Create a new draft timetable

If you use Timetable (E10), you can access its help articles here

Introduction

Creating a timetable draft allows you the flexibility to set up a variety of variables Timetable 2.0 will need to consider when generating the timetable. 

Variables within a draft timetable such as:

• academic year for that timetable
• structure of the timetable
• start and end dates for terms 
• non-teaching days
• what subjects can be taught in each room
• what cohorts students belong to
• what teachers are available to teach and when
• classes that need to be taught

Follow this guide to create a new draft timetable using the recommended order below. Following these steps helps timetable creation runs smoothly.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Before you start
• Setup steps (recommended order)
• Options classes for electives or choices subjects
• Generating a draft timetable
• Up next

Before you start

• Make sure you have Timetabler or Organisation administrator permissions to create timetables.
• MIS/SIS data sync or manual upload of data has completed.
• Gather key information such as term dates, staff availability, room usage rules, and your class/subject structure.

Create a draft timetable

To create a new draft timetable, go to Drafts and select New draft:

1. Give your timetable a name. There are no rules to naming drafts, but you want it to make sense to yourself or other users. 
2. Select Next.
3. Use the drop down to select the academic year this timetable will apply to.
4. To set up the structure of the school day in a draft timetable, you'll be asked to choose between Teaching Time and Set Periods, with each option supporting different timetable requirements.
5. Select the required structure and follow the prompts. 
6. When the draft is saved, you can follow the set up steps (below) for your draft.

Setup steps (recommended order)

1. My school year – Add term dates and non-teaching days for the academic year.
2. Rooms – Assign subjects to rooms so the system knows where each subject can (and cannot) be taught.
3. Students and Groups – Check students are organised correctly in your MIS/SIS or manual upload groups and any custom groups you use for timetabling.
4. Staff – Set teacher availability with allowances for Planning, Preparation and Assessment time (PPA), Release from Face-to-Face (RFF) or Duties Other Than Teaching (DOTT), teachable subjects, and any group links needed for allocation.
5. Classes and subjects – Combine your rooms, staff, students and subjects to create the class groups used for timetable generation.

Options classes for electives or choices subjects

Learn how to set up options classes that are saved to draft timetables to allow elective or choices classes to be included in timetable generation.

Generating a draft timetable

Once you’ve completed the steps above, you’re ready to generate a draft timetable. 

The system will run pre-flight check and let you know if there are any issues with the data (for example, missing students, incorrect groups, or staff availability issues). 

Revisit the relevant step and correct the underlying data from your MIS/SIS or manual upload to update the information, before you generate again.

Up next

My School Year

Set up the structure of the school day - Teaching Time Structure

Set up the structure of the school day - Period Structure

Rooms: Set permitted subjects (room permissions)

Students and Groups

Staff

Add classes in draft timetables

Generate a timetable