Our school had been searching for a good science scheme, linked to the new curriculum, which also included progress measures. I had heard good things about Switched on Science and the Rising Stars Assessment Progress Tests from teaching colleagues.
The resources are very good and have been well received by staff and the children. The teaching resources provide good coverage of the content and excellent suggestions for practical experiments. The children in Years 3 and 4 enjoyed making the ‘sedimentary sandwiches’, (to resemble the different layers), as part of their work on rocks.
The Progress Tests are helpful to check the children’s knowledge, understanding and skills and to show what progress they are making.
The teaching resources in Switched on Science provide excellent ideas and also links to useful online information. They include good differentiation and challenge. The Progress Tests are linked to all the ‘blocks of content’ in the science programmes of study. With the removal of levels, the tests provide a means of assessing the children’s ability to work scientifically, showing progress across the various science topics.
I would recommend the Complete Science Pack to other schools as it supports teachers in delivering effective science teaching, learning and assessment.
Switched on Science Second Edition