Managers' Conference - Team Talk

School is in sessionWe provide volunteering opportunities at many schools in our trading heartlands, but we also have five partner schools that we workwith, in the hope of creating longer lasting links and improving the prospects of the students. By supporting these schools we canspread our message of co-operation and help to build a more co-operative society from the ground up.Our Co-operative School Trust model enables schools to set themselves up as co-operatives. They follow co-operative values and usea membership structure to engage parents, carers, pupils, teachers, staff and the local community. Business in the Community believethat the most effective way for business to support young people facing social disadvantage is to form long-term partnerships with theschools.• Sutherland Business and Enterprise College, Telford is a Co-operative Trust School and we have been working with them since2008.• Our partnership with Grace Academy, in Darlaston began in 2009 and we are partnered with this school through Business in theCommunity Business Class.• Our partnership with BITC Business Class school, Campion School, Leamington began at the start of 2012.• Churchfields Academy, Swindon is a BITC Business Class school and we have been working with them since 2011.• South Gloucester Learning trust is a Co-operative Trust school and we have been working with them for three years.Case studiesSummer funAs well as all the work we do helping Sutherland with its eco garden, we alsosupported The Summer Fair at the school this summer. A total of 18 colleagues fromFood Retail, Childcare, Membership, Community and Travel volunteered on this dayto support the school. We also had a fundraising presence at the event, raising over£200 for the Margara School in Tanzania and Women’s Aid as the event fell duringCo-operative Fortnight. It was a huge success with over 700 hundred people attendingfrom the local area.Amazing artWe recently offered Btec Art students at the Grace Academy the chance to gain some work experienceby setting a project for them to get involved with. The students visited our Waterfront offices and werecommissioned to produce artwork to be displayed permanently in the offices. The students had to meet aspecific brief with a deadline and a set budget to give them experience of life as a commercial artist. Theoriginal aim was to choose three pieces but we were so impressed by the students’ talent and the effortthey had made that we decided to take all seven. All received prizes as a thank-you.Eco-friendly educationColleagues volunteered to host a World of Work day at Campion School, where approximately 60students became Midcounties Consultants to help us get the message to our colleagues that we allneed to reduce our environmental impact. Each team gave a presentation to a Dragons’Den style panel which included Janet Warren, a member of our Environmental SteeringGroup. The winners were the Economic Energisers team with their ‘Make a Change’campaign.Team Talk 27