Swansea councillor provides enterprise skills programme to four local schools

Swansea councillor, education champion and charity founder Mike Day is supporting enterprise education in four primary schools in Swansea by providing ‘The Bumbles of Honeywood’ skills programme to each school.

Created by Swansea-based 2B Enterprising Ltd, The Bumbles of Honeywood is a suite of bilingual resources mapped to the national curriculum to help primary schools embed enterprise skills into their day-to-day learning.

The schools receiving the programme are Cila Primary School, Dunvant Primary School, Parkland Primary School and Crwys Primary School.

Mike’s contribution reflects his long-running involvement in education initiatives, and his commitment to supporting schools in Swansea: he has been a Liberal Democrat councillor for Sketty for 22 years and served as Cabinet Member for Education for eight years.

“I have been employed in education related activities for over 30 years and, as a local councillor, I recognise how important education is,” he says. “School staff are brilliant and committed and they need to know that they are supported. It is important for businesses and community leaders to play their part in that support.

“These four primary schools are part of a cluster in my area and have been very welcoming of the support that we can offer in developing essential enterprise skills in our young people. These skills, such as communication, teamwork, decision-making, problem-solving and creativity, are core to any role or job.”

Mike’s contribution is funded by International Education Wales (IEW), a charity set up by Mike in 2014, whose objectives include the advancement of education of individuals and businesses through mutual working between UK and other countries. A key element of this is the promotion of enterprise education at all levels.

The Bumbles of Honeywood programme is Wales’ first bilingual enterprise skills programme for schools. It has been developed by entrepreneurial business leaders and experienced educators with extensive input from teachers. In line with the Welsh curriculum, the programme has a strong environmental message relating to the plight of the honeybee and aims to nurture enterprise skills in pupils from a young age, equipping them for success in the workplace and in business.

The programme is built around a series of beautifully illustrated books and interactive extension activities that explore the enterprising nature of honeybees and other characters to help children develop skills such as resilience, problem solving, leadership, communication, and teamwork.

“From speaking to teachers, the concept, structure, content and material is very professionally produced and can be used ‘off the shelf’ or used to provide resources for other topics that they wish to cover in the classroom,” says Mike. “From a personal perspective, I have read the books to my grandchildren, in person or online. They have been enthralled by the stories and the messages that the stories convey, and I have loved reading the stories and sharing the colourful, attention-grabbing books – it’s learning made fun!

“Ultimately, I would love to see the whole culture of schools becoming entrepreneurial, looking for opportunities to develop young people and staff. I’d like to see conversations become ‘how can we achieve this?’ rather than ‘we can’t do that’. And I’d like to see a focus on the key issues facing us all, such as the environment, social cohesion and working together.”

Mike will be visiting the schools to introduce the Bumbles of Honeywood programme and to see how the pupils progress.

“I am looking forward to learning as much as the young people who we support in the schools,” he says. “Einstein is credited with saying: ‘Never stop learning; for when we stop learning we stop growing.’”

2BEnterprising CEO Jayne Brewer added: “We’re thrilled that Mike Day is helping to bring the Bumbles of Honeywood education programme to four Swansea schools. Mike is an inspiring education champion who has done a huge amount of work to support education in Swansea and internationally – and by funding the provision of The Bumbles of Honeywood programme in these four schools, he is helping pupils to develop important skills that will be valuable to them whatever path they choose in life.”