Young Enterprise at Aston Rowant gives our pupils real-world opportunities to become designers, makers, innovators and entrepreneurs. This whole-school approach links beautifully with our Design & Technology curriculum, our Christian values, and our commitment to preparing pupils for life beyond primary school.

Our Enterprise Model

Our Young Enterprise approach is built around four core principles:

1. Real Purpose

Pupils design and create products intended for real customers — families, the local community, visitors to school events and seasonal fairs. Every enterprise project has an authentic purpose, encouraging pupils to think as both designers and entrepreneurs.

2. Pupil-Led Projects

Children take ownership of each stage of the project:

• generating ideas
• researching customers
• designing prototypes
• refining products
• marketing and selling
• evaluating success

Teachers guide the process, but pupils make the key decisions.

3. Curriculum-Integrated

Young Enterprise links directly to:

• DT (designing, making & evaluating products)
• Maths (costing, budgeting, profit & loss)
• English (advertising, persuasive language)
• Computing (digital marketing, posters, logos)
• Art & Design (branding and packaging)
• PSHE (teamwork, responsibility, money skills)

4. Christian Values in Action

Our school values shine throughout enterprise work:

• Gratitude – appreciating resources and opportunities
• Resilience – learning from mistakes and adapting designs
• Outreach – creating products that serve our community
• Wonder – responding with curiosity and creativity
• Trust – relying on each other as a team
• Harmony – working together for a shared goal

Products Designed and Created by Pupils

Across the year, children create a wide range of products, each linked to Kapow units, seasonal events and real customer needs. Examples include:

KS1 Products

• Hand-made bookmarks
• Seasonal decorations
• Moving picture cards
• Simple wooden or cardboard structures
• Fruit-based snacks (Mother’s Day / Christmas café)

Lower KS2 Products

• Fabric keyrings or pencil cases
• Planters or bird feeders
• Healthy snack pots or baked goods
• Mechanism-based toys (wheels, axles, linkages)
• Simple frame structures for outdoor use

Upper KS2 Products

• Cams-based moving toys
• Textile items with more advanced stitching
• Small electrical products (e.g., simple lamps or torches)
• Cultural or seasonal food products
• Branded merchandise linked to school events

Every product goes through the design–make–evaluate cycle, with pupils adapting products based on testing and feedback.

Financial Literacy Through Enterprise

Young Enterprise offers rich opportunities for pupils to build real financial skills:

KS1 Focus

• Recognising coins and notes
• Understanding “cost” and “profit” in simple terms
• Taking part in selling events with adult guidance

Lower KS2 Focus

• Basic budgeting
• Calculating production costs
• Estimating selling prices
• Understanding the idea of revenue

Upper KS2 Focus

• Full costings, including materials, time and packaging
• Calculating profit margins
• Market research
• Branding and pricing strategy
• Evaluating commercial success

Pupils learn to make informed decisions, calculate risks, and justify their pricing strategies — genuine real-life skills for their future.

Impact on Pupil Confidence, Teamwork & Creativity

Young Enterprise has a powerful impact across our school:

Confidence

• Children speak proudly about their products.
• They present ideas, pitch designs and talk to real customers.
• Pupils grow in independence as the process becomes more familiar.

Teamwork

• Projects require shared roles (designers, makers, marketers, sellers).
• Pupils learn to negotiate, compromise and rely on each other.
• Children celebrate group success and shared achievements.

Creativity

• Pupils experiment with materials, mechanisms, textiles and structures.
• They adapt designs based on feedback and testing.
• They learn to turn imaginative ideas into real, sellable products.

Wider Benefits

• Improved problem-solving skills
• Stronger links between curriculum and real life
• Higher engagement and enthusiasm for DT
• Increased resilience — especially when products need refining
• A deep sense of pride in seeing customers purchase their work

Young Enterprise strengthens not only our DT curriculum but also our pupils’ personal development and sense of capability.