The first task for many teachers is to prepare a scheme of work to cover perhaps from a half-term’s to a year’s work in science. This is usually a broad outline stating in brief what is to be taught lesson by lesson and often how it is to be taught, with perhaps additional notes on the resources needed. This is often a shared activity in a science department which achieves several aims:

• a shared, coordinated approach to the curriculum for a given year group • a division and saving of labour amongst staff • on a practical level, a guide which can help in the case of staff absence • a record of the coverage of the PoS of the National Curriculum (which should

form the basis of the scheme) • a record which can be used in liaison between schools, for example junior to

secondary

What might a scheme of work for secondary science look like? My own view is that it should be clear and concise with the detail coming in the lesson plan. The starting point is to examine the relevant PoS and then to divide it into convenient themes, topics or areas of study. A possible format is shown in table 6.1 below, but readers are encouraged to look around at other ideas and formats in order to develop their own, which they and the school they work in are happy with.