Enterprise challenge

Suitable for use in individual lessons or as a one day event for a whole year group

• Key stage 3 and 4
• Enterprise education
• Work related learning
• Design technology
• Citizenship
• Key skills

Food for Thought introduces young people to the complex web of relationships and the variety of business decisions that combine to create a new food product.

Working in teams, pupils take on the role of buyers, suppliers, marketing and technologists, and together they follow the product development process from farm to supermarket shelf.

Back to top

The activity

The Food for Thought activity is a stimulation exercise, providing a condensed look at the learning and decision-making involved in the development of a new food product. The exercise gives students the opportunity to develop their understanding of:

• How food is produced on farms and in factories.
• The human, animal and environmental impact of food production, packaging and transport.
• Personal organisational values and ethics.
• How teams within organisations have to work together to achieve their goals.
• How external events, beyond the control of the organisation, have an impact on decisions.
• How compromises have to be made to achieve tasks within budget.
• Some of the career opportunities provided by supermarkets.

The activity also gives the students the opportunity to apply skills and develop knowledge in real life situation.

Back to top

Areas of the curriculum covered include:

Enterprise education:

• understand business content
• handle uncertainty and respond positively change
• create and implement new ideas and ways of doing things
• make reasonable risk/reward assessments

Work-related learning:

• skills for employability
• how businesses work
• working roles
• tasks in a work context
• engage with ideas
• challenges and applications from the business world

Key skills:

• communication
• number
• information technology
• group discussion and interaction
• negotiation
• improving own learning and performance
• problem solving
• presentation skills

Thinking skills:

• information processing skills
• reasoning skills
• enquiry skills
• creative thinking skills
• evaluation skills

Design and technology:

• food
• graphics

Food for Thought has been developed by Waitrose and Farming and Countryside Education and trialed in nine schools across England. Formal evaluation undertaken during the trial revealed that participation in the challenge had a direct and positive impact on pupils’ perceptions of the world of work, and on their understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses in areas such as team working, group discussions, working to deadlines and trying new experiences.

Back to top

What is in the activity pack?

• Detailed instructions for running a successful challenge day.
• Introductory presentation using powerpoint.
• Briefing sheets for teachers and pupils.
• Background information on all key topics provided on CD rom.
• A suggested timetable to help you stay on track.
• Guidelines for running the challenge as a series of separate lessons.
• Extension activities.

Back to top

Click here to complete a request form

Back to top