formal co-operatives can be a great way to help students explore ideas about team working, inclusion and decision-making. They can: Work as a team, drawing on co-operative values to guide how they put their enterprise skills to work. Find ways to co-operate with other teams, for example to combine different media in their campaign, or to focus on different messages, age groups or areas of the school environment. The delivery guides that follow show how you can use the case study and guide to enterprise skills to explore co-operative working with students. Suspended timetable or discrete sessions? Students need to plan how they will operate their shop and make decisions about the bought-in or student-prepared products they will sell. You can deliver this part of the challenge through a whole day suspended timetable, or through a series of discrete lessons or sessions. It s up to you how much time you spend on this, but students will need at least a day to, choose their stock, set prices, prepare a simple plan and create simple promotional materials. They will need further time before they operate their shop, to prepare stock and perhaps also finish any promotional materials. Operating the shop Your school may already have snack vending machines or a break time shop, and a catering contractor may operate these. You may need to liaise with your school leadership team to identify an approach that fits with any contractual obligations the school may have. The key things to consider are when the shop will open, how long you want the shop to operate for, and how you ll ask students to organise staffing. One good way is for students to create a team rota for operating the shop: Teams can open the shop one day a week, or for a full week at a time. They can sell a standard range of stock, or their own choice of product range. Involve others As you plan for delivering the challenge, think about who else you might need to involve. This could include: Form tutors Subject leaders (e.g. D&T / Food Technology, Enterprise, Citizenship, Business Studies etc.) Support staff (e.g. catering supervisor, bursar, caretaking staff etc.) Governors In particular, you may want to involve D&T / Food Technology colleges if you want students to have the option to make their own snacks using Fairtrade ingredients. They could: Suggest some suitable snack recipes based around Fairtrade cocoa, coffee, bananas, and blueberries. Help students test their recipes, arrange safe storage and calculate their ingredient costs.
Choose how you ll approach this challenge continued You may also be able to involve staff from your local Co-operative store or Fairtrade shop. Follow your school s safeguarding policy and guidelines when involving adults from your community. Think about how you could bring co-operative ways of working into your own practice as you work with other staff to deliver the challenge! Obtaining stock or ingredients You could ask your local Co-operative if they are willing to help provide some of the stock. They may be able to help you or you could try another local retailer in your area. Plan ahead and get prepared Use these checklists to make sure you re fully prepared and ready to go! Think about Key enterprise skills and learning outcomes you will emphasise Subject links Shop location(s) Shop opening times Staffing rota Delivery mode for planning phase How students will obtain ready-made stock How students will make their own items Co-operative working Adaptations to suit your students Follow-up ideas How students will gather evidence of how they ve used their enterprise skills (diary, verbal, video/audio etc.) Get prepared Agree a plan with other staff Adapt the right delivery guide Book rooms for the preparation phase and any making Book equipment for operating the shop Order materials (paper, pens, paint, Fairtrade products etc.) Print copies of the student briefing and enterprise skills guide Review the case study and student materials Visit lendwithcare.org and think about how students might use any profits Co-operate with your colleagues! Find out more with the Young Co-operatives Action Kit from the Co-operative College The Co-operative College is an educational charity, founded in 1919, serving the co-operative sector in the UK and globally. Today the College works with all the major co-operative societies in the UK and delivers programmes around the world. The College has produced the Young Co-operatives Action Kit for schools. This free, downloadable PDF provides a far more detailed approach to delivering enterprise education with an ethical dimension and includes lots of activities that can help student teams explore co-operative ways of working as well as more detail on how to plan for and operate a co-operative shop in your school, including decision-making and working with costs, income and profits. Download the Action Kit at: http://www.youngco-operatives.coop/starting-up/action-kit
