Enterprise & Marketing Curriculum Map

Intent of curriculum 

Our intent for the curriculum is to promote and embed the vital role of Business in understanding its importance to how business functions, from small start- up (SME’s) Small Medium Enterprise’s through to (MNC’s) Multi-National Corporations and the vital role that Business plays in keeping the UK and global economy growing through innovations.  

Key Stage 4 Business at Bishop Heber offers two learning pathways, where we try to measure and match up the most suitable course for the individual students learning pathway, through both GCSE and the Cambridge National Qualification. 

Key Stage 4 is a platform for students pursuing the subject at Key Stage 5, where the have learned the fundamental basics of Business and can develop these in more detail at Key Stage 5, to more specialised content, whether that is through BTEC Level 3 extended certificate in Business or through A-level Economics. 

Key stage 4 supports students in learning the fundamental basics in Business and the importance of the Economy this will support them in the future so they can make wise business choices as they progress to adulthood, many students have progressed and set up businesses or pursued entrepreneurial opportunities.  We have previously supported students with young enterprise opportunities at Key Stage 5, so they can further develop their employability and showcase their skill sets they have developed from this platform.  The Key Stage 5 curricular embeds the development of employability skills, in Key Stage 5 students must complete role plays as an interviewer and interviewee, in a recruitment module.  The Cambridge National develops several transferable skills including being analytical, creative thinking, research and problem solving as well as presentation planning, which will help enhance their preparation for future employment.  This course will also involve completing a Dragon’s Den style presentation to pitch a business idea.   

Throughout our portfolio of courses, we continue to support our pupils to ensure they leave Bishop Heber as well-rounded individuals and are equipped with skills to transfer to either university or apprenticeship schemes. The use of IT is embedded particularly in our vocational qualifications where presentation/ report writing skills are a must.  Students continue throughout all our curriculums with data/ resources analysis and applying this to case studies & report analysis.  The Key Stage 5 curricular allows freedom to students to select businesses that are of interest to them so they can delve in to examining and analysing business performance in depth, through report writing, for their assignments. 

Our curriculum will both reflect and learn from the diverse cultural mix of our school and community and help to enhance our pupil’s cultural capital through the extensive range of topics and themes it will cover.  Students will learn of many enterprising role models including dyslexic businesspeople.   

Enterprise is seen as an engine of regeneration by the UK government and we encourage students to learn entrepreneurial skills to prepare them for the future. Key Stage 4 students carry out enterprise activities in school to foster their enterprise skills, building on the Enterprise activities they complete in Year 9 for PSCHE day. Numeracy skills form a vital part of our curriculum from financial planning in Enterprise and Marketing, to Business Finance at GCSE, through to Key Stage 5 BTEC, where a quarter of the exam paper is numeracy based on Personal & Business Finance. 

Implementation of curriculum 

We aspire to deliver a modern and relative Business curricular, as Business adapts quicky and new successes and failures appear, we always aspire to keep our curriculum up to date with the current Business world inclusive of the emergence of change in the business delivery during the Covid pandemic.  We try to adapt an environment that allows students to become self-reliant confident and independent learners. We have high targets to aspire to whilst best adapting to suit the range of learners needs, including SEN and Disadvantaged, to support them in classroom time and in external revision/ support sessions. 

There are three broad strands within the Business curriculum that will begin in Key stage 4 and develop towards Level 3 and beyond. 

GCSE covers a wider range of Business topics taught in more depth, with 5 key topics embedding the curricular: Business Activity, Marketing, People, Operations, Finance, Influences on Business and the interdependent nature of Business – this is where students show linked learning and the interdependence of different aspects across the business curricular and how they impact one another. 

The Cambridge National qualification in enterprise and marketing is pitched at learners who prefer a mixed learning style with elements of both exam and coursework.  Students learn the basics of Business but in less detail than GCSE, they then apply these in a more practical learning style to develop a hat for a target audience and the basics of a business plan.  They are then required to market, brand the hat, and pitch it in a Dragon Den type environment.  

Lessons will be a mixture of teacher led, group work, independent work and IT based projects. The department is well resourced and there is a wide range of print, digital and online resources that we use.  

Btec level 3 Business involves a mixed approach of teacher led and independent work, where our students focus on chosen Businesses of interest to them, this makes their project work more bespoke in Exploring Business and Recruitment & Selection, where as the exam units are more teacher led for Finance and Marketing. 

Teachers within the department have worked collaboratively on a curriculum map which meets the Key Stage 4/5 needs. This has informed the Subject Knowledge & Understanding (SKUs) within the different years that contain an Intent/Implementation/Impact specifically for each topic. As well as this the SKUs include key terminology that will be promoted in lessons to broaden Business and Economic vocabulary for the students. 

Impact of curriculum  

We are confident that through the content of the curriculum and the way in which Business is developed we can have a positive impact on our students where they complete their students with a real understanding of the Business world for both small- and large-scale Business and the role they may be able to play in the Business world in the near future. We will measure this in several ways:  

• Through regular, reliable, and accessible assessment. There will be termly formal assessments, weekly exam-based questions, and end of year exams and MCQ testing through MS TEAMS. On-going assessment will occur through teacher monitoring of classwork and discussions with pupils. Outcomes of these will be analysed and discussed within the department and interventions and extra support set up where appropriate, afterschool.  Assessment outcomes will be compared to targets. Specific groups such as SEN & Disadvantaged will be closely monitored, according to SISRA. 

• Lesson observations and work scrutinises. 
• Transition points will be important for us to match the most suitable learning pathway for our students transition points at Key Stage 3, GCSE to A level and A level to University/World of work – apprenticeships.