Teacher planner/diary

[minielise]

Hi, school normally provide us with the option of a planner from them, but it doesn’t cover exactly what I want and more importantly, it’s ugly!
I’ve had the pirongs ones in the past but they are quite boring to look at too. Key features I want are:
Timetable
Planning pages
Diary pages (ideally a separate column or different page to planning and with space for notes)
Mark book pages - with space to actually write
It to look nice

Thanks in advance

[ohthegoats]

I have folded and bought something stupidly expensive from Positive Teacher company - I don't like the twee-ness of their stuff (hate it's good to be you in pretty font type messaging), but the layout and contents of the planner looked like the best possible option for me out of all of them.

It's arriving today, so I'll let you know...

[hedgehogger1]

I got a unique prirongs one. You can make it However you want with pretty pages and rainbow ribbons . Go back to Pirongs and look for their unique page

[minielise]

I will investigate both! Thanks!

[ohthegoats]

Mine hasn't arrived yet, but I'm going to go to Pirongs and have another look too.

[PenOrPencil]

Warning, I might be a tad obsessive about planners and over invested already...

On my shortlist were:

The Positive Teacher Company: Pretty but maybe a tiny little bit twee, didn’t go with it in the end as they don’t offer a page per day and for something not 100% perfect it was too expensive.

Pirongs Unique: Not quite as unique / customisable as they suggest, and all of my pictures that I tried as covers weren’t of a high enough quality. Didn’t want to risk a pixelated cover for the price.

In the end I went with a cheap and cheerful Loop Planner. The pages are dated (big plus!) and I have made my own custom cover by printing out one of my “not good enough for Pirongs” pictures in colour. Went with extremely adventurous B5 - Goldilocks? - format.

I didn’t consider my usual Teacher Planner Company this year because their new designs are just awful.

Like I said - way too much time spent on thinking about this during lockdown!

[WhenSheWasBad]

If you have an iPad you could try IDoceo.

I’m still getting to grips with it but love it so far.

[ohthegoats]

I've used my report writing time to obsess a bit about planners. I'm not even sure what I want from a planner I realise.

I like to long hand my planning - I am a big mind-mapper - so I need loads of note space, probably far more than I have space for in any planner/diary thing that isn't about 6 inches thick.

[Rosieposy4]

Agree with Penorpencil
Loop planners give page per day and dated. Even the pirongs uniques which take forever to set up and cost a bomb only give you a week to a double page spread, and it is awkwardly done with a single day on both lh and rh pages.
I have iDoceo, i use it as a mark book, i have been a hell of a lot more organised in the past few years since I went back to buying myself a paper planner to go with it.
You also ( or at least i do) lose previous info like your timetable from 2010-11 and other essential stuff.

[ohthegoats]

Right, so my positiveteacher planner arrived.

It's got some silly quotes like 'every child needs a hero' in it, which are a bit urgh for me... BUT it's fucking perfect in every other way.

Exactly the right things in the right places. Term plans, weekly plans, meeting notes, assessment pages.

I'll still need a jotter book thing - a pukka pad essentially - where I can do my mind mapping and so on, but that's more about trying not to do things on pieces of random paper. I need a lot of it.

I also use whole class feedback sheets - from positive teacher company too - but I've had the same pad for 2 years (well it turned out to be a year and a half), and haven't needed to buy a new one for this coming year either (I just tear out the stuff I had on last year's kids).

[minielise]

Ahhh that sounds good! I think that’s what I will go for the positive teacher one too, the quotes always make me cringe.

[ohthegoats]

Just stick stuff over them! I'll end up with a staff meeting plan I can stick on that page etc. I'm not letting myself look at it in loads of detail until I've finished my reports though.

[Cat0115]

I've recently discovered Penstripe planners. Pricey but nicey!

[MsJuniper]

Sorry for jumping on your thread OP but I wanted to ask @ohthegoats something.

I am starting my School Direct year in September and have been looking at planners. The PTC have trainee planners which list the teacher standards with a checklist but it says they recommend their full teacher planner if you are in a school for the full year. Looking at your planner would you say this was going to be useful for a trainee?

It's a lot of money to spend without being sure and it won't arrive until August now so I'm not sure whether/which to order. Thanks.

[wasgoingmadinthecountry]

Had a Pirongs one once I never used. I just have an A5 planner from the sadly now defunct Kikki K - new insert from Amazon (Filofax equivalent). No twee messages but I have meeting notes in there. Everything else on line.

I really don't get the teacher planner need -finished my PGCE in 1987. In a similar way, I never owned a baby bag despite having 4 children. Just had a lovely bag instead. Save your cash for fun stuff.

[namechangedyetagain]

I'm also doing schools based PGCE and I've gone for the full teacher planner as I will be in school the whole year. I'm also going to get a notebook for random thoughts / ideas / to do lists.

Then possibly just use a folder for central training notes so I can separate into subjects.

I'm not entirely sure yet but I can't cope with pieces of paper everywhere! But I do love my planner.