The Conflicts table displays conflicting sessions for Staff and Rooms. Users can search, sort, and filter by all column headers in the popup to find conflicts. Conflicts include:
- Staff allocated sessions > Staff available sessions.
- Room allocated sessions > Room available sessions.
- Staff being assigned to more than one scheduled session in the same period.
- Rooms being assigned to more than one scheduled session in the same period.
- Conflict detection for staff and room scheduling
- Conflict Analysis
The minimum permissions required to create a Timetable are found in the Timetable Module from Config > Setup > Roles and Permissions > Choose Role>Edit>Timetable > Timetable App.
For more information on wTimetable see here and see What’s New for latest updates.
Go to Modules>wTimetable>Projects>Click on Project to see the Timetable panel with the tabs below. The Conflicts button is visible in the top right on any of the tabs in the Timetable.
Click on the top right red Conflicts button to open the Conflicts popup.
The popup is split into two tabs – Active and Accepted. The Active tab lists Conflicts which require attention and can be viewed from here and if necessary – Accepted.
Click on the Active tab.
Click on View in the Actions column to view the conflict in the relevant page (Curriculum Plan or Scheduling).
When allocated sessions > available sessions for a Staff or Room, you will be taken to the Curriculum Plan page and the relevant side panel (Staff or Room) will display the red highlighted row which contains the conflict. E.g., Curriculum Plan page showing a Staff conflict in the Staff side panel.
When there is more than one assigned session in the same period to a Staff or Room, you will be taken to the Scheduling page and the relevant view (Staff or Room) will display the red highlighted session which contains the conflict. E.g., Scheduling page showing a Room conflict in the Room view.
To accept a Conflict and move it to the Accepted tab, either:
Tick the row(s) and click Accept Conflicts.
OR Click on the (tick) Accept icon in the Actions column.
In the Accepted tab, Conflicts can be restored back to the Active tab in two ways, either tick the row(s) and click on Restore Conflicts or click on the Restore icon in the Actions column.
To provide control and visibility over scheduling decisions, we have introduced automatic locking and unlocking of sessions when managing conflicts:
- Accepting Conflicts: When a user accepts an Active Conflict, it will be automatically locked to prevent accidental changes. A lock icon will be displayed on the Scheduling page to indicate this status.
- Restoring Conflicts: If an Accepted Conflict is restored, the associated session will be automatically unlocked, making it available reallocation.
- Auto-Scheduling: Locked sessions will be preserved during the Auto Schedule process. This ensures that accepted conflict decisions remain intact and are not overwritten by automated scheduling.
Conflict Detection
Users will receive immediate feedback when attempting to schedule Staff and Rooms that conflict with existing sessions, helping them to avoid double booking of staff or rooms during the same time period.
Note: Users will still be able to schedule the member of Staff and Room with a conflict message.
1. Staff Conflict Detection
- Single Staff Conflict: If a staff member (main staff member or additional staff member) is already scheduled during the same period for a different session, the system will notify the user with the following message: “Info: <Teacher> is assigned to more than one session in this period.”
- Multiple Staff Conflict: When more than one staff member is involved in scheduling conflicts, the system will show a more general message: “Info: Multiple staff members are assigned to more than one session in this period.”
2. Room Conflict Detection
- Single Room Conflict: If a room is already booked during the same period for a different session, the system will notify the user with the following message: “Info: <Room> is assigned to more than one session in this period.”
- Multiple Room Conflict: If more than one room is involved in scheduling conflicts, the system will show: “Info: Multiple rooms are assigned to more than one session in this period.”
Show Conflicts Toggle
In the Detailed/Year Group view, you will also see a Show Conflicts toggle in the top right hand corner. When enabled, the following indicators will appear:
- Sessions
- C – Active conflict (from the Active tab in the Conflicts popup).
- AC – Accepted conflict (from the Accepted tab in the Conflicts popup).
- Blocks
- Block highlighting – Any block containing at least one session with an Active conflict is outlined with a red border across the entire block period.
Labels Conditions:
- If a session has multiple Active conflicts, only one C label is shown.
- If it has multiple Accepted conflicts, only one AC label is shown.
- If it has both Active and Accepted conflicts, only a single C label is displayed.
