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    Creating a scheme of learning
        Contents

        Creating a scheme of learning

            Article summary

            Schemes of Learning (SoLs) in Sparx Maths refer to the ordering of curriculum topics into weeks that form a path through the curriculum for Sparx Maths Homework to follow. 

            Before building your SoL we highly recommend you add your holiday dates first. Find out how in our Adding your school holidays article
            Build your SoLs with the right number of topics

            To make sure every student gets high-quality homework, the number of topics you put into each week of your SoL is really important. For example:

            • For a 60-minute homework: 3 topics
            • For a 30-minute homework: 1 to 2 topics.

            If you want students to see more topics in their homework then try extending the homework length.

            Every now and then you might choose to put no topics in homework meaning students get only consolidation work that week. We recommend keeping the number of consolidation only weeks to a minimum.

            Find out more about topics in homework in our article What topics are included in homework and how are they ordered?

            There are three main ways to make a SoL in Sparx Maths: 

            Creating a Scheme of Learning from a Template

            • Go to Management > Schemes of Learning
            • Select the Templates tab at the top of the screen

            1. Search or filter the list of templates to find one you wish to use
            2. Use the Options dropdown next to the name of the SoL to either Preview to see if it is suitable or Use in my school if you want to use it. You can see more detail on individual topics by clicking on the Blue i icon
            3. Fill in the basic details of the scheme and click Create
            4. Once you have created your scheme it will appear in the academic year tab that you chose
            5. Go to the Options tab next to your SoL and click Edit
            6. You will now need to look through the scheme you have chosen and use the editing tools to make sure that:
              • You have the right topics in the correct weeks. We recommend putting topics in 1 week after they are due to be taught in class so students are definitely seeing what they have learned
              • You have checked that homework is turned off (or on if required) during your holiday weeks
              • Homework topics are in order of priority from the top of the list each week - because some students work at different speeds put the topics in order of what you want them to see first
            Most template SoLs in Sparx Maths have more than the recommended number of topics per week so it is essential that you remove some topics from each week before you use these with your classes

            Creating a custom Scheme of Learning


            1. Go to Management > Schemes of Learning.
            2. Choose the academic year in which you want to make your new scheme and click New blank scheme
            3. Fill in the basic details of the scheme and click Create
            4. Once you have created your scheme it will appear in the academic year tab that you chose
            5. Go to the Options tab next to your SoL and click Edit
            6. Now use the editing tools to build your SoL:
              • Add topics to each week. Use the Blue i icon next to the topics to see if they are suitable for your classes before dragging them into the correct week
              • Plan to deliver topics a week after teaching. We recommend putting topics in 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
              • Check homework is off (or on if required) during the holidays. 
              • Make sure the homework topics are in order of priority from the top of the list each week. Some students work at different speeds so we recommend putting the topics in order of what you want them to see first

            Viewing topics in more detail

            To decide if the topics are right for your class click on the blue i to see:

            • A description of the topic
            • An example of every question that a student could receive
            • The support videos available to them
            • Any methods Sparx will use as part of the question

            Copying schemes to different academic years

            Before you copy a scheme to a different academic year make sure you have added the holiday dates for that year. This will mean homework is automatically turned off in those weeks. Find out how to do this in our article: Adding your school holidays

            To copy a SoL to a future academic year:

            • Go to Management > Schemes of Learning
            • Choose Options>Copy
            • When prompted, add the dates of a future academic year into the form
            • Click Create. The scheme will now be visible in the future academic year
            • Check your scheme has the homework turned off in the correct weeks

            To copy a SoL from a previous academic year to the current one:

            • Go to Management > Schemes of Learning
            • Go to Archive on your Schemes of Learning page
            • Select the SoLs you want to copy and choose to move to This Academic Year
            • Check your scheme has the homework turned off in the correct weeks

            Publishing a Scheme of Learning

            Once you are happy with your SoL then you need to publish it using the options menu:


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