Business and Enterprise

Introduction

The department consists of four computer suites, five classrooms and a specialist area for role plays and more practical tasks. Rooms are well equipped with computers, iPads, MacBooks and digital resources. In addition there is a small sixth form work area and a meeting space.

We mainly run Microsoft software packages, along with Macromedia Suite software, Python, Scratch, and other programming software.

All students at KS3 are taught Enterprise where we teach ICT and Computer Science using our other subject areas as scenarios/case study. It allows Year 7 and 8 to access subjects that other schools would not teach until KS4.
At KS4 all students continue to study an Enterprise suite of qualifications in the core learning pathway including ICT. Students are guided to the most appropriate courses.
At KS5 we have a huge takeup with the majority of subjects continuing their studies in at least one of our subjects.
At GCSE level we offer Business Studies, Media and Computer Science. We also offer L2 BTEC Travel and Tourism and Workskills.
In Year 12 and 13 we offer AS and A2 Business Studies and BTECs in ICT, Computing, Travel and Tourism and Creative Media Production. We also lead on the Sixth Form Foundation Studies course which includes L3 ECDL, L3 COPE. Functional skills and a Personal Study piece.

This is a highly successful department, rated OUTSTANDING by OFSTED in 2011 for Business and Economics in a subject specific inspection.

Year 9 start the BTEC First Award in Business. They have two lessons per week. The unit of study is "Promoting a Brand" and students learn about marketing, the marketing mix, the AIDA model, the promotional mix and they get to create and market their own brand.

In Year 10 and Year 11, some students continue the BTEC First Award and others follow GCSE Business Studies (Edexcel).

In the GCSE course students study marketing, finance and accounts, Human Resources, Operations, Production and Customer Service. Students also complete a controlled assessment in the summer of Year 10. There are two exams at the end of Year 11.

On the BTEC course, students complete three pieces of coursework:

enterprise in the business world
promoting a brand
recruitment, selection and employment.

They also sit an on-screen test on the topic of Finance and Business Accounts.

At Key Stage 5 we offer two different learning pathways:

AS and A2 Business
BTEC National Business

This is a traditional A-Level course that is assessed by four examinations.

AS and A2 Outlines

At AS Level, this specification introduces candidates to the challenges and issues of starting a business, including financial planning. It then focuses on how established businesses might improve their effectiveness by making tactical decisions at a functional level:

Unit 1: Planning and Financing a Business
- Starting a Business
  - Enterprise
  - Understanding Markets
  - Raising Finance
  - Employing People
- Financial Planning
  - Calculating Costs
  - Revenues and Profits
  - Cash Flow Forecasting
  - Setting Budgets
Unit 2: Managing a Business
- Finance
  - Using Budgets
  - Improving Cash Flow
  - Measuring and Increasing Profit
- People in Business
  - Operations Management
  - Marketing and the Competitive Environment

At A2, this specification considers strategies for larger businesses and how managers might measure the performance of the business. Finally, it considers the effects that external factors can have on businesses and how a business can plan for and manage change, including leadership style and change in business culture:

Unit 3: Strategies for Success
- Functional Objectives and Strategies
- Financial Strategies and Accounts
- Marketing Strategies
- Operational Strategies Human Resource Strategies
Unit 4: The Business Environment and Change
- The Business Environment and Managing Change
- Corporate Aims and Objectives Assessing Changes in the Business Environment
- Managing Change
  - Internal Causes of Change
  - Planning for Change
  - Making Strategic Decisions

BTEC National Business

Over the last 25 years, BTEC qualifications have helped millions of people develop the skills they need to get on in life. Engaging and inspiring, these work-related qualifications are suitable for a wide range of ages and abilities. They provide a practical, real-world approach to learning without sacrificing any of the essential subject theory.

BTECs give students the skills they need to either move on to higher education or go straight into employment. For instance a BTEC Level 3 National in Business would cover all aspects of business including marketing, law, human resources and accounting. In addition, they also cover real-life activities such as writing and presenting a business plan.