How to deliver the challenge This challenge involves three stages: 1. Planning and preparing for the shop 2. Operating the shop, including sourcing or making stock beforehand 3. Evaluating their performance at each stage. Below are sample timetables for delivering the planning and preparation stage of this challenge as a whole day activity or across four or five sessions or lessons. Below these timetables you ll find more detailed notes on how to deliver each activity along with ideas for operating the shop, for helping students evaluate how they have used their enterprise skills, differentiation ideas for students aged 11-14 and students aged 14-16 and follow-up ideas. Adapt these timings to suit your school day or timetable and how you want to deliver the challenge. You may have already explored Fairtrade using the case study. If so, students can have more time to plan or you can reduce the number of sessions or time spent at this stage. Deliver as a whole day activity In this suggested approach, students present their ideas at the end of the day, which gives you the option to comment on their work and ensure they will be ready to operate their shop. You may want to split the ideas below into two half days and allow additional time in between, if students need to prepare some test recipes. Alternatively, do this in a separate session. Session 9.00 9.30 9.30 10.00 10.00 10.30 11.00 11.30 11.30 12.00 1.00 2.30 2.30 3.15 Activity and resources 1. Form co-operative teams and discover the task (Student Briefing) 2. Explore enterprise skills and co-operative working (Using my skills to be enterprising and co-operate) 3. Explore Fairtrade (Case Study presentation) 4. Generate stock ideas 5. Consider pricing and profits 6. Operation and team rules 7. Promotional and point of sale materials 8. Present ideas 9. Evaluation
How to deliver the challenge continued Deliver across five sessions or lessons In this suggested approach, you can allow additional production time in between sessions 3-5. Again, students can display their campaigns around school after session 5. Session 1 2 3 4 5 Activity and resources 1. Form co-operative teams and discover the task (Student Briefing) 2. Explore enterprise skills and co-operative working (Using my skills to be enterprising and co-operate) 3. Explore Fairtrade (Case Study presentation) 4. Generate stock ideas 5. Consider pricing and profits 6. Operation and team rules 7. Promotion and point of sale materials 7. Promotion and point of sale materials 8. Present ideas 9. Evaluation How to deliver each activity Use these flexible ideas to deliver each activity in the challenge. Adapt how you deliver each activity, selecting from the ideas to suit your students, your learning or skills development objectives and the time you have available. 1. Form co-operative teams and discover the task Note: there are different forms of co-operative, including worker and consumer co-operatives. In this challenge it s more appropriate for teams to form a worker co-operative, with every student who helps plan and operate the shop becoming a member. For a share of the work, members could obtain a modest discount on products, but you will want to make sure that members don t purchase stock on behalf of their non-member friends or you won t make a profit! Using the Student Briefing to help you here and throughout the challenge, introduce the challenge. Group students into teams of 3 5. You might want teams to give themselves a catchy name, especially if they will operate the shop on a daily or weekly rota. Link to your past exploration of the Fair Enterprise case study if you have already done this. Using questions and discussions, ask teams to share their current understanding of Fairtrade (you ll be able to do this in more detail in session 3) such as: How can you spot a Fairtrade product? Who s had one and where did they get it? How would students describe Fairtrade products? What might make someone choose a Fairtrade product? What might make them choose a non-fairtrade alternative, or the usual?
