Main Menu
Working with Schools & Young People
Inspiring a new generation to support and engage with co-operative values and principles is a key part of the College's work.
Trust Schools
Trust Schools are a key part of the Government's education reform strategy for England and the College has worked with the Co-operative Group and schools to develop a distinct co-operative trust model that enables schools to embed co-operative values into the long term ethos of the school.
Reddish Vale Technology College in Stockport became the first school in the UK to adopt the new Co-operative Trust model, enabling parents, staff and learners to become members in the multi-stakeholder co-operative. The College is on track to meeting the target of converting 200 schools to Co-operative Trust schools by September 2010.
The rapidly growing network of co-operative trust schools across the country has been boosted by the creation of the new Co-operatives Schools Network, which was officially launched by The Co-operative College and the Co-operative Group on 5 November 2009. The Network, which will be run as a co-operative, will act as a support network, enabling both existing and prospective Co-operative Trust Schools the chance to share ideas and best practice and develop services for member schools.
For further information on Trust schools, case studies etc, please look at the special section on
Co-operative Trusts on the school.coop website
Young Co-operatives
The Young Co-operatives programme enables young people to set up and run their own co-operative enterprise 'putting ethics into practice'.
Initial programmes focused on setting up a retail operation promoting Fair Trade products, enabling young people to learn about Fair Trade as well as developing enterprise skills. The programme has now been expanded to include the Greenfingers horticultural and Recon waste management schemes, with students participating in projects from school growing schemes to recycling co-operatives.
For more information and a free, downloadable Action Kit to help your Young Co-operative get started, please visit the Young Co-operatives webpage.
Pupils working on a school allotment
Accredited Programmes in Co-operative Education
The Co-operative College has developed a series of accredited programmes in Co-operative education in partnership with the awarding body ASDAN (Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network).
The programme offers a progression in Co-operative education: primary school children learning about Fair Trade can attain the Stepping Stones certificate and Key Stage 3 students can work towards the Enterprise Award for Young Co-operatives, whilst the Certificate of Personal Effectiveness through Co-operative Studies is a GCSE equivalent qualification at levels 1, 2 and 3 suitable for Key Stage 4 students.
The programme and supporting curriculum materials develop students’ awareness and understanding of co-operative values as well as ethical business and aspects such as Fair Trade, and can be incorporated into the curriculum in areas such as Citizenship.
For more information about ASDAN visit thier website.
school.coop - Co-operative Curriculum Resources for Schools
school.coop is a collaboration between The Co-operative College and the co-operative Business and Enterprise Colleges sponsored by the Co-operative Group.
school.coop contains teaching resources developed by the network of Co-operative Business and Enterprise Schools and Colleges. The materials are freely available for use within education and have been developed co-operatively, benefiting from the national and international co-operative network.
Business & Enterprise Colleges
The College works with a network of Business & Enterprise Colleges sponsored by the Co-operative Group, developing a wide range of resource material introducing co-operation across the curriculum. Resources freely available to schools via the www.school.coop website, which has been developed with support from the Co-operative Fund, include materials on the father of social enterprise, Robert Owen.
The College has helped schools in the network to develop a wide range of international partnerships with schools working with co-operatives across Europe and, increasingly, in Africa building curriculum links and teacher and pupil exchanges.
You can find information about the Business & Enterprise Colleges network at www.becolleges.coop
Why we work with schools!
Over 50 years ago, A V Alexander MP, a Co-operative Party supported Member of Parliament described a visit he had made to a school:
"I asked them if they could tell me how many wives Henry V111 had and what were their names. The majority of boys in the class could answer that question straight away, but when I asked if they could tell me who was Robert Owen and when he was born, or on what day the British co-operative movement was founded, they could not give me any answer."
In many schools today the answer would remain the same which is why the Co-operative College supports efforts to get co-operation and its values understood in schools.