1) Help and Support we provide for your timetabling

Timetabling is the art of problem-solving. New timetablers may need help to find their feet, and experienced timetablers may occasionally encounter a new and complex problem or challenge.

TimeTabler offers the most comprehensive timetabling support in the world.
This Booklet describes the wealth of Help and Support we provide to assist you with making your timetable as effective as possible.

Our Help and Support includes a Tutorial version of our three Programs, printed Manuals, HelpMovies, a Support Centre, Training Courses, and much more.

To view or download this helpful Booklet, just click here.

Return to top.

2) Curriculum & Timetabling :
A Guide for Headteachers

The timetable can play a significant role in changing the direction of travel of your school.

This Booklet offers a ten-point plan that provides Headteachers with guidance on how to analyse the existing situation in their school, and how to consider and validate possible timetabling changes informed by that analysis.

If you would like to view or download the Booklet, click here.

Return to top.

3) Saving Money for your school via the timetable

Schools facing serious financial pressures may consider a range of cost-cutting measures. Making changes to the timetable can also have an important impact on school finances.

This Booklet considers whether your staff may be able to teach more hours, and whether it would be possible to reduce the number of Teaching Groups, among other steps, as potential ways to save money.

The Booklet includes Worked Examples, using TimeTabler, to show how these measures might work in practice.

If you would like to view or download the Booklet, click here.

Return to top.

4) Staff Retention in your school via the timetable

Of all the things that a school might consider, when looking at retaining or attracting staff, the most relevant, that affects everyone daily, is the timetable.

The Head and Senior Staff can make good noises about staff welfare, and their tone can be important in the life of the school, but for practical measures the first thing to consider is the timetable.

The Booklet considers 6 practical ways of doing this, using TimeTabler.

If you would like to view or download the Booklet, click here.

Return to top.

5) Improving the Timetabling & Employment of Part-time Teachers
A Guide for Timetablers and for Headteachers

Flexible working brings many advantages for schools, but timetabling for Part-time Teachers can be challenging.

This Booklet reports on the findings and practical outcomes of a year-long Project that we were invited to run by the Department of Education (DfE) in England. The Project was funded by the DfE with the involvement of Nesta.

In this ground-breaking Project, timetablers temporarily increased the number of Part-timers in their schools in order to develop new approaches to timetabling Part-time staff using new and unique features in TimeTabler.

If you would like to view or download this Booklet, click here.

For more on timetabling Part-timers, see also the Booklets here and here.

Return to top.

6) Flexible Working : Timetabling Part-timers and Job-Shares

This Booklet describes 18 possible scenarios related to Flexible or Part-time working in schools.

You can adapt these scenarios to the needs of Part-time teachers in your school, and use them to identify possible solutions to any timetabling challenges that may arise from their requirements.

If you would like to view or download this Booklet, click here.

For more on scheduling Part-timers, see also the Booklets here and here.

Return to top.

7) Improving Your School’s Options

Providing a better arrangement of Optional Subjects can give your students more motivation, and consequently have a beneficial effect on your School’s exam results.

This Booklet describes the three main types of Options structures, with their respective advantages and drawbacks, and provides examples of Student ‘Pathways’, before helping you to determine the Best Solution for your School.

If you would like to view or download this Booklet, click here.

For Scottish Schools, see the Booklet here.

Return to top.

8) Options Structures :
3 models & 7 variations

This Booklet discusses three different Models that schools use for their Optional / Elective Subjects when they offer their students Choices.

Offering Choices can be a big undertaking for schools, with implications for the time and workload of Senior Staff and Office Staff.

The Booklet suggests ways to collect students’ Choices efficiently, produce good-quality Option Blocks, and communicate with Parents and other School Staff.

To view or download this useful Booklet, just click here.

For Scottish Schools, see the Booklet here.

Return to top.

9) What is the most efficient way to collect your pupils’ optional Subject Choices ?

This Booklet is specific to Scottish Schools, and discusses how to use smart software to collect pupils’ Choices, produce good-quality Option Columns, and communicate with Parents and other School Staff, in order to save the time of Senior Staff and Office Staff.

If you would like to view or download the Booklet, click here.

Return to top.

10) Will your next timetable be more difficult ?

Changes in schools are presenting timetablers with an increasing array of challenges, such as Budget Restrictions and a growing number of Part-time Staff.

This Booklet identifies some possible timetabling difficulties, and offers potential ways to tackle them, which you can consider and discuss with other Senior Staff in your school.

If you would like to view or download this Booklet, click here.

For more about timetabling Part-timers, see also the Booklets here and here.

Return to top.

11) White Paper on Improving Your Timetable

The timetable has the potential to support or inhibit your school’s activities, impacting all your students and staff throughout the year.

Therefore, making your School Timetable as effective as it can be is essential. Improving your timetable may require changes to the timetable cycle, the curricular structure, or how the school schedules its Part-time Staff.

This Booklet discusses a range of questions, intended to inform and guide you on some of the key decisions you may make in the process of improving your School’s Timetable.

If you would like to view or download the Booklet, click here.

Return to top.

12) Scheduling a timetable in a Primary School, a Special School, a Junior School, or a Prep School

This Booklet guides readers through a Worked Example, using TimeTabler, for a hypothetical school that has a number of features typical of Primary and Junior Schools, such as:

• Part-time teachers;
• Specialist ‘Co-ordinators‘ for subjects such as Science, IT, and Music, who teach those classes throughout the school;
• A Nursery and Reception class.

To view or download this Booklet, just click here.

Return to top.

13) Scheduling a Special School, or a Pupil Referral Unit, or a small school, or a small ‘Sixth Form’

Special schools and PRUs can create a particular challenge for timetablers, because students may follow Individual Learning Programmes. The same curricular structure is sometimes used in small schools, and in small ‘Sixth Forms’ (Years 12 & 13).

This Booklet guides readers through a Worked Example, using TimeTabler, for a hypothetical school in which the students follow Individual Learning Programmes.

If you would like to view or download the Booklet, click here.

Return to top.