How to deliver the challenge continued 2. Explore enterprise skills and co-operative working You may want to omit this activity if you have already completed the other Fair Enterprise challenge. With the help of Using my skills to be enterprising and co-operate and the detailed guide for teachers included in these notes: Introduce and explore the concept of being enterprising and using enterprise skills Again, ask teams to discuss these concepts between themselves and share ideas Create a shared concept map or sticky note wall of ideas to describe each enterprise skill (use the context of operating a shop, if this helps students) Introduce and discuss the idea that our values guide and influence how we put our skills to work Using the diagram in the student worksheets, explore each co-operative value, asking teams how their enterprise skills might be linked to each one. As time permits, consider using the ideas to build students confidence. Review the two tables for self-reflection in the student PDF and discuss how you expect students to gather evidence of how they use their skills, and how they can reflect after the challenge. Remember to set this activity in the context of your wider enterprise programme and students next steps in learning or employment. 3. Explore Fairtrade Use the Fair Enterprise case study presentation, the presenter s notes that accompany each slide in the presentation, and the guide for teachers included in this PDF. Omit or shorten this activity if you have already explored the case study. This can be a good activity in which to involve others in the challenge, such as someone from a local Co-operative store or other Fairtrade retailer. Using the notes, suggested questions and key points in the presenter s notes, explore Fairtrade using the Fair Enterprise case study presentation. You can also use this to explore co-operative working in more detail, drawing on the examples in each of the five product case studies in the presentation as well as on the slides that explore co-operative principles and values For this challenge, you can also draw parallels with the shop opened by the Rochdale Pioneers. What specific needs can students aim to meet by operating their shop? If you didn t do this in activity 1, use questions and discussions to ask teams to share their current understanding of Fairtrade such as: How can you spot a Fairtrade product? Who s had one and where did they get it? How would students describe Fairtrade products? What might make someone choose a Fairtrade product? What might make them choose a non-fairtrade alternative, or the usual? Ask teams to create a concept map or other way to record their ideas about the factors that shape peoples decisions to choose Fairtrade products, including: Positive points (e.g. the feelgood factor, taste and quality, producer stories etc.) Misconceptions (e.g. more expensive, not as nice) Perceived barriers (e.g. hard to find, not readily available) Points of interest (e.g. surprising products, producer stories, ideas to include in campaigns)
How to deliver the challenge continued 4. Generate stock ideas Adapt this activity to suit your preferred approach, for example if you will only use bought-in Fairtrade products or if you want to focus on or include healthier alternatives. This can be a good activity in which to involve others in the challenge, such as someone from a local Co-operative store or other Fairtrade retailer. Ask students to discuss, in their teams, which snacks they most like to buy at school and how much these cost. Share ideas as a group and discuss students snack preferences. Explain that student s first need to agree what products they will sell when they operate the shop (for example when it s their team s turn in the rota). Depending on your approach: Give each team samples of Fairtrade products that they can buy in. Ask teams to discuss each item and agree on 5 10 products that will make up their range. Give teams a list of Fairtrade ingredients that would form the base for products they would make themselves, or some sample recipes. Ask teams to think of 5 10 products they could produce for their range. To include both approaches, split teams into two and ask them to do both tasks. Invite teams to briefly share their ideas and explain how they chose their product range, thinking back to your discussion about student preferences. Students should remember to agree and make decisions co-operatively, thinking about values of democracy, equality and equity as they work. 5. Consider pricing and profits This activity provides lots of scope for differentiation. At its simplest, students can ignore costs and agree what they think is the right selling price for each item in their range, looking to provide a good range of prices while maximising their income for investing in their school community or communities in the developing world. You may need to adjust their ideas to ensure a profit. Older and more able students (especially those on Business Studies courses) can consider the cost and selling prices for each item. To do this you will need cost information for bought-in items, and ingredient costs for recipes so that teams can calculate the unit cost of each item they will produce themselves. The differentiation ideas that follow below include more ideas and the Co-operative College Action Kit (see web link above) includes simple templates for forecasting income and profits. Remind students that the point of their Fairtrade shop is to raise awareness of Fairtrade products and the benefits of Fairtrade, but also to make a profit which can be reinvested to benefit both their school community and communities in the developing world. Discuss the basics of costs and profits and make sure each team is clear that their objective is to sell each item for more than it costs them to buy or make it. Ask teams how they could maximise the money they make (e.g. charging high prices). What might the result of this be? What about if they kept their selling prices as low as possible (e.g. only adding on a penny per item)? What might the result of this be? Discuss the idea of finding the right prices ones that balance good value and good profits You may want to discuss the pricing of snacks already available in school. Do students think these are good value? You may also want to include a discussion about other costs of operating the shop, such as for promotional and point of sale materials, of for other items they need to provide such as napkins.
