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Free Booklets

Timetabling resources: Covers for TimeTabler E-Books
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Testimonials

I can now create a better timetable in less time.Philip MoonHigh School of Glasgow, Scotland
Brilliant, easy to use, wonderfully supported by a highly knowledgeable team.Keith IrvineBishops’ Stortford College Herts
TimeTabler and Options have been fantastic tools.

John Ridley
Tanglin Trust,
Singapore
With TimeTabler, 3 days’ work can be carried out in minutes.Ian CrabbeMarlborough College, Wilts
I have been really impressed with the support that I have received.Anne HoldenPortland Central,Australia
I found TimeTabler much easier to use …Beth LedgerAmman Valley School,Wales
TimeTabler has continued to be great value for money.Danny KotelHenry Lawson High School,Australia
We thoroughly recommend all three products … they save us a great deal of time.Ted Fenton, David WilliamsCokethorpe School, Oxon
I can recommend TimeTabler and Options to anyone.John MackenzieDunalastair School,Chile
I thoroughly recommend TimeTabler to any school.Charles BrenanNewland House School,Middlesex

Home / Free Booklets

 

Free Booklets from TimeTabler

We provide several free Booklets and White Papers that you will find helpful if you are involved with timetabling in your school.

The Booklets cover a range of topics, from improving your school’s timetable, to saving money via timetabling decisions.

Below is a summary of our main e-Booklets, with links to download them individually.
You are welcome to download and save as many as you like, for free and without registering.

You can use the following contents list to ‘skip’ down the page instead of scrolling :


1. Help and Support we provide for your timetabling
2. Curriculum & Timetabling : A Guide for Headteachers
3. Saving Money for your school via the timetable

4. Improving the Timetabling & Employment of Part-time Teachers : A Guide for Timetablers and for Headteachers
5. Flexible Working : Timetabling Part-timers and Job-Shares

6. Improving Your School’s Options
7. Options Structures : 3 models & 7 variations
8. What is the most efficient way to collect your pupils’ optional Subject Choices ?    Scottish Flag  (For Scottish Schools)

9. Will your next timetable be more difficult ?
10. White Paper on Improving Your Timetable

11. Scheduling a timetable in a Primary School, a Special School, a Junior School, or a Prep School
12. Scheduling a Special School, or a Pupil Referral Unit, or a small school, or a small ‘Sixth Form’

 

COVID-19
If you are still looking for a way to build-in social distancing because of COVID-19, then see the information here, and our e-Booklet, here.

 

The Booklets below are not just for TimeTabler Users. They contain principles and guidance that everyone involved with school timetabling may find useful.
However, if you would like to try a free, Tutorial version of TimeTabler, Options, or StaffCover, to accompany your reading and to test some of the advice and suggestions contained in the Booklets, please click here.

We also provide a free monthly e-NewsLetter, with more general information on timetabling, topical advice regarding TimeTabler and its features, and details of the Support and Training we offer throughout the year.
To sign-up, please click here.

To find more timetabling resources and support, please click here.

 

 

 

Our Help and Support Booklet Cover

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.

Timetabling Guide for Headteachers Booklet Cover

 

Saving Money via the timetable Booklet Cover

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) 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.

Improving Timetabling for Part-time Teachers Booklet Cover

 

Flexible Working Timetabling Booklet Cover

5) 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.

 

 

6) 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.

 

Improve Options Booklet Cover

 

Options Structures Booklet Cover

7) 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.

 

8) 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.

Collecting Options in Scotland Booklet Cover

 

 

"Will your next timetable be more difficult" Booklet Cover

9) 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.

 

10) 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.

Improving Your Timetable Booklet Cover

 

 

Scheduling a Primary, Special, Junior or Prep School Booklet Cover

11) 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.

 

12) 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.

Scheduling a Special School / PRU Booklet Cover

 

 

We also have a free e-Booklet on timetabling for Social Distancing, which has been updated regularly throughout the pandemic. See here for more details.

To download your copies of the Free Tutorial versions of the programs, see here.

If you have any questions or comments about the Booklets, or this webpage, please email them to news@timetabler.com.

To keep up-to-date with all the latest news on TimeTabler, Options, and StaffCover, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn & YouTube via our Social Media page.

 

Return to top.

Home / Free Booklets

The TimeTabler Newsletter

Our free Monthly Newsletter for School Timetablers:  Click here for more info, or to sign-up.

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Basic Data

BasicData-thumbnail

This shows the Main Menu, and Step 1 : the Basic Data screen, with five big buttons.

Each button leads you to an entry screen.

To enter your data you would start at the left, and work your way across to the right.

Look how straightforward it is, compared to other programs !

And the fully-illustrated printed Manual explains each step, in detail.

 

Subjects Screen

subjects screen

This is the screen for saying which Subjects you will want to timetable.

You can return here at any time to edit / alter your data.

You can give each Subject a colour – this helps during scheduling, and for the printouts.

Visual Builder Screen

visual builder screen

This is the main screen on which you do the actual scheduling.
You can sit at this Visual Builder Screen and drag-and-drop to ‘drive’ through the timetable.
 
At first sight it looks very complicated.  To see what each part will do for you, please click on: www.timetabler.com/kb/UsingtheVisualBuilderScreen.pdf

Class Timetable Screen

 

visual builder screen

 

This shows you the Class Timetables, so you can see the pattern while you are scheduling lessons.
  
There are similar screens for the Staff Timetables and for the Room Timetables.
 
If you use dual monitors you can see these more easily and spread them out over the bigger area.

All the buttons, and the symbols, are explained when you click on the button.

The Printout Menu

This shows you some of the possibilities for the Printouts.
 
Within each of these, there are millions of ways of fine-tuning the exact design of the Printouts.

They can be printed on paper, or produced as web-pages, at the click of a button.

A professional result.
 

The 'master' Class Printout Screen

Class timetable printout screen

This shows you the Preview Screen , so you can design the ‘master’ Class printout, before printing it.
 
There are similar screens for the Staff Timetables and for the Room Timetables.
 
You have total control over the design, the font and the colour, the column widths, the labels, etc, etc.
 
All the buttons and the controls, are explained when you click on the button.