The tension of school timetabling: Balancing budgets, staff and students

Becky Trenow is a guest blogger for Curriculum Solutions. She shares insights on timetabling from a teacher’s perspective drawing on part time and full time classroom experience. Her blogs look at the impact of timetabling on: how to balance school staff needs, flexible working and timetabling to support students with SEN.

The summer term can feel like an impending juggernaut: revision, intervention, exams and all the summer enrichment admin I’ve been procrastinating over till now. Which is why, when the first email I receive after the holidays is about timetabling, I’m reminded that it is also time to prepare for next September. It seems so far away in April to be thinking about my teaching in 6 months time, but for one lucky senior leader this is going to be their future for the next few months.

I’m genuinely grateful to be asked which days I’d like to work, which classes I’d prefer to teach and even the areas of practice I’d like to develop (albeit always with the familiar caveat ‘if we can accommodate this’.) I also recognise that I am a very small piece of a very large puzzle that needs to be completed in time for the next cohort to arrive.

As a part-time teacher, I see the strain behind the timetabling process and the impact when it doesn’t quite work. Too often we see timetabling as logistics, when in reality it’s a foundation that can shape the quality of teaching and directly impact the students’ experience in school.

The importance of balancing Protected PPA when creating your school's timetable

Small decisions can make a big difference. PPA, the precious gems in our timetables, is crucial – uneven distribution over a two- week timetable can leave teachers overloaded one week and underused the next. An imbalance can affect planning, marking and ultimately classroom delivery. A well-structured timetable that spreads PPA evenly not only supports workload balance but can improve teacher wellbeing. 

Protecting subject specialism in your school's timetable 

As secondary teachers we enjoy being subject experts, but in the drive to ensure that every teacher is fully allocated and to avoid the cost of supply staff, schools often ask teachers to deliver outside their specialism. Teacher Tapp found that 16% of teachers reported spending the majority of their time teaching outside their specialism. 

One teacher I know was asked to deliver PE for a term because she had once asked for sponsorship for a half marathon, it was assumed that she was physically active and could easily swot up on the GCSE trampolining spec. While staff are adaptable and want to help out, this isn’t always the best outcome for students. Timetabling that prioritises subject knowledge protects curriculum quality and builds teacher confidence. 

The hidden cost of a poorly constructed timetable 

Keeping teaching in-house, with staff who know the students and the school can avoid expensive agency costs. But this only works if the school timetable is constructed intelligently - not just to fill gaps and make the puzzle work, but to make the most of the expertise already in the building.

It’s frustrating when you see some teachers stretched to capacity while others are under-allocated, or when some consistently teach within their subject while others are moved around year to year. These imbalances don’t just affect staff, the impact is always felt in the classrooms.

Timetabling should serve students first. But to do that well, it also needs to support teachers to teach effectively, consistently and within their expertise. When those foundations are right, everything else works better for staff and students alike. 

How can a school timetable consultant help?

Curriculum Solutions can help you plan your curriculum and staffing models for next year, but perhaps more importantly we can also help you to forecast into the future. Doing this can help you make informed strategic decisions that will support equitable allocations, reduce the need for teachers teaching out of specialism and allow you to make budget friendly decisions that don’t mean stretching the capacity of your staff.