How to deliver the challenge continued Working in their teams, students agree a selling price for each item. If you have given each team a set budget for stock or ingredients, students should be able to work out how many items they can buy in more make. Using this information, they can also forecast their profits. If time permits, teams can adjust how much they buy or make of each item and their selling prices, to see how they might maximise their profits. Students should remember to agree and make decisions co-operatively, thinking about values of democracy, equality and equity as they work. 6. Operation and team rules Students will operate the shop in their teams and each team should prepare a plan for how they will work. Again, this activity provides lots of scope for differentiation. At its simplest, students should use this session to identify key roles and tasks and some simple rules that will help them work well together. Older and more able students (especially students on Business Studies courses) can create something approaching a proper business plan, which they could complete for homework or in another session. Explain that students will operate their shop in their teams (or according to your own planning) Ask each team to think about the main steps and tasks that might be necessary when operating the shop, thinking from before they open, when serving customers, and when closing up. Share ideas as a group and identify some key tasks. You may want to include a discussion of food safety and risk management, including: Give each team samples of Fairtrade products that they can buy in. Ask teams to discuss each item and agree on 5 10 products that will make up their range. Give teams a list of Fairtrade ingredients that would form the base for products they would make themselves, or some sample recipes. Ask teams to think of 5 10 products they could produce for their range. To include both approaches, split teams into two and ask them to do both tasks. You might also want to discuss how students will manage money and give change, including: Starting with a float of change (e.g. 10 in coins) Making change and asking customers to check Keeping money safe Cashing up to leave the next float Transferring, storing and recording their income Ask teams to organise their tasks into three categories of preparation, serving and after hours. You may also want to explore how students can take on particular roles in their team, such as serving, taking money and giving change, and any back room tasks required. Ask teams to identify some key roles and then allocate tasks to each role. Teams can nominate a leader for each shift, but should think about how they can put the co-operative values to work. To help them, give each team time to think of some key rules, drawing on the co-operative values, that they will follow, e.g. everyone must do their bit, we all have an equal say and so on. Teams draw up a list of 3 5 key rules and could share with the group.
How to deliver the challenge continued 7. Promotion and point of sale materials You will no doubt have your own ideas for promoting the Fairtrade shop. Each team should plan and create some simple promotional materials that they will use to promote their own operation of the shop, such as their slots in the rota, as well as point of sale materials they will use in the shop, such as product information and price lists. You could also ask teams to come up with materials that explain and promote the importance of Fairtrade, for example using information from the case study. You will need suitable materials for this activity. ICT resources will allow students to print multiple copies of materials. Discuss the difference between promotional and advertising materials, which raise awareness and encourage customers to visit, and point of sale materials that get them to purchase. Ask students what they might need to produce in each case to promote the shop when they are running it, and entice customers to buy their choice of products. Students work in their teams to create promotional and point of sale materials, drawing on their ideas from previous activities. Help teams balance the need to agree on an approach and the information they want to include, with their creative work to make their materials eye-catching and exciting. Towards the end of the time you spend on this activity, teams should think about how they will present their ideas. Link this to your plans for activity 8, below. Emphasise this element if you want to include an element of completion in the challenge, or if you want to provide additional opportunities for students to practice their communication skills. Teams can finish their materials in a later session or working independently. 8. Present ideas Again, this is a good activity in which to involve other adults, who can help to provide feedback on or even judge students ideas and planning. Explain what you want students to do and introduce any visitors, explaining what their role will be. In their teams, students briefly present their ideas, which could include any of their stock range and pricing, promotional materials, plans for operating the shop and for older and more able students, any income and profit projections they have made. Teams should also explain the reasoning behind their ideas, including what they understand about their customers and what they prefer and might spend. Provide constructive feedback for each team. For example, adults and other students could come up with three positive things about each team s ideas. You could optionally judge teams more formally, for example awarding up to five points for each aspect you ask them to present. Select a shortlist and choose a winning team. Congratulate all teams for their efforts. Link back to the point of the challenge: to encourage people to choose Fairtrade products. How has students thinking about Fairtrade been changed? Have they chosen Fairtrade products, or will they in the future? Try to follow up on this and see if taking part in the challenge changes students or their families buying behaviour.
