Social Enterprise in School Award

Download our Social Enterprise Schools Guidelines (PDF)

The Social Enterprise in School Award was created in partnership with Determined to Succeed, as part of the Scottish Government’s strategy for enterprise in education, to help promote awareness of social enterprise as a way of doing better business in Scotland.

What are the aims?

1. To develop an understanding amongst young people of the social enterprise business model.
2. To give young people opportunities to get involved hands-on in a social enterprise.
3. To support the Curriculum for Excellence by providing a practical base from which to deliver opportunities to encourage participants to become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens, and effective contributors.

What is a social enterprise?

Social enterprises are dynamic businesses with a social purpose that reinvest their profits for community benefits. It is a great way of doing business which contributes to a stronger economy and a stronger community and, it will often promote greener ways of working too. Well known examples of social enterprises include The Big Issue, Jamie Oliver’s restaurant, Fifteen, and the fair trade company Divine Chocolate.

The sector includes co-operatives, credit unions, housing associations, development trusts, social firms, and community businesses.

Social enterprises operate across a diverse range of areas including: fair trade, recycling, catering and hospitality, renewable energy, health, social care, leisure, community transport, housing, and childcare.

Establishing a social enterprise within your school will engage young people in the practical and creative skills required to run a viable enterprise and, at the same time, enrich their sense of social justice.

Why get involved?

The Social Enterprise Schools Initiative:-

• Supports the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence and fits with other cross-curricular themes such as citizenship and sustainable development while contributing to a young person’s personal development.
• Provides a practical base from which to enhance young people’s core and critical skills.
• Links with existing schemes such as eco-schools and health-promoting schools.
• Supports financial education and promotes new career directions to pupils with a diverse mixture of abilities and interests.
• Promotes the aims of the four strands of Enterprise in Education.

What does social enterprise look like in a school?

Entrepreneurial: the enterprise will be directly involved in producing goods or providing services to a market.

Connected to the community: social enterprises have explicit social and/or environmental aims and profits are used for this purpose. This can be either locally or linked to a community abroad.

Pupil-led: the enterprise will be driven and run by the pupils with support from teachers and parents.

Dynamic: social enterprises aspire to make a positive and responsive change to people’s lives.

How is the Social Enterprise in Schools initiative run?

Each school that participates in the initiative, fulfilling the criteria receives recognition in the form of a framed Social Enterprise in Schools Certificate. These certificates are presented at an annual awards ceremony, featuring top speakers from the social enterprise sector.

How does my school participate?

To participate in the Social Enterprise in Schools initiative, you will set up and run a sustainable social enterprise in your school.

This will involve collaboration between pupils and teachers with links into your local community or a community abroad. We've found that it helps to find the best fit with your current initiatives, themes, and projects.

You will need to work on developing:-

• A high level of awareness within the school of your social enterprise.
• A strong customer base amongst pupils, teachers, and parents or local people (where appropriate) for your social enterprise products or services.
• Clear benefits for a specific community or group of people connected to your social enterprise products or services.

What support can you expect?

The Social Enterprise Academy (The Academy) will act as the registration body and will issue information on the initiative. Throughout the process of setting up and running your social enterprise we will offer support and we can put your school in touch with other schools that are running successful social enterprises. We can also help your school to make links with local social enterprises and may be able to offer some mentoring at a local level.

The Academy can also help generate ideas and have a bank of profiles of previous award winners.

How do I register my school?

Contact the Social Enterprise Academy on 0131 243 2677 or email schools@theacademy-ssea.org to register.