SubjectsBusiness Studies
Our Curriculum Intent
The Business Studies curriculum allows students to realise their God-given potential. Students are provided with an inclusive curriculum programme through vocational and academic pathways. Both options provide an engaging curriculum by developing an understanding of the business world and the importance of future employment opportunities. There are many opportunities within business to develop students’ cultural capital with investigations into local, national and multi-national organisations where students can see how they can achieve their potential and what is required to achieve their goals. This sits alongside partnerships with local businesses to provide opportunities through workshops, trips and talks to develop a deep understanding of the curriculum within the real-world context; this allows students to be prepared for future employment in all sectors of industry.
The business courses have been carefully designed to fulfil our vision. The planning of the courses highlights the core Christian values throughout the topics taught, the case studies used and the discussions within lessons. Students consider ethical and moral decisions made by organisations as well considering the ethical and legal requirements of the way employees are treated by the organisations. Both key stage 4 and 5 qualifications consider the sustainability and environmental impacts of how all different organisations run and the short, medium and long impacts of looking after the natural environment all around us.
The Key Stage 3 curriculum allows all students to engage in an understanding of the significance of business in future life choices. The curriculum is designed to be inclusive and will cater for all students’ needs regardless of ability or SEND. The Key stage 3-curriculum supports citizenship as well as using prior knowledge for the EBacc subjects to develop students’ understanding of Business Studies.
Key stage 4 curriculum provides students with the opportunity to gain an insight into the core business areas of business activity (including entrepreneurship), production, marketing, finance and human resources. The courses, OCR Level 2 Business Enterprise and Marketing or the Eduqas GCSE Business Studies course provide students with an understanding of key terms, how businesses run and the impacts of decisions made by the owners or managers.
Key stage 5 offers students the opportunity to develop a holistic approach to business by investigating strategic and tactical decisions and how they impact the different business functional areas. The courses, OCR Level 3 Business and Equas A Level Business Studies build on understanding from Key Stage 4 by allowing students to provide insightful analysis and evaluative conclusions on business concepts.
To ensure the curriculum responds to changes in the business world, the department actively engages in continuing professional development with experienced staff being assessors for exam boards and contributing to the Gloucestershire Business Teachers Network, where best practice is shared and discussed.
Implementation
Business Studies students can choose the vocational or academic pathway at Key Stages 4 and 5. The choice of pathway allows all students to access courses based on their strengths and interests. Students have the opportunity to develop their understanding of business principles. The vocational pathway is an applied course whereas the academic pathway considers the theoretical perspective of the running of a business. The vocational pathway develops students’ interpersonal skills as well as independence and communication skills through completing coursework whereas the academic pathway embeds analytical and evaluative skills and judgements on businesses. The courses at Key Stages 4, and 5 are designed to broaden students’ understanding of the business world and the employment opportunities that are available to them.
Students are offered enrichment activities by external organisations such as Young Enterprise and the Tenner Challenge. These activities provide students the opportunity to develop their interpersonal skills and relate them to the theory developed in the classroom to set up new businesses. Students work with local organisations which allows an insight into the practices as well as provides strong links with local employers.
Literacy is embedded within business studies. The Academy’s literacy policy is used to include reading and reading aloud, writing and speaking. Students are routinely expected to discuss and communicate their ideas about current business affairs and develop their extended writing skills. Business Studies also develops numeracy including teaching students specific mathematical concepts and providing them with the opportunities to select, use, evaluate and communicate mathematical ideas.
Students are expected to complete independent study every week, which can include qualitative and qualitative exam questions. Students must conduct independent investigations into business current affairs, which will develop their cultural capital, wider knowledge and understanding of the changing business environment.
The Academy’s Principles of Teaching are followed to plan and deliver engaging lessons. The curriculum ensures lessons are sequenced so students can use prior knowledge from previous teaching and learning cycles. The use of different questioning techniques on key knowledge is applied and students are routinely asked to recall previous knowledge as well as apply their knowledge to case studies. Scaffolding exam questions and modelling answers support the development of writing and exam skills.
Using the teaching principles allows effective medium- and long-term planning for cycles 1-4, this allows sustained progress to be made. Each cycle is based upon a key business principle which concludes with the assessment completed in assessment week. Each cycle also has a planned mid-cycle assessment to check progress intermittently during the cycle. The final week of each cycle is used to consolidate learning from earlier in the year to help students remember the longer-term content ready for the end-of-year examinations. In the final term of each year, students will complete these examinations which will combine aspects of all the learning completed over the year.
Impact
Students’ knowledge of key concepts and business ideas is generally strong. This is due to the use of knowledge organisers in supporting students’ understanding of key terms for each cycle. The lessons are planned to include engaging activities based on assessment learning objectives and real-world situations. This alongside the revision for end-of-cycle assessments provides students with confidence in completing formative and summative assessments which results in students being broadly in line with their target grades.
Business Studies naturally provides students with an opportunity to understand different employment and higher education opportunities, which is highlighted in the human resource element of the course. Students consider the different employment routes and the university options. An increasing number of Key Stage 5 students are opting to study a business-related course at University such as Finance and Accounting, Marketing or HR Management or apply for a business-related apprenticeship such as Business Administration.