How to deliver the challenge continued 9. Evaluation The planning stage offers an early opportunity for students to reflect and set goals for using their enterprise skills and working co-operatively. Link these goals to the operation stage of the shop, and to any food preparation tasks the teams will also complete. Students self-evaluation will work best if done immediately after taking part, but you may want to do this in a session the next day and use all the time for presentations and discussion. Students may need time to process their thoughts and draw on any records they have kept. Using the tables in the student materials, students should reflect on how they used each enterprise skill and how, as a team, they worked co-operatively. Again, help students provide constructive feedback about each other, such as three good things about each team member s input and share of the work, as well as constructive ideas on one or more goals for improvement. Link reflection tasks to your wider enterprise programme (for example students next project) and to their next steps in education or employment. Operating the shop There are lots of ways to operate one or more Fairtrade shops in your school. Ideas include: Locate a shop in each year group or key stage s shared space Student teams take turns to operate the shop for a day or week Link the shop to events such as fairs or parent evenings Use these hints and tips to help students make their shop a success! Follow the top tips for students The student briefing for this challenge includes ten top tips for teams. Discuss these, and your own ideas, with each team before they take over the operation of the shop. Be safe Remember to follow any school policies and guidelines on food preparation and handling, including risk assessments and briefings for students. Your D&T or Food Technology colleagues could help you, as could the school s catering supervisor. Staff, parents and governors (and perhaps students) who help with food at school fairs may also have experience you can draw on. The Young Co-operatives Action Kit (see web link above) includes a sample risk assessment form, but you may want to use a pro-forma from your school. Manage promotion You may want to combine central promotion for the shop with each team s own efforts and ideas. This could include a general announcement and one or more foyer displays to which each team can add their own materials. Make sure each team has their materials ready the week before they are due to operate the shop. Allow them time to put up their promotional materials. Teams might want an assembly or newsletter slot the week before, or on the first day of their turn. Check each team s prices with them to ensure they will make a small profit on each item. Make sure teams take down their materials at the end of their turn.
How to deliver the challenge continued Monitor members purchases Co-operatives provide benefits for their members and you may want to allow members of each team to purchase from the shop at a small discount, in return for their work. The discounted price should still be above cost price. Members should buy only for themselves and not for any non-member friends. You may want to limit each student to one discounted purchase per day, or per shift worked at the shop. Planning and monitoring this process is a great way for students to work co-operatively together to make decisions and bring the co-operative values to life. Have procedures for stock, money, opening and handovers Student teams will need to handle stock and money when operating the shop. They may share shared stock or be in control of their own products. Teams should start with a standard float of change, such as 10 in coins. When cashing up at the end of each opening period, ask them to leave the same float in the till or cash box. Teams should record purchases if possible this helps track which items are most popular and can link back to stock records as well as their takings each session. Have a procedure in place for handing over the cash box, takings, float and records at the end of each opening time. Teams should sign for any shared stock they will sell each session (e.g. items taken from bought-in stock) and should account for any products they have made themselves. A good way to encourage honesty is to publicise each team s takings. This motivates teams to maximise their takings meaning they are more likely to record all purchases and not remove stock. Why not show this on a leaderboard of takings and profit, showing how much is being raised for the school community or communities in the developing world? Check progress Teams may need to make shared decisions about operating the shop and you may want to meet from time to time to check progress. Ask each team to provide a delegate to these meetings this is how real co-operatives work, including those in the case study. Delegates must represent their team s views in meetings, vote on their behalf and share decisions and news with their team. Some delegates might want to create and share a newsletter for all teams.
