HEINEMANN SCIENCE SCHEMETEACHER RESOURCE PACK 1. By Ian Bradley, Carol Tear and Mark Winterbottom. Heinemann pound;69.99.

PUPIL BOOK 1. By Ian Bradley, Peter Gale and Mark Winterbottom. Heinemann pound;9.50

These Year 7 materials are designed to match the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority key stage 3 scheme of work. The Resource Pack, the key component, opens with schemes of work for each unit. Learning objectives and outcomes from the QCA scheme are matched to Heinemann resources.

The prime resources for students are activity sheets that support practical work. Occasionally verbose, these might tax the patience of students keen to get on with experiments. Some sheets have differentiated versions. The non-practical activities include designing spreadsheets, graph work and so on.

The sheet “Travel in our Solar System” generated imaginative and well-researched travel brochures from my class. Homework sheets for every lesson contain a good range of text-based exercises, challenging students to think. “Specials” sheets, for lower achievers, match some textbook spreads and can be substituted for homework sheets. Most units have some extension sheets.

Other useful features include revision tests and glossaries. Student record sheets are helpful, listing key points from each unit against which students can assess progress. Two ranges of end of unit tests cover levels 2 to 5 and 3 to 6.

For staff, the teacher and technician notes list apparatus, safety points and tips on implementation. Yet more teacher notes give QCA expected outcomes for each unit and answers to questions. The pack is cumbersome: preparing one lesson can use seven sections of the folder. And there are some proofreading errors.

The slim Pupil Book (150 pages) covers essential content and is useful in backing up activities. Each double-page spread lists learning objectives clearly and carries questions to check understanding.

Departments introducing the QCA scheme of work will find useful materials; Heinemann refreshes even the obscure parts. This scheme is doing its best to help us all sing from the same (QCA) songsheet.

Lynne Marjoram is a science teacher at St Catherine’s RC school for girls, Bexleyheath