Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of resources available to (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in England to support enterprise and entrepreneurship education.

Entrepreneurship education is an important component of high quality careers provision. The careers statutory guidance, updated in 2018, requires secondary schools in England to provide opportunities for pupils to develop entrepreneurial knowledge relevant for self-employment.

The Department provides resources and support to secondary schools through the Careers & Enterprise Company’s Enterprise Adviser Network, Careers Hubs and online resources, to make links to employers and increase young people’s exposure to the world of work. The Department also funds training for Careers Leaders to develop the knowledge they need to embed and deliver a successful careers programme in their secondary school.

There are now more than 4,000 schools and colleges in the Careers & Enterprise Company’s Enterprise Adviser Network working with business volunteers to strengthen employer links. Careers Hubs now include 45% of all state-funded schools and colleges across England and funding has been provided for 1,950 Careers Leaders training bursaries.

The result is that 3.3 million young people now have regular encounters with employers, including entrepreneurs and 84% of secondary schools and colleges are satisfied with the support they receive from their Enterprise Adviser. 92% of Careers Leaders state they have become more effective as a result of the training. The Department will continue national roll-out of this support as announced in the Skills for Jobs White Paper published in January 2021: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/sites/default/files/uploaded/1244_careers_ed_2020_report18_0.pdf.

Over the last 18 months, the Department has focused on testing what works at a primary level. In partnership with the Careers & Enterprise Company, the Department has developed and launched an online Primary Careers Resources platform which includes free to use tools and resources from 15 organisations, including Primary Futures.

Financial capability is a key component of successful entrepreneurship and in 2014 financial literacy was made statutory within the Citizenship National Curriculum. Pupils are taught the functions and uses of money, the importance of personal budgeting, money management and the need to understand financial risk. The computing curriculum prepares pupils to apply existing digital technologies confidently and effectively but will also provide them with the fundamental knowledge needed to create new digital technology products and to create their own tech start-ups.

Schools can also cover enterprise and entrepreneurship within their personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. Teachers have the freedom to design lessons and resources in PSHE that meet their pupils’ needs, and they are encouraged to develop their practice with the support of specialist organisations, such as the PSHE Association.