Final evaluation Once the shop s period of operation is over, student teams can again reflect on how they have worked as individuals and co-operatively as a team. Use the ideas in activity 9, above, as well as the more detailed guide in these teachers notes. Celebrate your success Remember to celebrate students achievements! You could do this through: A foyer display A press release An assembly Tutor group notices Through your school website or newsletter Help your school and someone in a developing country One way that co-operatives differ from shareholder-owned businesses is that they exist to help their members. Your students co-operative Fairtrade shop should be no different but it could also help someone in a developing country, as well. Help your school Use half the profits to improve your school. It s best if you can spend the money on something that costs roughly the same as what students have raised. That way they can easily link their efforts to a tangible result, rather than have their efforts pooled with a larger sum especially if that means waiting to complete fundraising for a large project. You may already have a list of student ideas. Once you ve calculated your profits, identify some suitable ideas. Change a life, make a loan Now you can lend with The Co-operative Green Shools Revolution! Visit www.lendwithcare.org to set up a profile for your school and then join The Co-operative Green Schools Revolution lending group at www.lendwithcare.org/greenschoolsrevolution. Together Green Schools Revolution schools could help hundreds of entrepreneurs to turn their business plans into life changing opportunities. Why lendwithcare.org? Rather than receiving a one-off donation, the entrepreneur receives a loan The entrepreneur repays the loan over a period of time, using the income from their growing business Once repaid, the lender can choose to recycle the loan to support another entrepreneur or withdraw the money. The majority of the entrepreneurs receiving loans are women and studies have shown that supporting women can have the greatest impact, as they spend a greater percentage of their income on the welfare of their households than men. Find out more about how lendwithcare.org works at http://www.lendwithcare.org/info/how_it_works
Final evaluation continued Decide co-operatively! Remember that in a co-operative, each member gets an equal say in how any profits are invested. This means every student who helps with the shop should have a say in how the money is spent at school, and on how it s used to help someone in a developing country. You may want to work with a smaller group of students to identify two shortlists of projects (say 3 5 ideas) on which all can then vote. For example, ask each team to provide one delegate to represent them. If you re working with your parent teacher association or other school supporting body, remember to involve them in decisions about the school as they may already have a list of priorities, and if your school already has links with a school in a developing country you may also have existing fundraising goals for this.
Support students in aged 11-14 and aged 14-16 These student and teacher materials are intended to be a starting point from which you can create Fair Enterprise activities that are just right for your students. Use these ideas to further support students of different ages. Pupils aged 11-14 Support students as they explore and develop their abilities to work co-operatively. Choose 2 3 key co-operative values for them to focus on before and during the activity. Use a limited set of enterprise skills, differentiate these between ability levels and link them to students past enterprise experience and your school s expectations for this age group. Circulate between groups and help them make co-operative decisions, for example identifying choices on which to vote. Provide a list of stock or ingredient choices and their costs, to create limits on what students can offer. Provide suggested mark-up options (e.g. 10p, 30% etc) based on your stock costs and what you think students will be happy to pay. Link choices on what teams can make to your Food Technology curriculum. Provide sample recipes that you know will be possible in the time and facilities you have available (e.g. cupcakes, tray bakes). Provide a rota and list of tasks for operating the shop, and provide on-going supervision as appropriate for students / teams. Create your own programme of update / progress meetings during operation. Pupils aged 14-16 Explore all the co-operative values Use the complete set of enterprise skills. Emphasise the importance of being able to demonstrate and articulate these for potential employers (especially on application forms) and helps students use their activity as a way to gather and record this evidence. Encourage teams to work independently and create a plan / structure for their planning work (stock, costs, promotion etc.). Link teams creative and media choices to the subject ideas in the teacher guide (e.g. Business Studies students can create a written business plan with objectives, roles and tasks, projected turnover and profit etc.) Teams should make their own co-operative decisions and be able to report back to you on how they did this. Challenge teams to provide greater detail and justification in their presentations. Keep students options for making products more open and link where possible to students coursework or practice for Food Technology and similar courses. Explore different approaches to marking up stock (%, set amount) and give students more freedom to set these themselves and see what happens. Ask each team for a delegate who will work together to plan a rota and list of tasks, run progress meetings and report back to you. Provide on-going supervision as appropriate for students / teams. Follow-up ideas to take it further Work with students (e.g. through your student council or similar) to make Fairtrade products permanently available to buy and used in your staff room. Get Involved: http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved/default.aspx Fairtrade Schools: http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/schools/default.aspx Make the shop a regular feature of your school calendar, permanently or at certain times of year (e.g. Fairtrade Fortnight in March each year). Have an award for the best teams and best selling student-made products.
