The Beaconsfield School
Year 7 PLCs
Year 9 PLCs
Year 11 PLCs
Business and ICT
Intent
Almost everyone will work for an organisation so the study of how they operate is always relevant, whether you go into a business related job or not. You may wish to set up your own business and you will learn many of the skills to do so. Many students continue their studies at University and go on to jobs in, for example, Marketing, Human Resources, Finance, and Operations. The Business Studies department aims to equip our students with these skills so they can carry them through to adult life.
The Computer Science department provides our students with a wide ranging and balanced Computer Science experience. This entitlement supports the students in gaining Computer Science knowledge, skills and understanding required for examination success and life after school. The work of the department is to encourage the use of Information Technology in a variety of contexts: school, home, community, recreation, business and industry. In these contexts, pupils are given opportunities to acquire competence, capability and critical skills through the implementation, use and evaluation of a range of Information Technology methods.
Implementation
At TBS our students study Computer Science throughout KS3. During this time students follow the national curriculum to prepare them for our KS4 offering of OCR GCSE Computer Science. The OCR GCSE Computing 9-1 qualification allows students to expand their ability to think analytically and critically and apply these skills to solve problems our digital world. In KS5 our students have the opportunity to study BTEC L3 ICT Applied Qualification. This course gives students to learn about how the Information Technology Sector works alongside other areas of the economy. It helps to provide students with the opportunity to develop a range of IT skills, personal qualities, and attitudes essential for successful performance in working life.
In Business Studies, offered from the beginning of year 10, we follow the OCR GCSE 9-1 Specification. We lay the foundations early on by building on students’ knowledge of business types, stakeholders and Business Objectives. We then use this knowledge throughout the course when students study the main functional areas of business as well as gaining an overview of how business is affected by many of the biggest issues in the world today such as globalisation, ethics and the environment.
Students who choose to study Business in the sixth form at The Beaconsfield School will follow the AQA Applied Business L3 course. This applied course allows students to develop their own business ideas and explore their entrepreneurial skills in order to equip them with many of the attributes needed to start their own enterprise or continue to study Business at university.
Impact
Impact is regularly checked with low stakes testing throughout the department. This allows students to get instant feedback on areas of strength and weakness and put strategies in place to plug any gaps in knowledge. We also use assessment weeks and mock exams in order to give students opportunities to practice for exam elements of our courses and provide detailed question-level feedback. Intervention is then put in place throughout the department to help students to address skills gaps. In the lead up to internal and external exams each student, with teacher support, will complete a Personalised Learning Checklist to help them to identify areas for development and plan individual and focussed revision that will be tailored to their own specific needs.
Curriculum Map
