This guide looks at some common e-Timetable questions, click on a red question to jump to that question in the guide.
For more information on e-Timetable see here or to book on e-Timetable training see here.
If you are in any doubt about making changes in e-Timetable please contact Bromcom Support in the first instance.
Q. If I have the same class in more than one block will they come over to Bromcom as one class.
Q. Could there be any issue in having teaching classes of the same name across academic years
Q. My year groups look different on my Curriculum Plan, where do these Year Groups come from.
Timetable Science Classes
Q. How do I timetable Science classes where some just have Science and others are split Biology, Chemistry and Physics
A. Scenario: 10 x Year 11 classes in total, 8 of these classes have 6 periods of Science a week and the remaining 2 classes have 2 periods each of Biology, Chemistry and Physics a week In this example in the Curriculum Planning Tool is set as below
If all Year 11 Science have Science at the same time use a linear block ( Li1) in this example.
If all the Year 11 Science is split across Bands i.e. not taught at the same time then the Curriculum Plan could look like this with a simple block added to both Bands with 5 classes in each
In the example the triple sciences Biology, Chemistry and Physics are part of an option choice as well as being core then you could for example;
- Have one linear block across the bands if taught at the same time OR
- Have 2 simple blocks if taught across bands for the core AND THEN
- Add the triple subjects in as an option in the option block.
Now let’s look on what the block looks like when we’ve applied the curriculum plan.
In this example we have chosen the scenario below
- Science Linear Block
- 10 classes in total
- 6 periods a week of Science
- 8 classes have 6 periods of Science of week
- 2 of the classes to have a combination of Biology, Chemistry and Physics with 2 periods of each a week.
Now we have just ticked to view the Linear block only and we are in the Show All Details View in the Curriculum Plan
Now we are going to drag over our Science subject into the linear block.
Now I’m going to rename the Block Science by double clicking on the block name
Now I’m going to right click on the single class and select add class(es) the 7 classes to make the 8 Science classes
Now I need to amend 2 classes of the classes to Triple Science i.e. 2 x Biology, Chemistry and Physics
First we are going to click on the block and make this block non linear so we can then drag across more subjects. This makes the linear block an Option Block
Remember to click Save
Then we’re going to drag over Biology under the 8 classes this will create a class with 6 periods of Biology
Now we are going to drag across Biology from the left hand Subject tab under the 8 remaining classes this will add 6 periods of Biology for the class
Then we are going to click on the last period and delete selected period for this Subject repeat to remove 4 periods
Then we are going to repeat this process dragging over Chemistry and then Physics to fill in the 4 lessons so the class has 2 periods each of Biology, Chemistry and Physics
Then lastly I’m going to right click on the class and add another class to make 2 classes in total with the 2,2,2 combination
Click Save.
If the subject combination is different for individual classes then add another class to the block and then drag over the subjects to the right of the class to define different combinations as per the example below with 3 different triple science class combinations in the Core Science Block
New Member of Staff
Q. If a member of Staff has been added to Bromcom while I’m working in e-timetable how do I see and timetable the new member of Staff.
A You can go File>Import>Import Bromcom MIS Data to bring in the new member of Staff , please be aware that the new member of Staff must have a contract to show in Staff in e-timetable.
Or if the new member of Staff hasn’t yet been added to your Bromcom you can assign the classes to another member of Staff and then at a later date when the new member of Staff has been added right click on the member of Staff and click Substitute Teacher and then choose the new member of Staff.
Unknown Member of Staff
Q. How do I timetable a member of staff where I don’t have their name in the example they haven’t been recruited yet.
A. Create a ‘dummy’ member of Staff in e-Timetable called for example ‘English Teacher’ and assign the classes to them and then perform the Substitute Teacher when the new member of Staff has been added to the system. You could also import the dummy’ member of staff into Bromcom and then transfer their timetable to the new member of staff when they are recruited and then delete the ‘dummy’ member of staff.
Mixed Classes
Q. How do I timetable mixed classes, for example a Post 16 class with both Year 12 and Year 13 students in it.
A. Add the subject to one of the Year Groups in the Curriculum Plan (not both) . Tip: in Tools>Settings>Class Name Definition you can add Free Text to your class name so you could have a class called for example Fr12/13A1 where /13 is Free Text. In the example you add the subject the Year 13 Curriculum Plan then in Year 12 you could create a ‘dummy subject’ to fill the gap in the Year 12 timetable.
