Timetable configuration

This guide covers the configuration of new or existing timetable structures in MySchool. Timetables and scheduling is integral to the Attendance module, and is part of the rollover process. During onboarding, we will discuss your needs, and guide you through the process. 

Access requirements

Super users would be able to access this functionality, by going to Administer/Advanced options/Administer timetables. The user group should have the following permissions in order to amend timetables. 

Attendance Type

When setting up your attendance, you can choose either class or course types. However both types still need a timetable to be applied and set up. Class attendance is normally used for younger levels, who may not have a strict lesson schedule to follow, whereas courses are scheduled into periods on a weekly rotation.

For class attendance you can create one or two periods per day to make scheduling easier. With two periods, you have the flexibility of a morning/afternoon roll call. 

With course attendance, you would need to fully schedule each course into a period slot, however, you can decide the frequency of taking attendance, with is roll call. 

Step 1 - Creating the timetable configuration

Open a new configuration by selecting a new timetable in the list view.

Now lets give it a name, if you are looking to archive then you can also edit this if the configuration is no longer to be used.

After you can choose the day configuration. MySchool produces a schedule based on this day configuration. Then using the day mapping, you designate a specific day to appear on a specific date. In most cases, this is a regular week (Mon-Fri). You still need to use day mapping to confirm when these days should appear. You don't have to use the days of the week and can call them Day 1,2 etc. 

We will show you some innovative ways to design your days at the end of the article. For further assistance on this, then please book a meeting with the CRM team.  

In the below example, we have added a Wednesday 1, every alternative Wednesday there maybe a short afternoon, or change in course rotation. We designate on which date this happens by clicking on the day mapping tab and selecting the appropriate day for the date during the year.

Step 2 - Configuring the Periods

Once you have created the timetable, the next step is to configure the periods in this timetable. Either edit or create new opens the following screen. 

Give the period configuration a distinctive name, this can be used across other timetables. Then add the periods you need. 

Each period is a cell in the schedule grill, these are shared by all users so be clear in your naming conventions. The periods will need a start and end time.

Top tip: Be aware that the length determines the size of the block within the schedule. If you have 10-minute lessons they will be quite thin and may not be easy to read on an actual student schedule. Ask the CRM team to reduce your operating hours in the system panel, or rethink your schedule build in accordance.

Step 3 - Determine your roll call strategy

An important step in the period configuration is to determine when attendance is needed. This is a decision that you will need to take depending on your reporting needs. Some clients have a strict period of attendance for funding needs, or just would like to manage student presence on an hourly basis. Ste the behaviour by selecting a type for your period;

• Is roll call - When a period is selected as a roll call, then the educator will be able to take attendance for that period. It must also be a lesson. We advise building a roll call/homeroom/assembly course to simplify this.
• Is lesson - A course or ad hoc lesson can be scheduled for this period. 
• Is break -  Puts a gap in the schedule as we can above, where no lessons can be scheduled. 

In the above example, we see that there are 4 periods, and two of them will require an attendance roll call. This is a common set-up even for senior schools. 

Step 4 - Weighting

The period weighting is used for the ES audit for our Canadian network. It can also extract a detailed hour report for other schools needing this level of detail. Contact our support team to help understand your reporting needs.

The attendance calculation is based on minutes present/absent during the scholastic year. Please all of the day weight (6hrs*60=360min) into the first roll call period. if the student is classed as present for the first period then they will have a full day accorded to them in the ES audit report. 

This can also be split in two and equal weighting is given to morning and afternoon roll calls. The other setting is to have all periods set as roll calls and the report will be calculated based on the duration of each lesson.

A few examples for your scheduling needs

1. Alternating course lessons per weekday

MySchool default schedule is a 5-day rotating cycle, based on planning a course in a certain period on a specific day. e.g. Book English 5 in period 1 for day 1 (Monday). The schedule will place this course in the schedule slot for the duration of the course dates. However, it may be the case that there is a two-week rotating schedule (or 10 day).

Then we can the days on the Day mapping tab. The whole year needs to be mapped manually when using non-regular weeks. For one week, it will show courses scheduled on days 1-5, and then for the second week, it will show the courses scheduled for days 1A-5A.

The student's calendar would then change each week to represent the different scheduled courses.

2. Inverting daily routine with ALT days

Another great way of switching course rotation (big thanks to RCS for this one!) is to incorporate Alt days to switch the times of the periods. For this, we will use a one-day schedule only, with 1 Alt day to put in a simple rotation. 

In the period configuration, we will complete a simple 3-period set up. The morning, afternoon 1 and afternoon 2 are set up with the 'normal' times.

Switch tabs to the Alt 1 selection and let's reorder these around. Note we change the names and the times. We are using the one-day, but switching the periods on alternating days. Course 1 will always be scheduled for the morning period, but this morning period will change if Alt 1 is used in day mapping. 

The student timetable shows the course rotation, based on a day mapping with Alt days.

So even with a custom one-day period, you can actually achieve a 5-day rotation of lessons.