Organising time.
WHAT A TIMETABLE MUST BALANCE
Curriculum requirements Staff availability Room capacity Student groupings Reasonable workload
WHAT MAKES IT DIFFICULT
Constraints that conflict.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH FIRST
The fixed constraints: required hours, shared rooms, staff who teach elsewhere.
WHAT TO BUILD AROUND
Those.
WHAT TO AVOID
Timetables that leave no recovery time Staff teaching continuously without breaks Difficult subjects always at the worst times
WHY THAT LAST POINT
It systematically disadvantages those subjects.
WHAT TO PUBLISH EARLY
The term calendar.
WHY
Families plan around it, and late changes cause real difficulty.
WHAT IT SHOULD CONTAIN
Term dates Holidays Examination periods Events Reporting dates Fee deadlines
WHAT TO PLAN FOR
Disruption: power failures, weather, public events, staff absence.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
How classes are covered when a teacher is absent.
WHY IN ADVANCE
Arranging cover on the day produces chaos.
WHAT TO MAINTAIN
A record of who can cover what.
WHAT TO REVIEW AFTER EACH TERM
What did not work in the timetable.
WHAT TO ASK STAFF
Where the timetable makes their work harder.
