After creating a Timetable within a Project this guide looks at the Subject Information tab within the Timetable.
The Subject Information tab is used to help formulate a plan for Staffing. It allows users to set up the number of Periods and Classes per Year Group.
For example in Year 10 for Maths you may have 8 classes who have 4 periods of Maths per week.
Using the period count, and the number of classes, you will be able to see the total required Staff Contact Time for each year group which can then be compared with available Contact Time set up in the Staffing page. This section covers how to:
- Manage Pupil and Class Information
- Manage Subjects
- Period Count
- Manage Groups
- Manage Linear Groups
- Manage Options Groups
- Collapse and Expand Linear and Options Groups
- Manage Complex Groups
- Import Options
- Preview
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 further guidance on wTimetable see here
Go to Modules>wTimetable to open Projects>click on your Project Name>Timetables>click on your Timetable.Click on Subject Information.
Manage Pupil and Class Information
For each year group, chosen from the Select Year Group drop down, the total number of Pupils and the number of Pupils per class is displayed.
- Total Pupils – no of Pupils in the selected Year Group imported from MIS. Can be edited by clicking into the cell.
- Pupils Per Class – Default 30. Can be edited by clicking into the cell.
- X classes for core subjects – Calculated from Total Pupils divided by Pupils Per Class. Rounds up.
- Use the Year Group dropdown to switch between year groups.
The x classes for core subjects are calculated as a guide for helping identify the number of classes required for core Subjects.
Manage Subjects
A Subject can be added to any Year Group multiple times. Adding a Subject multiple times allows the user to add the Subject to different Linear or Options Groups. E.g., a Subject may be offered in two or more Options Groups but can only be added once to that Group.
- Tip: For Options Groups, create the number of groups (see below), then add all required Subjects on a group-by-group basis. This avoids the need to add a Subject multiple times to the Subjects list before moving them to the appropriate group.
Click on the Add Subjects button to open the Add Subjects popup.
The popup lists active Subjects from the Project Wizard.
In the Add Subjects popup, using the check boxes, tick which Subjects will be used in the Timetable. Or select all.
Click Add Subjects.
- Tip: Use the ‘x classes for core subjects’ information for when adding English, Maths, and Science. Note: This does not apply to Post 16 as there are no core subjects.
- Tip: If the Pupils and Class information is changed after a Subject has been added to the Subject panel, then Subjects added to the panel after this time will display the changed ‘x classes for core subjects’ number.
- Tip: Where Subjects only require one Class – change the default no. pupils per class to equal the total pupils before selecting the Subject. This will automatically create one Class per Subject. No. of Classes is editable later.
In the Subjects panel, click on the three dots to:
- Copy Subject – will create another row of that Subject with the same No. of Classes and Period Count, so that it can appear in multiple groups.
- Remove Subject – will remove the Subject from the Subjects panel.
- Add to Linear Group – will add the Subject to the selected Linear Group.
- Add to Options Group – will add the Subject to the selected Options Group
Click Remove above the Subjects panel to remove all Subjects from the panel altogether
Click Proceed
Six dots Indicates the drag and drop function is available so Subjects can be dragged from the Subjects panel into either Linear or Options Group panels (instead of using three dots > Add to ______ Group).
No. of Classes defaults to the ‘minimum of x classes for core subjects’ in Pupils and Class information.
Period Count will always default to 1.
No. of Classes and Period Count in the Subjects panel can be edited individually to arrive at the required totals. See next section in this guide for Period Count Improvement
- Tip: Use the tab key to quickly change the No. of Classes or Period Count per Subject as needed.
Period Count
September 2024; Users now have the ability to edit the Period Count for individual Subjects in an Option Group,where previously they could only change the Period Count for all subjects at the same time. Users will be able to click in the Period Count cell for that particular Subject and make the changes.
When the Period Count has been edited and an Option Group contains Subjects with different Period Counts, the Option Group is transformed into a Complex Block in the Preview table. The block is now identified as a C for Complex.
Period Count continues to be editable for all Subjects in the Option Group by left clicking on the three dot menu and selecting Edit Period Count. However, when this happens, the user will now be alerted ‘Please be aware that all subject periods within Option Group will be updated accordingly.’
Modules > wTimetable > Review tab
Likewise, when the Period Count has been edited and an Option Group contains Subjects with different Period Counts, the Option Group is displayed as a Complex Block in the Review tab. The block is now identified with a C for Complex.
Manage Groups
To add a Group, click on + in the group panel header.
This creates a box ‘Drag your Subjects Here’.
- Tip: Users can add multiple “empty” Linear or Options Groups containers before adding Subjects to them.
Click on the Three Dots for a Group, where you can:
Rename Groups. Name of Group needs to be unique within a Year Group.
Delete Groups. Subjects of deleted Groups will return to the Subjects panel.
If you remove a Subject from a Group it will return to the Subjects panel, however, it will retain the values it had when in the Group.
- You can drag Subjects between Linear and Options Groups.
- A Subject can be included in multiple Linear and/or Options Groups.
- A Subject cannot be added to the same Linear or Options Group multiple times. (This is not allowed because it would be the same as adding an extra class to the subject.)
