ECONOMIC AWARENESS
amended July 2005

This policy needs to be reconsidered and augmented in the light of recent initiatives concerning the integration of 'enterprise' in the curriculum.

1. AIMS

to develop an awareness and understanding of the basic economic principles that affect our society.

2. PREAMBLE

Economic awareness will be most centrally be addressed as part of the ICT teaching in key stage 3, but also will be addressed, where relevant, through the teaching of subject departments and during form time in the middle and upper school.

The ICT/economic awareness curriculum content in KS3 will be established by consultation between the head of economics and the head of ICT. The aim will be for pupils to assimilate some understanding of the world of business and finance into their use of the school's computers; and that there should be some link wherever possible between the ICT skills being developed and the economics content of the course.

economic awareness should involve the exploration of the practical world of day-to-day economics through: investigating; collecting, analysing and evaluating data; asking questions; using examples taken from the world of work and the community as a whole; a process of enquiry.

The content of the topics addressed will be at the discretion of the individual department or head of school. The aim is to use a pupil-centred approach to the discussion and exploration of economic issues.

3. OBLIGATIONS REQUIRED BY POLICY

i The economic awareness co-ordinator should

provide resources and support to see that the requirements of the aims are met;

review schemes of work for each subject area and provide a regular audit of economic and industrial awareness;

liaise with relevant heads of school and form tutors so that topic outlines for tutor time are completed and that feedback is carried out.

iv Heads of school should

work with the economic awareness co-ordinator to provide form time work which relevantly develops the themes of economic awareness.

v Heads of department should

ensure that the schemes of work provided for each subject area do not neglect those elements of economics required by the national curriculum documents;

liaise with the economic awareness co-ordinator regarding resources, support, etc;

help the department highlight areas of their courses where economic awareness can be explained or emphasised;

allow some departmental INSET time to programme and evaluate the economics content of their courses.

vii Teachers should

appreciate the importance of taking time to explain economic issues as they arise.

4. The execution of this policy shall be monitored by the school leadership team.