Business Studies Curriculum
Curriculum Intent – Content and Structure
The intended outcomes of what we teach:
We support students to achieve their full potential in the subject
Students who study Business will finish their course with a desire to explore the subject further and foster their interest through uptake of related A Level courses such as Business and Economics. Economics students will also be provided with a broad understanding of how society works in the context of Business decision making, both on an individual and international level.
Curriculum Implementation
Curriculum Content and Sequence
Year 10
Autumn | Spring | Summer |
| Component 1 Being an Entrepreneur | Component 2 Starting and Running a Business | Component 3 Starting and Running a Business |
Year 11
Autumn | Spring | Summer |
| Component 3 Promotion and Business Finance | Revision of Tasks and Projects for Component 1 and 2 | Revision of Tasks and Projects for Component 1 and 2 |
The Rationale for the Content and Sequence of what we Teach
Year | Why we Teach this Content and how the Content and Sequence of Topics Benefits our Students. |
Year 7 |
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Year 8 |
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Year 9 |
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Year 10 | Business is taught as a new subject in Year 10, as a BTEC course. Therefore, initial content in the first term is based around establishing the basic skills and characteristics entrepreneurs possess, alongside the day to day activities entrepreneurs must oversee. The term finishes with an internal assessment, involving a report on a chosen small business, which contributes to 30% of the final BTEC grade. The second and third terms revolve mainly around Component 2 of the course, which involves conceiving a business idea, and applying in a practical sense most of what is learned in Component 1, to create an original business plan. Students will then pitch their business plan in a video presentation, which contributes to their final BTEC grade |
Year 11 | The first term of Year 11 is mostly dedicated towards Component 3, which looks at the more technical elements of running a business, such as finance, accounts and promotional methods. After the solid grounding that Component 1 and Component 2 provides in Year 10, students tend to find accessing this more complex content easier and experience less cognitive overload. Students are externally assessed in February of Year 11 with the option to retake Component 3 in the Summer. |
Key Stage 4 (KS4) and Key Stage 5 (KS5) only:
What exam board/syllabus do you teach?
Edexcel
Why have you chosen this syllabus?
The nature of the BTEC course suits our students and allows them to access a real applied understanding of Business and Enterprise.
Model assignments are available for students to practice.
In what ways is it suited to your students?
The nature of the assignments suits the prior knowledge and cultural capital of our students. In particular the focus on micro businesses is engaging to students and information directly from businesses is easily accessible.
How do we/will we ensure that teachers’ subject knowledge is continually developed?
P and E where moderation of marking takes place.
Attendance of Edexcel getting ready to teach CPD sessions.
Subscribed to Edexcel Subject Emails and Resources.
Annual feedback from external verification and external exam analysis.
Curriculum Delivery
Subject: BTEC Enterprise
Intent
The subject specific habits and behaviours we develop (or intend to develop) in our students
Subject Specific Habits and Behaviours | How we embed these in our students |
| Use of context and data to support any arguments made in extended writing. Ensuring students are aware of current Business contexts examples | Discussions in lessons, peer marking guidance. Emphasis on including context in written work Modelling of specificity in examples Questioning of students |
Academy Ethos
Academy Curriculum Intent | How our department’s curriculum content and teaching approaches reflect the whole Academy ethos |
| A curricular and pastoral commitment to Micah 6v8: Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God High Expectations of students’ behaviour for learning, learning progress and respect for our community. A commitment to make learning enjoyable, engaging, relevant and challenging. A commitment to develop knowledge, skills and character. Consistency and fairness in approach and routines. Excellent and developing subject knowledge which inspires confidence in students. Effective collaboration across all parts of the Academy. Highly skilled teaching which deepens understanding and stimulates curiosity. A willingness to embrace research and innovation in order to enhance the learning potential of our students. Recognising and rewarding effective use of learning habits as well as academic achievement. | The consideration of justice and ethics in equality and ethics topics, non-financial objectives such as being environmentally are covered. Ethics and sustainability units make students more aware of the world around them. Stakeholder analysis further improves their ability to understand actions have consequences. The use of local businesses which students themselves use is highly relevant and engaging. The challenge of collecting information from business owners themselves leads to a real sense of achievement for our students. Regular assessments and low stakes testing ensure students are developing their knowledge. Follow Academy policies on behaviour, home learning, feedback and response to feedback. Sharing and discussion of lessons, for example sources of finance scenarios, which were created to engage critical thinking and enjoyment of a challenging topic. Early adoption of MS Teams showed collaboration with IT department. Knowledge of A Level Politics and Economics curriculum ensures a wide range of current affairs examples to stimulate curiosity. This is also the case in Key Stage 3 (KS3) Maths. Retrieval practice embraced and embedded within the subject. MS Teams and online resources prepared after using spec directly. Time set aside in P and E to write postcards rewarding learning habits. Focus on retrieval practice, such as the weekly knowledge quiz. |
Implementation
Academy Ethos
Micah 6v8: Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God | ||||
Curriculum Content Opportunities | Curriculum Delivery Opportunities | |||
| Justice | KS4: Aims of being a business: Ethical considerations. The role of pressure groups in businesses. The characteristics of an entrepreneur, how capitalism is argued to give a just outcome for hard work. | Use of market trading games. Consideration of big business lobbying and whether regulatory outcomes are just. | ||
| Kindness | KS4: Providing a service, role of entrepreneurs. Effect of respectful customer service on repeat customers. | Outline the moral element of providing good working environments when teaching minimum wage and other HR considerations. | ||
| Humility | KS4: How honest self-appraisal and use of accurate market research can lead to more success. | Ability to take on feedback is vital when undertaking a BTEC extended project, including accepting ideas are not feasible. Students will be encouraged to take on the virtue of humility. | ||
Please click here to access the full Business Studies curriculum document.