Swansea-based Raven Delta (RD) Group, a group of companies providing a full spectrum of building services and engineering solutions, is supporting enterprise education in six 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 participating schools are Gors Community School, Terrace Road Primary School, Sea View Community Primary School, Gendros Primary School, Christchurch (Church in Wales) Primary School and St Helens Primary School. Members of the RD Group team are visiting the schools to introduce pupils to the programme with the help of the 2B Enterprising team.
Embracing the principles of the circular economy, RD Group employs a holistic approach to every project it undertakes, with a real focus on improving the standard of indoor environmental quality and, therefore, the health and wellbeing of all the buildings’ occupants. RD Group is also passionate about supporting, training and inspiring the next generation of building services engineers and encouraging career development for those already working in the industry. RD Group’s CEO David Kieft is a strong advocate of skills development for young people and works closely with several schools and sector bodies to champion change.
Previous activities have helped to raise awareness of the skills gaps that can hinder entrance into the sector and how best to overcome these in order to address the industry’s labour shortages. By providing The Bumbles of Honeywood skills programme to the schools, RD Group will build on these efforts, supporting the teaching of the entrepreneurial skills now required by the Curriculum for Wales.
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.
RD Group is making its contribution as part of 2BEnterprising’s Corporate Engagement Partner Programme, which has enabled 2B Enterprising to support dozens of schools, benefiting well over a thousand children to date by providing them learning and development programmes and resources which help them think about their education, training and future life choices much earlier than previously. The programme gives the corporate partners an impactful way by which to engage with schools in their community, in many cases supporting the children of their own employees in the process.
RD Group CEO David Kieft said:
“We are committed to supporting our industry not just in the present day, but also in the future, and we recognise the importance of enterprise skills for the next generation of employees and entrepreneurs. Whatever children go on to do in their careers, they will benefit from developing the skills taught by The Bumbles of Honeywood programme. It teaches these skills through a unique, enjoyable, and appealing set of stories and activities, and we’re delighted to be bringing these to six Swansea schools.”
2BEnterprising CEO Jayne Brewer added:
“We’re thrilled that RD Group has chosen to become one of our valued partners and is making this generous contribution to six Swansea schools as part of our Corporate Engagement Partner Programme. David Kieft is an inspiring champion of skills development in schools, and he understands the great importance and value of enterprise skills. By funding the provision of The Bumbles of Honeywood programme in these six schools, he is helping to equip pupils for their future careers, and to teach them important skills for life.”