- Tip: Subject Information page is there to help formulate the plan for the Staffing page, to help check requirements. Use the Block Planning page to arrange the classes into Bands before as required. In some cases, it may be necessary to complete the Block structure once the Blocks have been generated on the Curriculum Plan page
Manage Linear Groups
Subjects in a Linear Group will have the same No. of Classes. However, each Subject can have a different Period Count. Choose a Linear Group to give maximum flexibility for scheduling as classes could be doing any Subject from the Linear Group in the same Period.
To add Subjects to a Linear Group, either drag Subjects from the Subject panel into the Group, or left click on the three dots in the Subjects panel and choose Add to Linear Group.
- Note: The first Subject added to the Linear Group creates Linear Group – 01. The first Subject in the Linear Group becomes the default and the No. of Classes for future Subjects in that Linear Group will equal that of the default. Period Count in Linear Group remains unique and can be changed by clicking in the cell.
To change the No. of Classes in a Linear Group use the action Edit No. of Classes via the three dots. This will change the No. of Classes for all Subjects in that Linear Group. If the user sets the No. of Classes to 0 the system will default it to 1
Manage Options Groups
Subjects in Options Groups are scheduled at the same time and will generally have the same Period Count, and therefore only the No. of Classes can be changed. See also Manage Complex Groups in this article
To add Subjects to an Options Group, either drag Subjects from the Subject panel into the Options Group, or left click on the three dots in the Subjects panel and choose Add to Options Group.
- Note: The first Subject added to the Options Group creates Options Group – 01. The first Subject in the Options Group becomes the default and the Period Count for future Subjects in that Options Group will equal that of the default.
No. of Classes in Options Group can be changed by clicking in the cell.
To change the Period Count in an Options Group, use the action Edit Period Count via the three dots. This will change the Period Count for all Subjects in the Options Group. If the user sets the No. Of Classes to 0 the system will default it to 1
Collapse and Expand Linear and Options Groups
This is an enhancement released in October 2024
Users can easily collapse and expand individual Linear Groups and Options Groups in the Subject Information tab by clicking on the arrow next to the Group name. By default an expanded view is shown.
Note: Users can still add a Subject to a Linear or Option Group when it is collapsed.
Manage Complex Groups
We do not manage Complex Groups on the Subject Information page
Complex Groups are where additional Subjects are required for one or more different Classes within a Block, unlike Linear Groups where each Class will have all Subjects, and should be handled on the Curriculum Plan page. For Complex Groups – just add a Subject to the Subjects panel with Period Counts and No. of Classes to account for staffing.
Options Groups can be transformed into Complex Blocks in the Curriculum Plan page where users can create staggered sessions with free periods. For example, Year 12 option Block is 8 periods but staffing issues mean that some classes have to be scheduled out of Block and require additional period availability. Use the Curriculum Plan to transform an option block into a complex block and manage accordingly.
Import Options
This feature allows users to import Timetable Patterns from the Options module for Year Groups 9, 10, and 12 together, so that they can be used to form the Option Groups.
Note: This import process is dependent on an Options pattern being Set as Final.
Click on the Import Options button.
The confirmation popup opens.
Click Continue to carry on, users are warned that the previously imported option Blocks will be replaced (if previously imported), and that any manually created Blocks will remain in place.
The Option Group will be updated to reflect the imported Timetable options.
Note: Users should use the three-dot menu to change the Period count for each group as required.
Import rules:
- The latest Set as Final Timetable pattern is imported for Year Groups 9, 10, and 12.
- If there have been any changes to the Review page for a Year Group, that Year Group is excluded from the Import Options process.
- If there are already imported Option Groups, they will be removed, and new ones will be created.
- The manually created Option Groups will remain in place.
- If there is no Set as Final timetable pattern for any of the Year Groups, a message will appear “No Options pattern to import.”
General rules:
- Timetable Pattern Year Groups are offset by one year when importing them into the Timetable module E.g. Timetable Pattern Year Group 8 will be imported to Timetable Year Group 9.
- The Option Groups class count will be based on the imported pattern.
- Class names in the Curriculum Plan expanded Blocks will be imported from the pattern, and can be edited
Preview
The Preview table sits at the bottom of the Subject Information page and displays the Timetable framework to identify the Subject and Staffing requirements.
- Displays Subjects by Class and by Group. This preview dynamically updates based on what is changed above.
- Group type is identified with L for Linear and O for Options
- The number of rows represent the No. of Classes in the Group. If we add/remove Subjects, we add/remove rows to the table accordingly.
- Class code is a concatenation of Year Group and subsequential numbering. E.g., 701 (Year Group 7, Class no ‘01’). Note: This is just for general planning. Class Names will be defined according to the school’s need using Class Name Definition in Settings.
- For Timetable that cover more than one week, the multiple weeks are combined in the Preview.
- Blue summary row: cycle (no of weeks, days, and periods) e.g., 2 weeks, 10 days, 50 periods.
- Two summary rows at the bottom of the Preview table:
- Per cycle displays the total Period count require to deliver the Group’s Subjects.
Total displays Total Staff Contact Time required to deliver the Group’s Subjects