Schemes of Learning in Sparx Science make it quick and easy to schedule homework for a year group for the entire academic year. This article guides you through the process of building, editing and sharing schemes of learning in Sparx Science.
Best practice
When creating your scheme of learning, we highly recommend:
Adding your holiday dates first - this will automatically keep holiday weeks clear of topics and set the weeks to no-homework weeks. See How to add or adjust holiday dates? for more information.
Planning for the right number of topics per week - for a 60-minute homework, we recommend:
3 topics for KS3
6 topics for GCSE
Ensuring the first week has at least 3 topics - otherwise the homework may be shorter than expected as there is no consolidation
Delivering topics a week after teaching - we recommend putting topics a minimum of 1 week after they are due to be taught in class to make sure students have been taught them before they appear in the homework
Creating a scheme of learning
Go to Management -> Scheme of Learning.
Choose the academic year in which you want to make your new scheme and click New blank scheme
Now use the editing tools to build your Scheme:
Find topics either by searching for the title, or browsing by subject and unit
Add topics to each week
Tip - view the questions to see if they are suitable for your classes before dragging them into the correct week
Check homework is off during holidays if this is school policy
Publish your scheme to make it available for assigning to a class
Editing a scheme of learning
If you need to adjust the topics for all classes with the same scheme of learning, for example adjusting the topics or turning homework on or off for a week, you can edit and then republish the scheme.
To edit a scheme:
go to the Scheme of Learning page (Management -> Scheme of Learning).
Select the scheme you would like to edit
Click Make changes
Make changes, e.g. adding topics or turning homework on/off
Click Publish
Copying and sharing schemes of learning
Sparx Science allows you to share schemes of learning with other schools in your group and copy existing schemes to use in different academic years. This helps save time and ensures consistency across your school or school group.
Use a template Scheme of Learning in your school
Use a template Scheme of Learning in your school
If you are part of a trust with multiple schools using Sparx Science, you will be able to access any template Schemes of Learning shared by other schools across the trust. We also have some template schemes available for some curriculums. You can access these through the Templates tab of the Scheme of learning page.
To use a Template scheme, click Options and then Use in my school. This will create a Scheme in your school which you can then edit and assign to your classes.
Share a scheme of learning with other schools in your group
Share a scheme of learning with other schools in your group
Click the Options menu next to the scheme you want to share
Select Share as Template
Publish the Scheme of Learning in the Templates tab to allow it to be visible to other schools
Once shared, other schools in your group can find your scheme in their Templates tab and use it as a starting point for their own Schemes of Learning.
Copy a scheme of learning into a different academic year
Copy a scheme of learning into a different academic year
If you plan on using the same Scheme of Learning next year, you can copy schemes into the next academic year to save time.
Click Options → Copy next to the scheme you want to duplicate
Select the target year in the drop-down menu
Click Create
This will create a draft Scheme of Learning in that year - you will be able to make any changes necessary before publishing.
You can also copy all published Schemes of Learning into the next year in bulk:
Click the Next Academic year tab
Click Copy schemes from 20xx/xx
Review the Schemes of Learning to be copied, and click Copy Schemes
Frequently asked questions
Can I assign more than one scheme of learning to a class?
Can I assign more than one scheme of learning to a class?
No, it is not possible to assign more than one scheme of learning to a class. For guidance on how to use Sparx Science in classes with separate teachers for each specialism, please see our article Setting homework for classes with different teachers for biology, chemistry and physics.
What happens to homework if I edit a published scheme of learning?
What happens to homework if I edit a published scheme of learning?
Publishing edits to a scheme of learning that is already in use will override any manual changes teachers have made in Planner. If you want to amend homework content for individual classes, we recommend doing this in Planner instead.
Changes will only affect future homework - homework that has already been set will be unchanged.
I am starting Sparx Science in the middle of an academic year - do I need to fill in past weeks?
I am starting Sparx Science in the middle of an academic year - do I need to fill in past weeks?
If you are starting to use Sparx Science midway through the academic year, you do not need to fill in the weeks before the start date (and topics added in these weeks will not be eligible for Consolidation). Although if you do complete the entire academic year you will be able to reuse this in future years.
How do I delete a Scheme of Learning?
How do I delete a Scheme of Learning?
You can delete any published or draft scheme of learning via its 'Options' menu.
Note - you will not be able to delete a published scheme of learning if there are any classes using it - you will need to assign a different scheme of learning to these classes first.
How do I reuse a scheme of learning from last academic year?
How do I reuse a scheme of learning from last academic year?
You can access your schemes of learning from last academic year by going to Management -> Scheme of Learning and then selecting the Archive tab.
Then for each Scheme you wish to reuse, select Options -> Copy and copy it into the current academic year.