Lesson plans
A “perfect” timetable would enable a school to run smoothly and at optimal efficiency. But how do you recognise it when you have it? Dale Bragg reports on the trials and tribulations of getting there
If your timetable appears to be running smoothly, how do you know if it is running as efficiently as possible and that you’ve captured that elusive thing: the perfect timetable?
Usually, the timetable is built by a senior teacher who volunteers for the position following the departure of the previous timetabler. They see the role as an important function in the management of the school (and it is) and as a possible enhancement to their career path (and may be). What they don’t realise is that they will lose their free time and will be subject to criticism from colleagues.
As a rough guide, constructing a timetable from start to finish will take (in man hours) the equivalent of a third of the number of pupils at your school. This means that for a medium-sized school with 600 pupils, the timetable will take about 200 hours to construct. This is equivalent to almost six weeks.
Although the timetabler often delegates the more administrative tasks, the role is still a huge commitment. Given that timetabling is often allocated little time during the working day, the timetabler ends up working evenings, weekends and holidays.
Not all bad
Of course, there are advantages in being the timetabler. It is an important role and they are seen as an integral part of the running of the school. They may also find that during the construction period their wine cellar is replenished by gifts from colleagues requesting that the timetable is tailored ever so slightly to cater to their requirements. However, even the smallest change can have a major effect on the timetable and make it impossible to construct effectively.
The timetabler will try their best to accommodate the curriculum, the student subject choices, room constraints and colleague requests. However, the majority of their time will be spent calculating the outcome of various scenarios in the search for a set that will eventually enable the timetable construction.
Then there are the all-important strategic and financial opportunities of an efficient timetable. Can the staff’s time be allocated in a way that means that the school could trim a few numbers off the payroll? Can the facilities be used in a way to maximise the opportunities to hire them out to third parties?
When the timetable is finally published, the timetabler is inundated with complaints from colleagues whose requests couldn’t be accommodated or from those who feel worse off.
Thankless task
After a few years, many timetablers give up the role as they realise that it’s largely a thankless task and takes up huge amounts of their time. This often leads to resignation and a more senior position at another school, but without the timetabling function.
Next year’s timetable still needs to be built, however, so another teacher volunteers to do it and the cycle repeats itself. Of course, this is damaging for the school as not only does the school lose a valuable member of staff but it also loses an experienced timetabler – and someone who has an intimate knowledge of the workings of the school.
Timetabling will always be a complicated and lengthy process, and timetables can never satisfy everyone. However, schools could use timetabling software to make the process easier.
If your timetable seems to be running smoothly, how do you know if it’s running most efficiently? The answer is that you don’t know – unless you have the “perfect” timetable to compare it with. It is unrealistic for a timetabler to build a separate timetable for every scenario to find this perfect timetable. However, timetabling software runs tirelessly and only takes seconds to calculate outcomes that can take days if carried out manually. This enables the timetabler to get as close as possible to perfection.
Dale Bragg is business manager of Timetabling Solutions. Dale can be contacted on dale@timetablingsolutions.co.uk
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