
Our team sorts through all blog submissions to place them in the categories they fit the most - meaning it's never been simpler to gain advice and new knowledge for topics most important for you. This is why we have created this straight-forward guide to help you navigate our system.
And there you have it! Now your collection of blogs are catered to your chosen topics and are ready for you to explore. Plus, if you frequently return to the same categories you can bookmark your current URL and we will save your choices on return. Happy Reading!
As a primary school teacher, I believe that schemes of work – used correctly – can liberate teachers and allow them to do what they do best – teach. However too often I’ve encountered the view that buying in a scheme of work is not a good idea. Criticisms include the notion that using a scheme of work is merely ‘rote teaching from a script’, or takes away a teacher’s autonomy. I’d like to explain why I don’t think this is the case and how, in fact, using a scheme of work can actually release a teacher’s creativity rather than shackle it.
One major issue is that for primary schools there is a sense in which a teacher is “a jack of all trades and master of none’. This is because there are around 12 different subjects which primary school teachers have to teach – all of which need to be imparted at a high standard, especially when teaching further up the school.
Planning what needs to be taught in each of these lessons from scratch is a laborious process that even an experienced teacher can find complex and/or repetitive. What critics of schemes don’t always consider is that when teachers plan lessons from scratch it is often from a mixture of desperate Google searches combined with whatever free materials they find on the internet, followed by shoe-horning that information into a lesson plan.
In contrast, a good scheme of work can allow teachers to tailor relevant, well-prepared and up-to-date material in the best way to suit the needs of their individual students. Such schemes help provide the vital confidence which teachers need to carry the class with them.
Embedding a scheme of work at the beginning of term also lets teachers see what the subject expectations are before they start teaching. Teachers can quickly understand what stage students are at, where they need to be and adapt accordingly. These advantages continue throughout the term too – for example when a different teacher has to take over a class or when a class is cancelled. In the current global crisis, many schools have said that having schemes in place has been incredibly useful in easing the problems of going backwards and forwards between classroom and on-line teaching.
This leads onto the most important point. Using a scheme of work means that you can put your energy and experience into the actual job of teaching – giving the right support at the right time where it is needed, particularly to students who are falling behind.
Of course, all of this is not to say that a teacher who wants to plan from scratch should be prevented from doing so, especially if they are an experienced teacher with an area of subject expertise. My personal view is that using a scheme of work produced by subject experts is an easier, more efficient and effective way of getting what you need to teach under your belt. It goes without saying that schemes of work can – and often are – easily adapted throughout the year by the teacher to fit their students’ needs. Many (including myself) supplement them with their own experience and knowledge, which is in itself an exciting part of the teaching journey. Schemes should not be seen as plans set in tablets of stone, but rather that the core, or bedrock, of what you need to teach is there for you.
Have you come across the old saying about the importance of the six ‘P’s? This is usually explained as “Proper planning and preparation prevents poor performance”. Taking this as relating to students’ as well as teachers’ performance, gives a neat summary of why schemes of work can be a vital part of a teacher’s tool kit.
The author
Read more
Read more
Read more
Read more
Read more
Read more
Read more
Read more
Securus provide market-leading monitoring solutions to safeguard students on ALL devices both online and offline. We also offer a full monitoring service, where we carry out the monitoring on behalf of the school, freeing up valuable staff resources. From the smallest school to large MAT groups, Securus offers safeguarding protection for all!
Vivify partners with schools across the country to hire out their facilities outside of school hours to enable them to generate much needed revenue that can be invested back into their facilities, teachers, and student experience. Opening up school facilities for communities to get together can improve mental and physical wellbeing, boost confidence, tackle loneliness and help people feel more positive about life.
As European leaders of Time Management Solutions, Bodet offer Lockdown, Clock, Bell & PA Systems. Harmonys, our five-in-one IP/PoE Bell System, provides a unique customisable lockdown or panic alarm alert. Melodys, a Wireless Bell System, is useful where wiring can be difficult.
Robotical makes Marty the Robot - a walking, dancing coding robot that makes programming fun and engaging for learners as young as 5. Our robots come with a full Learning Platform that has complete teaching resources, to make lesson planning a breeze.
https://www.fusionbusiness.org.uk/
As a group, Fusion Education People Solutions provide innovative HR Services and Software (SAM, SAMpeople and FACE-Ed), developed specifically for the sector by education specialists. We are trusted by over 1000 schools and trusts across the UK.
https://nexus-education.com/for-schools/funding/
Are you looking for solutions? Let us help fund them! Nexus Education is a community of over 11,000 schools that come together to share best practise, ideas and CPD via online channels and free to attend events. Nexus also offers funding to all school groups in the UK via nexus-education.com
Our website and ready-to-use resources bring to life the incredible stories of game changers from history – ordinary people who used their character strengths to help them achieve extraordinary things. Our site has been carefully designed to support learning and development on a whole-school basis, across the whole curriculum.
Chatty Learning are an innovative provider of software, training and speech and language therapy services to support the development of communication skills in the most disadvantaged children. We help overcome word poverty to get children talking, reading and thriving in schools and settings.