BUSINESS & ECONOMICS - learning journey & curriculum

Our vision is to inspire & prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs / economists.

We aim to inspire young people to have a passion for Business & Economics, enabling them to continue their studies after leaving school, pursue a related career, or ultimately to start, run and grow their own business in due course (transforming lives). Our goal is to equip our students with the skills needed to be successful citizens, students, employees, employers, and customers.

To achieve our vision we deliver stimulating and engaging lessons in a secure, supportive and disciplined manner; to facilitate good understanding and interest in business and economics. We create opportunities for students to learn through a variety of experiences including visits, role plays, recruitment activities and oracy activities, encouraging debate in a subject which is never right or wrong.

Our curriculum helps students develop literacy, numeracy and ICT skills; as well as research skills; gathering, presenting, analysing information to support the marketing process. Our subject promotes huge diversity and cultural capital and is a ‘live subject’ regularly using today’s business world to explore topics within a real context.

The Business curriculum positively impacts students in that it ensures they have the skills and knowledge to be effective business owners, employees or customers in the real world. Throughout KS4 and 5 students develop their ability to think and write like an entrepreneur regularly making business decisions and analysing the factors that impact their decisions. Students are taught to talk like an entrepreneur through a systematic development of business terminology and structured method of analysing business challenges.

Whilst we cover all of the content from exam board syllabi, we take opportunities to go beyond the content of exam board syllabi (e.g. at GCSE Business we look at inflation, exchange rates, McGregor’s X&Y theory, price elasticity of demand and economies of scale).

We regularly teach & model the importance of exam board Assessment Objectives right from the start of the course; AO1/AO2/AO3/AO4. These are built into lessons, assessments, feedback & fix it lessons, walking talking mocks, and model answers provided.

We encourage students to use the correct subject specific terminology for example, rather than ‘money’ student use revenue, profit, costs, price, dividends, capital, etc.

Other examples of how we go beyond the curriculum include offering magazine subscriptions to KS5 students (Business Review, Economic Review & Economics Today), and trips/visits (e.g. in 2023 this included a trip to Old Trafford with Kohler Mira and taking part in the University of Gloucestershire’s Business Challenge).

As well as exam board content, we teach students important life skills; for example, how to apply for a job & perform well at a job interview; how to plan & budget your finances; and what rights you have as a consumer & employee.

We use a variety of tasks, activities and resources to help all types of learners access the content of our courses. Some of our resources are designed to be easily accessible, such as Knowledge Organisers, Online Quizzing (Kahoot & Blooket), Online Learning Platforms (Seneca & Smart Revise) and the use of online revision videos.

We have tried to remove any financial barriers to learning that might exist, for example we keep a copy of business magazine subscriptions for those who cannot afford it and open-door policy to access support.

Our virtual learning environment allows students to access a range of resources to support independent learning & catch-up from absences, such as past exam papers & mark schemes, revision booklets, knowledge organisers, model answers, quizzes, and much more.

We continually review and update teaching resources and display materials to ensure that all students can see themselves reflected in the curriculum. For example, we try to use a wide range of business examples and role models for students to aspire to.

Our courses are designed to ensure students have the foundation knowledge needed to explore business at a high level- for example early in the course we teach students about different stakeholders which supports their ability to evaluate business decisions from wider stakeholder perspectives.

We use the 5-in-5 retrieval quiz at the start of each lesson to regularly consolidate previous learning. We intersperse new content with ‘Master Classes’ throughout the year, focussing on specific exam board exam technique.

We use regular formal assessments to help track & gauge progress. Assessments are followed by ‘fix-it’ lessons, which help students to make progress by learning from their mistakes. Tracker sheets are used to highlight strong / weak areas.

Homework is set to help consolidate learning. For example, online learning platforms such as Seneca, trusted YouTube revision videos, and a wider reading journal (e.g. read & summarise current economic articles in the news & link back to theory learnt in lessons).

We use Personalised Learning Checklists to help students self-audit their strengths & weaknesses; this helps teachers & students to identify priorities for revision.