Timetabling Training & Support | Timetabling Software

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INSET and Training on Timetabling

We help you with INSET / Training / CPD / Help / Support in a variety of ways:

1.	Free Help & Support When you use our software you have access to Help & Support in 12 different ways! For more details see here and here.
2.	Extra Help & Training Timetabling is now more difficult than it used to be, and if you would like some Extra Help & Support we have Timetabler Associates who can help you. These Associates are all experienced Timetablers, and they can help you in a variety of ways, at 5 different levels. They can offer training, webinars, courses, principles, workshops, on-site visits, etc. as well as on-line courses. For details of how to contact these Associates, click here. You can purchase training vouchers here.
3.	Free Materials We also provide, below, some free timetabling Inservice Training materials that are useful for individual study for professional development by those who wish to become involved in timetabling in the future, or who wish to understand more of the timetabling process.

Many of the materials below can be freely downloaded (as .pdf files; more details are given on the download page).

Once downloaded they can then printed out (in A4 format) for use within your school or college provided that the © copyright notice is kept on each sheet.

All these materials have been well-tried and tested over a number of years, on many timetabling courses.

1.	The Timetabler’s Year A brief timetable of timetabling. Jump to the INSET download page to download this sheet. A fuller version is included in ‘Timetabling – A Timetabler’s CookBook‘.
2.	A Glossary of timetabling terms An explanation of some of the jargon used in timetabling. Jump to the INSET download page to download these pages. A fuller version is included in ‘Timetabling – A Timetabler’s CookBook‘.
3.	Curriculum Notation and Curriculum Diagrams A brief explanation of the notation used by OFSTED and others for drawing curriculum diagrams. Jump to the INSET download page to download this sheet. For a more complete explanation of a Curriculum Diagram, with examples, there is a 6-page spreadsheet. Jump to the INSET download page to download this spreadsheet. A fuller version, with 22 examples, is included in ‘Timetabling – A Timetabler’s CookBook‘.
4.	Staff Deployment Analysis This topic includes work on the Contact Ratio, curriculum bonuses, etc. TimeTabler will calculate this for you, see the HelpScreen in TimeTabler. More details, with software, is included in ‘Timetabling – A Timetabler’s CookBook‘.
5.	Options Pools / Blocks / Columns / Electives An outline of different Patterns of Options Choices for students. See also our Options software. See also Chapter 3 in the ‘Timetabling‘ CookBook. With our TOOLS module you can now collect your students’ Choices on-line.
6.	Analysing Students’ Choices and Constructing Option Blocks The *Options* software and the Tutorial Booklet, which can be obtained free from the download page, give you a step-by-step guide to the power and ease of constructing Option Blocks by computer. The Tutorial takes about 1 hour to work through. By a series of problem-solving worked examples it shows you how to analyse your Students’ Choices quickly, and construct the best Pattern of optional subjects / electives. The Windows version of *Options, with a Tutorial, is available for free* download NOW.
7.	The Combing Chart This is a very useful test for checking teacher-teams. It allows you to look for impossibilities in the data you are intending to schedule. It is very helpful for the Timetabler if Heads of Department are given this INSET before the timetabling season. This topic can be easily covered in a session of about 1 hour. The INSET materials consist of a Briefing Note for the person giving the training; 2 FactSheets of information, and 2 Activity Sheets of work for course members to do (7 pages of A4 in total). Jump to the INSET download page to download these materials. A fuller version is included in ‘Timetabling – A Timetabler’s CookBook‘ (Chapter 7).
8.	The Conflict Matrix Another test for checking teacher-teams, and seeing how the teacher-teams of one year-group might fit against the teams from another year-group. It can be helpful for the Timetabler if Heads of Department are given this INSET before the timetabling season. This topic can be easily covered in a session of less than 30 minutes. The INSET materials consist of a Briefing Note for the person giving the training; 2 FactSheets of information, and 1 Activity Sheet of work for course members to do (5 pages of A4 in total). Jump to the INSET download page to download these materials. A fuller version is included in ‘Timetabling – A Timetabler’s CookBook‘ (Chapter 8).
9.	Zarraga’s Rule A test for checking how parallel teacher-teams in one part of the school interact against the serial teams of teachers in another part of the school. Jump to the INSET download page to download these materials. A fuller version is included in ‘Timetabling – A Timetabler’s CookBook‘ (Chapter 10).
10.	Scheduling Rules A practical problem-solving activity which looks at the rules and gives you practice with the musical-chairs moves that are used during scheduling. Full details are included in ‘Timetabling – A Timetabler’s CookBook‘ (Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14, 15).
11.	Timetabling using a Computer The *TimeTabler* software and the Tutorial Booklet, which can be obtained free from the download page, give you a step-by-step guide to the power and ease of timetabling by computer. The Tutorial takes about 1¼ hours to work through, during which time you will do at least one timetable. This is also an introduction to timetabling if you have not done any before. The latest version of *TimeTabler, with a Tutorial, is available here: download now*
12.	Organising daily Cover for absent staff The *StaffCover* software and the Tutorial Booklet, which can be obtained free from the download page, give you a step-by-step guide to the easy way of arranging daily Cover by computer. The Tutorial takes just 10 minutes to work through, and shows you the power and flexibility of this software, to save your time daily.
13.	Timetabling e-NewsLetter If you add your address to our mailing list then you receive our free monthly NewsLetter, full of hints & tips and what you should be thinking of doing ‘this’ month.
14.	Timetabling courses With our Associates we arrange a large number of Courses, Webinars or Workshops each term, which are all advertised in the monthly NewsLetter. The Associates can also provide you with on-site in-school help & support … more information here. This is all in addition to the free Help & Support that we provide with the program. Click here for a summary of the Help & Support that we provide.