Pupil Co-operative Fair Enterprise Student Briefing: Run a co-operative Fairtrade shop in your school When you buy a product made with Fairtrade ingredients, you make a real difference for workers and farmers in the developing world. Choosing Fairtrade means a better price for their crops, fair terms of trade and decent working conditions. Fairtrade starts with us, when we choose Fairtrade products. And that s your challenge: Run a co-operative Fairtrade shop so your friends can choose Fairtrade every day. What you need to do 1. Form a co-operative 2. Find out about Fairtrade, and why it s so important. 3. Think up some great Fairtrade snack and product ideas. 4. Plan how you ll promote and run your shop to make a profit. 5. Set up a business, and use your profits to help your school and someone in the developing world. Work co-operatively Co-operating is not just about being a good team it s a whole way of doing business. A co-operative is a business that s owned and controlled by its members. It may make a profit, but profit for profit s sake isn t its main purpose, which is to help meet its members needs. In this enterprise project, your needs are to develop your enterprise skills, and to raise money which can be reinvested to benefit both your school community and communities in the developing world. Co-operatives share a set of values that guide how they operate. These values should guide how you work together and use your enterprise skills. The Using my skills guide will help you use these co-operative values. Find out about Fairtrade Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. It works in two ways: The Fairtrade price guarantees farmers a decent income for their crops one that can sustain their livelihoods, even when the market price is low. + The Fairtrade premium is an extra sum of money. Farmers decide together how best to spend the premium on social, environmental or economic projects that are most needed in their community. Fairtrade is an ethical choice that won t leave you any worse off! Fairtrade products usually don t cost more for a product of similar quality, and their taste and quality is often the very reason people choose to buy Fairtrade once they ve given it a try. Find out more: Fairtrade Foundation http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/what_is_fairtrade/ The Co-operative and Fairtrade: http://www.co-operative.coop/food/ethics/ethical-trading/fairtrade/
What will we sell? Make your shop a success! What will your friends want to buy? You may want to make snacks using Fairtrade ingredients, or buy some ready-made Fairtrade products to sell at a profit. Why not co-operate with another team and do a bit of both? Make your own Start by thinking about the Fairtrade ingredients you could use, such as: Chocolate or cocoa Sugar Fruits, like bananas, blueberries and more You can combine them with non-fairtrade ingredients like flour and eggs to make your snacks. Get inspired! http://www.co-operative.coop/food/ethics/ethical trading/fairtrade/our-fairtrade-products/ Buy them in Think about what snacks and treats your friends like to eat then see if there s a Fairtrade product that fits the bill! Cereal and fruit bars Fresh and dried fruit Muffins Shortbread Get inspired! http://www.co-operative.coop/food/ethics/ethical trading/fairtrade/our-fairtrade-products/ Agree a list of possible recipes and products. Remember in a co-operative, each person has an equal say. Find your favourite recipes, ask family and friends, or use the internet or books. List the products you need to buy as stock. Test your ideas on some potential customers and make sure your ideas will sell. How much should we charge? How much will people want to spend in your shop? If you re too expensive, your stock isn t going to sell. On the other hand, you need to make a profit to reinvest into your school community and communities in the developing world. The right way is to offer great value for money or offer something unique and appealing. Ask around and find out what people might spend Work out your price range, from cheap treats to something more indulgent If you re making snacks using Fairtrade ingredients: Add up the total for each product, and then the cost per item See how you can vary the size of each item (e.g. make 10 cakes, not 8) to fit your price range If you re buying products to sell: See what you can buy in bulk and then sell at the right price.
