Co-op education conference

Report Co-op and Education Conference, Gisland Spa Hotel

During day one we were treated to a lecture from the principle of the co-op college, Mervyn as many of you may know him about the ethics of business and how this can be taught in schools and how co-op ideals can be used in business and education. This was an interesting lecture and contributed most of the first day’s business. We spent the rest of the day in workshops working around what the ethics in business meant to us a cooperators. This was a very interesting session because we made reference to cooperative values and the need for more businesses to be ethical in their practices. There was group presentations on what we felt about this topic.

We felt that some of the ways the co-op group promoted business could be used more in schools and across the curriculum. This was pushed by Mervyn, as a way of promoting future co-operative values. We looked at enterprise days and the way co-ops would be involved in the future. In the evening there was a co-op quiz and our team came third!!

In day 2 we had a lecture by a headteacher, Nick Bowen from a co-op sponsored school in the North East, talking how the sponsorship from the co-operative had helped his school develop young enterprise, a local business in the community and that the fact that the school had good support locally from the community and run events based on the co-op model locally with the money raised going back into the school and community via charity etc. They had been able to set up a business and enterprise section of the school to run local business enterprises and set up a network of co-op schools, which pushed co-op ideals of ethics in business. He also pointed out that there was now 7 co-op backed schools, with more to come on line. He was against academies, but was pro co-op trust schools and these were pushed throughout the weekend, and were being promoted by education minister Ed Balls.

We then did more brainstorming sessions again on ethics in business, but there was some controversy when some of these activities involved religion. Also there was a lot of anger that trade unions were involved in the ethical business education being promoted by the co-op in these co-op sponsored schools. There was even more hostility towards co-op trust schools, although of people including ourselves felt that co-op ideals should be taught throughout the curriculum and it is not the place of any business or even the co-op to run a state comprehensive, even though the co-op trust schools were preferred over academies.

A co-op trust school would be run like foundation hospitals with elected governors. This is what worried many delegates, as well as the fact that this could be seen to fail in the future and damage the good name of the co-operative movement.

Overall it was a very good weekend and was enjoyable. Thank you for the opportunity.

John and Phil Wiseman