In 2008 the 10 enterprise commandments were created by staff which are used in every lesson

  • Everybody matters – cooperate
  • New things – try them
  • Take the lead
  • Ears – use them
  • Respond to others – communicate
  • Perform as a team
  • Responsibility – show it
  • Initiative – take it
  • Solve problems
  • Everyday meet your deadlines

In 2015 Catcote were successful in bids for 2 Erasmus funded projects.

The first project “My Work is My Future” involved 6 countries; Slovakia, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Turkey and the UK ran from 2015 until 2017. The project focused on developing pre-vocational and vocational skills in children and young people with a range of special educational needs, including learning disabilities and Autism. The development of such skills is crucial in young people making a successful transition to adult life, including reducing community isolation and improving employment prospects. The use of the enterprise commandments created by Catcote was a great asset to the project.

The second Erasmus project: Linking Business, Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Skills Internationally” was actually written by Catcote and involved schools from Germany, Turkey, Sweden and Italy. This project started in 2015 and will finish in July 2018. The project started by using the 10 enterprise commandment skills created by Catcote and applying them in activities in all schools. These skills were then scrutinised and developed taking into consideration the contributions from our European partners and employers. A new set of “Correct” skills were created which are aimed at bridging the gap between education and employment. This project is still ongoing.

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The use of Enterprise in the classroom has now developed in to a more entrepreneurial role with the creation of lots of small companies. Classes work throughout the year creating products which they then sell during school fairs and at other events.

Students from the Academy and Futures took part in a national conference created by SSAT “Illuminating Learning”. They were invited to display and sell their products to delegates from around the country. However, Catcote decided to go one step further and actually took equipment to create their products live, demonstrating a real entrepreneurial attitude while showing off what each student can do.

In 2017 Enterprise developed a new outlet with the opening of Catcote Metro. This not only gave a great outlet for the products created by Catcote to be sold but it is also a window for the students to demonstrate how they can use the enterprise skills and turn them into work skills ready for the world of work. The reprographics department has been replicated at the Catcote Metro and a hand-crafted card company has also been created.