Scheme of work for primary teachers
A scheme of work is the term-level map: what each subject covers, in what order, across the weeks of the term. Fortnightly or monthly plans zoom into a slice of it, and the Cuntas Míosúil records how it actually went. Get the scheme right and the rest of the year's paperwork hangs off it.
What it needs to do
Sequence topics so they build (place value before addition, oral language before the written genre), spread each subject's strands across the year rather than front-loading, and stay realistic about the teaching weeks actually available once closures, tours and assessments are accounted for.
Where schemes go wrong
The classic failure is the September scheme that never gets looked at again, because updating it means re-editing a long document every time reality intervenes. A scheme is only useful if moving a topic takes seconds, and if you can see at a glance which strands and outcomes are still untouched as the term goes on.
Less admin, same teaching
Rang360's Scheme of Work screen is the term laid out day by day, built from your own timetable. Every slot can be filled with a suggested next topic from the curriculum, every lesson can be dragged, swapped or deleted, and a subject-by-subject rail shows how much of each is covered as the term progresses. Everything you plan there flows into your Today screen, and everything you mark taught flows into the Cuntas Míosúil.
Free until January 2027, or for 90 days, whichever is later, with no card required.
Set up my class (10 minutes)Common questions
Is a scheme of work the same as a long-term plan?
Broadly, yes: the term or year level view. Schools use the terms differently; the job is the same.
How much detail belongs in the scheme?
Topic and outcome level. Day-to-day detail lives in the short-term plan; the scheme is for sequence and coverage.