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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Weird timetabling

50 replies

RedSkyAtNight · 06/09/2017 17:07

OK, so I realise timetabling must be a major headache, and there was presumably no way round this but ...
DS got his timetable today. There are not 1, not 2, but 3 occasions where he has a particular lesson at the start of the day and then again at the end of the day.
So for example the lessons in one day might be: Philosophy, Maths, English, PE,Philosophy

As I said I'm sure it's inevitable, but just doesn't seem particularly desirable.

Anyone else's DC got any weird timetabling?

OP posts:

BizzyFizzy · 06/09/2017 19:08

Your scenario sounds like lazy timetabling, Piggy.

Part-timers are very valuable in schools, economically.

The timetabling problem is when you have more than one part-timer in an option block and they are incompatible in their work days because of inflexibility.

A way to work around this is to have set option blocks before students make their choices, so that part-timers are blocked with full timers. This works out okay in bigger schools where big subjects can appear in multiple option blocks.

Another way is for A-level students to leave their option blocks and schedule their tricky lessons in their study periods, but it is pure luck if this works.

A funny thing is that the part-timers don't always end up with a rubbish timetable. Full time core subject teachers end up,with clusters of classes on Mondays and Fridays.

noblegiraffe · 06/09/2017 19:11

Piggy my timetable is crap this year (well crapper than normal which is usually crap compared to these part timers with their plural full days off) so it's a bit of a sore point and any mention of part-timers being annoying will make me bristle :)

Piggywaspushed · 06/09/2017 19:29

Ah yes, I am that fulltime core subject teacher !!

Does anyone like their timetable these days??

apart from the woman in my department who gets absolutely everything she wants

lljkk · 06/09/2017 19:49

DC have had timetables like this for years. Didn't know it was unusual. Sometimes it works well, the turn something in for 1st English lesson & some of the assignment is marked by 2nd English lesson of the day.

trinity0097 · 06/09/2017 20:58

I don't like my timetable and I am the timetabler who wrote it! Too many lessons today, considering my other roles in school and it being the first day of term!

I had one class twice today too, lesson 2 and lesson 8, but they have more than 5 lessons a week and the timetable wouldn't work if I tried to have some doubles, so I went for two singles. I actually prefer it as I tend to teach more content as I treat them as two lessons not one long lesson!

Piggywaspushed · 06/09/2017 21:05

Well, you'd have to say you were hoist by your own petard there!!

noblegiraffe · 06/09/2017 21:06

lesson 2 and lesson 8

What hell is this??

TheFallenMadonna · 06/09/2017 21:28

My year 10s a couple of years ago had Science Maths Science Maths Science one day. I taught some of them 4 lessons out of 5. It is fair to say that lesson 5 was a strain

Piggywaspushed · 06/09/2017 21:48

noble - it's a rather 'old school' hell.

AChickenCalledKorma · 06/09/2017 21:54

As far as I can remember, neither of my daughters have ever had the same subject twice in one day. Occasionally last on one day and first on the next, but nothing as weird as some of the examples on this thread.

Does their school just have an excellent computer programme, or is the person in charge of timetabling some sort of white witch?!

noblegiraffe · 06/09/2017 22:03

But how long is a lesson in an 8 period day? Just about long enough to write the title and date! The poor kids musn't know if they're coming or going.

We went from six 50 minute lessons to five 1 hour lessons a few years back and it's so much better.

Piggywaspushed · 06/09/2017 22:13

You must be really young!

We used to have 8 40 minute lessons in the Good Old Days/ Dark Ages

Piggywaspushed · 06/09/2017 22:13

korma I vote White Witch

TheFallenMadonna · 06/09/2017 22:21

We used to do 8x35 minute lessons in my first school. Almost all doubles.

TeenTimesTwo · 06/09/2017 22:22

I had 8x40min lessons too, but we were more likely to have 'double' lessons for things like maths. For A level we had 'triple' for sciences so we could do practicals.

LuluJakey1 · 06/09/2017 22:28

Usual causes are:
Part-time teachers - eg three lessons of a subject have to be timetabled into two days because that is when the teacher works. Lots more part-time staff now because of recruitment and retention issues.
Collaboration between schools Post-16 - ties up timetable spots and rest of school suffers
Y11 always timetabled first which has an impact on other years
Subjects that demad double lessons and that has an impact on when othet subjects can be timetabled

Witchend · 06/09/2017 23:00

We had 8 lessons a day. The first 3 (before break) were 35 minutes as we were meant to concentrate then. Then 2x 40 minute lessons, lunch and 3x 40 minute lessons in the afternoon.
I find my dc's 1hours lessons (5 in the day-4 morning, 1 afternoon) sound really long, but they don't often have doubles, whereas we had doubles (and triples in the 6th form)

noblegiraffe · 06/09/2017 23:32

You must be really young!

I don't feel it looking around at all the bright young things on INSET day. What counts as young? I've been teaching about 12 years which seems to be a really long time these days.

Piggywaspushed · 07/09/2017 07:02

Ha! That's a baby!

noblegiraffe · 07/09/2017 07:38

How very kind of you to say so!

Nothing makes you feel old like being in teaching and realising things like you've been a teacher longer than Y7 have been alive.

Allthebestnamesareused · 07/09/2017 10:37

DS's school has 8 periods

Period 1-6 are 40 minute sessions

Periods 7 and 8 are 35 minutes each.

Registration at 8.35/First period starts at 9.10.
Period 8 ends at 4pm

Piggywaspushed · 07/09/2017 10:46

noble , Is till think the Di Caprio Romeo and Juliet is a 'new ' film (made in 96?)... and call it this in lessons.

I'm in my 25th year... Good Lord, I'm a dinosaur.

When I started we had 100% coursework in English. Wistful sigh.

Piggywaspushed · 07/09/2017 10:46

And I teach the children of several people I taught.

When I get a grandchild, I'm leaving!

AugustRose · 07/09/2017 10:51

DD1 (yr 11) had this last year and no doubt will again this year. Sometimes it's to fit with their 2 week timetable to fit the right mount of English/Maths/Science lessons in.

So say on Wednesday she might have maths first lesson and PE last lesson, then the following week on Wednesday she might have maths first and last lesson and no PE!

trinity0097 · 09/09/2017 20:39

We have 8 40min lessons, however they are spread weirdly in the afternoon to allow for an hour games session. The oldest three year groups (yrs 6-8) finish at 5.05pm.

One of my PGCE placement schools had lessons that were either 37 or 38 min long, loads of weird timings all day long, other than the start and end of the day! So break, for example, started at 11.03am!

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