BTEC qualifications can be taken as well as, or in place of, GCSEs and A levels and alongside Diplomas in schools and colleges. They are valued by colleges, universities, employers and professional bodies across the United Kingdom and recognised throughout over 80 countries worldwide…

We offer:

BTEC National Certificate in Business (which is the equivalent of AS Business)
BTEC National Advanced Subsidiary Diploma in Business (which is the equivalent of one A-Level in Business)
BTEC National Diploma in Business (which is the equivalent of two A-Levels in Business)

The units you may study include:

The Business Environment
Introduction to Marketing
Business Communication
Impact of Communication Technology
Understanding Business Ethics
Understanding Retailing
Managing a Business Event
Starting a Small Business
Creative Production Promotion
HRM in Business
Business Accounting
Business Resources

In Year 7, students have one lesson per week, studying the following topics:

Using ICT: creating a multimedia presentation using text, images and sound.
Information and Data: exploring a range of types of information, such as statistics, legislation and advertising campaigns, and make judgements about the purpose of the information and the viewpoint of the organisation that produced it.
Processing Text and Graphics: with the use of desktop publishing software including image-capture and image-manipulation methods to create suitable image data.
Models, Rules and Investigations: how simple spreadsheet models are built by first investigating rules, then by seeing how rules can govern the behaviour of simple spreadsheet models.
Data: designing structure, capturing and presenting data. Pupils consider the information that they need in order to collect appropriate data to test a specific hypothesis.
Control: input, process and output.

In Year 8, students have one lesson per week, studying the following topics:

Public Information Systems: pupils collate data from a variety of sources to develop a daily information service about weather. They will look at a range of sources, e.g. a school weather station, measurements, satellite (remote sensing), the internet, other files. A key aim of the unit is to develop a system that will meet the potential audience's needs. Pupils investigate these needs and then model the system using presentation software, teletext and multimedia presentations.
Publishing on the Web: pupils learn how to design and build an interactive web page, on a subject of their choice, which can be published on the worldwide web or school intranet. They learn how to control on-screen events and the flow of information accessed through a web page. They learn that web pages are made up of objects, and that these objects can be programmed to carry out actions, e.g. a hyperlink can automatically connect a user to a different website, or an area of the screen can be programmed to change when a mouse pointer is passed over it.
Information, Reliability, Validity and Bias: pupils use the internet to gather information on a particular topic, collate it and present it from a particular viewpoint.
Spreadsheets: re-visited from last year.

All students complete a qualification in ICT:

BTEC First Certificate in ICT
GCSE Short Course in ICT
BTEC First Certificate for ICT Practicioners

BTEC First Certificate in ICT

This course requires 4 lessons per week, counting for 2 GCSEs.

This focused vocational qualification is assessed through coursework; there are no examinations. Students are required to produce ICT products and solutions for organisations based on given scenarios. Students following this programme of study will practise skills in presentation, personal time management, researching, independent thought, personal target setting and team work.

GCSE Short Course in ICT

This course requires 1 lesson per week, counting for ½ GCSE.

Two pieces of coursework (each worth 30% of available marks):

Cars Database
Volcanoes Presentation

Written Examination 40% of available marks

BTEC First Certificate for ICT Practicioners

This programme of study offers students an opportunity to develop in–depth skills using a range of computer programs. This is a focused vocational qualification concentrated into 10 lessons per week over one year.

Assessment is by coursework and there are no examinations.

Students are required to produce ICT products and solutions for organisations based on given scenarios. The First Certificate for ICT Practitioners is equivalent to two GCSE grades. A Pass is equivalent to 2 C grades, a Merit to 2 B grades and a Distinction to 2 A grades.

Students practice skills in presentation, personal time management, researching, independent thought, personal target setting and team work.

GCE In Applied ICT

Our Applied A-Level qualification helps students to develop a broad range of ICT skills. Students use a variety of programs including Microsoft Office ® (notably Word, Publisher, PowerPoint, Excel, Access), Adobe/Macromedia Dreamweaver and Flash.

Students are required to plan, research, evaluate and manage their time whilst creating realistic solutions to ICT related problems.

This is a two year programme of study. As with all A-Levels, students achieve an AS qualification at the end of year one.

Three modules are studied each year. There is an examination for Unit 2 in Year 1 which is based on a pre-released Case Study. Students take their preparation materials into the examination with them. In Year 2, a theme is given for the website design in Unit 9. This theme is changed annually.

Unit Code G040, Unit Number 1. AS-Level. Using ICT to communicate (Portfolio)
Unit Code G041, Unit Number 2 AS-Level. How organisations use ICT (External)
Unit Code G042, Unit Number 3 AS-Level. ICT solutions for individuals and society (Portfolio)
Unit Code G048, Unit Number 9 A2-Level. Working to a brief (External)
Unit Code G049, Unit Number 10 A2-Level. Numerical modelling using spreadsheets (Portfolio)
Unit Code G05, Unit Number3 14 A2-Level. Developing and creating websites (Portfolio)

This course is designed to give a broad introduction to the ICT sector and aims to prepare candidates for further study in higher education or for employment.