The right place the right time When and where will we sell our snacks? You can t eat in lessons. So breaks and lunchtime are the obvious choices for grabbing the attention of your hungry mates. But how about thinking beyond what s obvious? Could you Open before or after school? Operate a mobile shop and move around the school each day or week? Sell to the staff room? Run a stall at school events e.g. Christmas fairs Think about how you can work with other teams. Grow your retail empire by co-operating. You might also need to think about: How people will get to your shop Where you ll store products and equipment when closed Safety and security Diet and health matters our recipes are designed to be a treat as part of a healthy diet How will we promote our shop? What s the best way to grab peoples attention in school? How about trying: Posters and leaflets Plaster your halls and classrooms with eye-catching designs and smart straplines. Assemblies See if you can get a slot in a school or year group assembly. Give them the facts. Make them laugh! Word of mouth and social media Get people talking about your shop make a buzz! Sandwich boards The end of the world might not be nigh, but if you re hungry Adverts If your school uses flat screen displays, why not produce a video or audio ad? PR Encourage your local newspaper/ radio to feature a story about your shop. What else can you think of? Again, co-operate with other teams and make sure no-one s left in the dark about your shop.
Running your shop ten top tips 1. Work co-operatively Help each other, act responsibly, be honest and open, play your part and give everyone an equal say. Use the Guide to help you. 2. Have some rules Agree how you ll work together and make decisions. How will you make sure everyone has an equal say? How will you vote on decisions? 3. Have a plan and a budget Write down what you re going to do and how you ll work as a team: who will do what and when? Have a budget for buying stock or ingredients and for promotional materials and stick to it. 4. Be safe Take responsibility for your safety and that of your friends. Follow your teacher s instructions about food safety and using equipment. Look after your money and ensure it is locked away in a safe place. 5. Test your ideas Run your ideas past some friends before you get going. Try out your recipes and product ideas. This will all help you sell the right stuff at the right price. 6. Put customers first Be friendly and helpful! Give everyone a good experience when they use your shop. 7. Manage your money Have a float of about 10 in change. Take care when you count peoples change and ask them to check it before they go. Cash up carefully at the end of each session, keeping the next float ready for the next opening. Keep a record of your sales and profits. 8. Use your enterprise skills Use the Guide to remind you of the skills you should be using. Choose some to focus on whenever you re involved. Think about which ones you could use more and how you can improve. 9. Learn as you go Don t wait until the end to reflect on how you did. Use progress or staff meetings to think about how you re using your skills and working co-operatively. Be constructive: give each other helpful feedback that can help you all improve. 10. Have fun! Co-operatives are about working together and doing something good. Remember to have fun even when you re working hard.
Running your shop ten top tips continued Reinvest in your school community and in communities in the developing world A co-operative is a business that is owned and controlled by its members - the people who use its goods and services. As well as developing your enterprise skills, you hope to make a profit! If you re successful and you do make a profit, decide together what you ll do with it. You could: Invest some to expand or improve your shop. Invest some in your school or local community. Invest some in communities in the developing world. Lend with The Co-operative Green Schools Revolution! For over a year now, The Co-operative has partnered with CARE International UK to support lendwithcare.org the innovative scheme which allows people in the UK to lend small sums of money directly to entrepreneurs in developing countries. In fact, over 1 million has now been lent to entrepreneurs in Togo, Benin, Philippines, Cambodia, Bosnia and Ecuador. The entrepreneur receives 100% of your loan, and then pays it back to you, using income from their growing business. Now you can lend with The Co-operative Green Schools Revolution! Visit www.lendwithcare.org to set up a profile for your school and then join The Co-operative Green Schools Revolution lending group at www.lendwithcare.org/ greenschoolsrevolution. Together, Green Schools Revolution schools could help hundreds of entrepreneurs to turn their business plans into lift changing opportunities. Remember that in your co-operative, every member gets an equal say in how you use any profits!