Curriculum
THE SKILLS TO SUCCEED – THE CONFIDENCE TO PROGRESS
According to the UK government, in 2022, there were 5.5 million private sector businesses in the UK than 3.5 million in the year 2000. Setting up a business is therefore one way of having a career and achieving success in life. At present many people are choosing to learn and develop business skills so that they can be entrepreneurial so as to make a contribution to society. The result of this has been an increase in the number of people self-employed as people develop the confidence, enthusiasm and skills to run businesses. Studying Business will help you to take the first step towards a career by blending technical and academic skills which are required by universities as well as employers.
Business studies or we can say finding entrepreneurship – Being an entrepreneur means having the ability to generate creative ideas, plan courses of action and take risks to run challenging projects.
Business studies teaches you about how to manage finances while effectively marketing your goods and services as well as planning for your company’s next stage of growth. The sooner you learn all these skills, better will be the results.
KS4 COURSE
About the course
The BTEC Enterprise Tech Award qualification provides an engaging and stimulating introduction to the world of Business. This qualification appeals to both UK and international students. It allows you to explore start-up businesses as well as develop essential skills to start your own small business. These include skills such as problem solving, teamwork, communication and decision making. The programme also covers includes topics such as small business marketing, business planning and managing finance.
You will explore some of the key areas within different industries, including: the contribution of enterprise and entrepreneurs to the UK economy; internal and external factors affecting startup businesses; planning and financing startup businesses and marketing and promoting a startup businesses. You will also plan and pitch a business idea in order to show your understanding of how to produce a business plan.
What can Business Studies lead to?
This is a nationally recognised vocational course that could lead to further education in Sixth Form in a vocational qualification at Level 3, such as a BTEC National in Business, which prepares learners to enter employment or apprenticeships, or to move on to higher education by studying a degree in Business, example degrees are; Business Management, Business Enterprise Management, Hospitality Business Management and Financial Management. This could then result in employment within a wide range of areas including: retail businesses representatives, marketing manager, bank manager and store manager to name a few.
There are also a wide variety of apprenticeship opportunities available in the travel and tourism industry that can be an excellent way to start a career working for well-established organisations such as Jaguar land rover and Price Waterhouse Cooper.
HOW WILL I BE ASSESSED?
BTEC enterprise tech award is a vocational subject area that is assessed with both internal and external assessment.
Components 1 and 2 are assessed through non-exam internal assessment. The non-exam internal assessment for these components has been designed to demonstrate application of the conceptual knowledge underpinning the sector through realistic tasks and activities. This style of assessment promotes deep learning through ensuring the connection between knowledge and practice. The components focus on:
- The development of core knowledge and understanding, including the range of enterprises and the key features and factors that contribute to an enterprise’s success.
- The development and application of skills such as analysing research, information, planning and financial forecasting, communicating and problem solving.
- Reflective practice through presenting an enterprise idea that allows learners to reflect on their own communication skills.
Non-exam internal assessment is delivered through Pearson set assignments. These assignments are set by Pearson, marked by the centre and moderated by Pearson.
There is one external assessment, Component 3, which provides the main synoptic assessment for this qualification. Component 3 builds directly on Components 1 and 2 and enables learning to be brought together and applied to realistic contexts.
Component 3: Marketing and Finance for Enterprise requires learners to analyse and interpret information in relation to an enterprise and to make recommendations on strategies to use to improve the performance of that enterprise. The design of this external assessment ensures that there is sufficient stretch and challenge, enabling the assessment of knowledge and understanding at the end of the learning period.
WHAT SKILLS ARE REQUIRED?
The Business qualification will provide learners with a wide range of transferable skills useful for any future career. To be able to complete the course learners will need to be able to;
- Research different businesses, the reasons for starting businesses and how to manage the day to day activities.
- Communication skills (verbal and written).
- Have an interest in the world of business and keep up to date with current business news stories.
- Be able to work effectively with peers to complete practical activities both in and out of the classroom.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
As part of the business qualification students need to collect evidence for the assignments which involves guest speakers visiting the academy and trips. This will allow students to conduct first hand research in order to produce high quality work.
Information is provided well in advance for any trips and support provided to students where necessary.
Student testimony
“I enjoy Business studies, because I have learnt a lot about how to start up a business and why entrepreneurs and enterprises are successful. We had a trip to a dessert shop called Sweet Dreams where I was able to see how a successful micro business operates.”
Miss Uppal
I graduated from Derby University in 2005 with a BA (Hons) in Business Management. I had already been working for NatWest Bank so decided to continue working after my degree. It was during this time that I realised I wanted to do more and make a difference with young lives. So I decided to enrol on a PGCE course in secondary education, choosing Business as my subject. In 2007 I successfully passed my PGCE and went straight into teaching KS4 and KS5 Business. Over the years I have gained much experience in teaching GCSE, A Level and BTEC Business. In 2021 I became Head of Business at Shireland, a role I thoroughly enjoy.