Same Classes in more than one Block
Q. If I have the same class in more than one block will they come over to Bromcom as one class.
A. Yes they will come over as one class however, you MUST ensure the class names are EXACTLY the same otherwise you will create duplicate classes
Mixed Number of Periods in a Block
Q. I want to timetable a subject for one lesson in a block where all other subjects have more than one lesson in that block
A. You can create a dummy subject and assign that to the empty periods, don’t assign a member of staff or rooms to the classes in e-timetable and then ignore the subject when imported over into Bromcom
In this example an Option block has 4 periods for week with a choice of either Ar(Art), Bi(Biology),Da(Dance), Hi(History) or 1 period of St1( Study Skills)
In order to add this block to your Timetable you need to ‘fill’ the 3 empty periods next to the St1 subject with the ‘dummy’ subject ( don’t assign Staff or Rooms to this Subject) and when imported into Bromcom you will ignore these classes when assigning students.
Period Structure
Q. I have 5 x 1 hour periods in my period structure however, for some periods I want to split the hour into 2 x 30 minute sessions for a small amount of lessons.
A. It’s best advised to handle this internally in school if its just for a small amount of lessons otherwise you would need to have a period structure with for example an additional period which you can then split into 2 x 30 minute sessions and the majority of students have a double lesson that period.
Apply Curriculum Plan Options
Q. I want to see how my Curriculum Plan looks in my timetable before I’ve added all my blocks, how do I do this before I select Apply Curriculum Plan
A. you could file, save as and save a copy of your curriculum plan and Apply Curriculum Plan to the copy and then go back to your original Curriculum Plan to use as your ‘master’
Teaching Classes Same Names
Q. Could there be any issue in having teaching classes of the same name? e.g., there will be a 11-MA1 for this academic year and next academic year.
This isn’t an issue as when you import your timetable into Bromcom you are creating a new timetable for the new academic year.
New Academic Year Timetable Changes
I’m ready to import my new timetable for the next academic year over to Bromcom however, there’s likely to be some changes between now and the summer. If I import to Bromcom now, can I just make changes and re-import to Bromcom, or would that cause any issues?
When importing your new timetable for the next academic year for the first time and any subsequent imports before your next academic year starts ALWAYS SET THE START AND END DATES FOR THE NEXT WHOLE ACADEMIC YEAR for example September to July . This is in effect overwriting the previous import for the WHOLE ACADEMIC YEAR.
Then once the new academic year has started in September and you need to import changes then you can set the start date for the import from the change date. So for example if you had a change to take place from 1st October when you import you would set the start date of the new imported timetable to 1st October.
Making Changes throughout the Year
Q. Do you have any advice about using e-Timetable during the year? Or is it best from September to make all changes directly in Bromcom?
A. The usual practice is to make minor changes in Bromcom for example staff, student, or room changes. Then you can import these changes back into e-Timetable using the tick ‘import timetable entities’ on the ‘select entities to import‘ screen. Use e-Timetable to make major structural changes.
How to see new Staff starters
Q. New staff aren’t appearing on my staff list within e-Timetable is there a way of making next year’s staff appear?
In Bromcom – first make sure new staff have a contract AND a role with a start date and then in e-Timetable the date as on below needs to change to that start date so the new staff will appear.
Year Groups on Curriculum Plan
Q. My year groups look different on my Curriculum Plan, where do these Year Groups come from.
The Year Groups in e-timetable come from the Year Group Description in Bromcom .Go to Groups>Year Group to see the Year Group Name and Year Group Description
Edit Class Codes
Q. I want to edit my class names in e-Timetable however, the option to Edit Classcode is greyed out in e-Timetable
A. In order to Edit a Classcode you need to add Free Text to your Class Name Definition form Tools>Settings
Then choose Class Name Definition, please ensure you SAVE YOUR WORK before you edit the Class Names as any changes will require the existing forms to close.
Add Free Text to your Class Name in the position required
Click OK