- If a session is scheduled during a Split Lunch period and Count Lunch Periods as One is enabled, the label will replace the Split Lunch icon.
Conflict Analysis
May 2025 update: Users can now view scheduled timetable conflicts for staff in a grid format, displaying all related sessions in one view.
A new Analyse Conflicts option has been added to the Conflicts popup, allowing users to choose between two analysis modes:
- Post-16 Student Allocations – Available for Post-16 conflicts only.
- Manual Clashes – Available for conflicts across all year groups.
Manual Clashes
Clicking Manual Clashes opens the Conflict Analysis popup.The conflict is clearly highlighted in red at the top of the grid.
Example: Teacher Fiona Ghosh (Fn) is assigned to more than one session scheduled to the same period: Monday 1 P2. Sessions: as Main Teacher for 13B/Bi, as Main Teacher for AAA/Bi.
Selections
- The Select Class dropdown lists all classes involved in the conflict (e.g., 13B/Bi, AAA/Bi).
- The Add/Remove Staff dropdown defaults to include staff in grid. Staff can be removed from the list, and additional staff for any subject can be added, as needed.
- Users can export the conflict analysis by clicking Export, which downloads the data as an Excel (.xlsx) file.
Grid
- The grid is divided by the number of weeks in the timetable cycle (e.g. Week 1, Week 2).
- It displays each staff member’s Contact Time (CT) along with their total scheduled hours.
- Staff Codes are displayed, with full staff names available via tooltip on hover.
- The selected teacher appears at the top of the grid, showing all their scheduled classes.
- The classes causing the conflict are outlined with a red dashed border.
- The grid also includes timetables for:
- Teachers from the same department as the conflict class.
- Teachers who teach the conflict class or related subject.
- Teachers whose classes are part of the same block as the conflict class (only applicable to Complex and Options blocks).
- Each cell displays the Class Code and Subject Code (e.g. AAA/Bi Bi), with full details shown in a tooltip.
- All other scheduled sessions are shown in grey.
Class Colour Coding
- Users can colour code ‘grey’ classes for easier identification and grouping within the grid.
- To apply colour: Left-click on a ‘grey’ class, select the pen icon, choose a colour, and select Pick.
- Updating the colour of a single class will apply the change to all instances of that class in the grid.
Post-16 Student Allocations
Important: Post-16 Student Allocations will be available for timetables where Import Options has been completed — for Year 12 in England and Year 13 in Northern Ireland in the Curriculum Plan > Actions. After this, you must schedule the blocks. Conflicts will then be visible only for scheduled blocks.
Clicking Post-16 Student Allocations opens the Conflict Analysis popup.
The conflict is clearly highlighted in red at the top of the grid.
Example: Teacher Fiona Ghosh (Fn) is assigned to more than one session scheduled to the same period: Monday 1 P2. Sessions: as Main Teacher for 13B/Bi, as Main Teacher for AAA/Bi.
Grid
The grid is organised by weeks in the timetable cycle (e.g., Week 1, Week 2) and displays the timetable for the staff member with the conflict.
- Conflicting classes are marked with a red dashed border.
- Each cell shows the Class Code and Room Code (e.g., AAA/Bi 42), with full details available via tooltip.
Free periods for the selected staff member are highlighted and show the number of student conflicts with other scheduled classes, using the following colour-coded system:
- Green: 0–2 student conflicts
- Yellow: 3–5 student conflicts
- Red: More than 5 student conflicts
Hovering over a class displays the first five affected students. To see the full list, click the cell to open the Affected Students panel.
Hovering over the i icon beneath a period reveals the Block Name.
Available Staff
The Available Staff panel is static and shows staff members linked to the subject and class. It displays each person’s Contact Time and total scheduled hours. Clicking Compare adds the selected staff member to the grid, allowing timetable comparison with the existing staff member. Clicking Close will remove them from the grid.
Affected Students
The Affected Students panel updates when you click on a free period in the grid, which is then highlighted with a blue dashed border. It displays the affected students for the selected class, along with their other subject choices.
Note: If no affected students exist for the selected period, or if no period has been selected, the panel will display: “No Data Available.”
To export the conflict analysis, click Export to download the data as an Excel (.xlsx) file.