Recommendations for paper planners (timetable and home work notes)

[Yellowbellypj]

The school my eldest is starting at this year is bringing in zero tolerance on phones (woohoo!) and they have to be given in at the beginning of the day and collected at the end. All fine so far, but the app where the timetable, map, and homework assignments is kept, is staying put, and the school moved away from paper planners a while ago.

Wondering about buying a paper planner, so they have a timetable to hand, and somewhere to make notes for homework - and then use the app when they get home? Any recommendations for paper planners that have all the traditional pages we used to have back in the 00s? There are lots online so if anyone has purchased and loved, let me know, thanx

When my DD started secondary they were issued with a paper timetable, but she and I made a small paper timetable that fitted into a blazer pocket (and laminated it with sellotape.)

Phones aren't locked away at her school, but they are not allowed to use them. There is no need for them to be checking homework apps during the school day.

There are no paper planners at DD's school - she sometimes makes a note of homework in her exercise book for the subject, but the teachers submit the details on Teams or Satchel One, which the DC can access at home. Parents have access to Satchel One as well, so we can see their homework and merit point etc.

Yes I agree, make a small version of the TT and seal with tape or even actually laminate it :) or put it in a name card plastic holder if you have one. Fits in a blazer pocket.

Then yes, HW should be on the app which you can access at home. No need surely to be looking at HW during the day? They are unlikely to be doing it at lunchtime tbh.

Will they really need to make notes for HW? If so then really in the exercise book sounds like a good idea. I hated the planners (Sec sch teacher for a while) as the YP would just write "German homework" in them. I used to put a slide on the WB and get them to take a picture. More chance of them seeing it when scrolling through their photos haha. (Obvs this was before phone bans which I am very much in favour of, as long as there is a good system of teachers putting HW on an app).

Mine uses a paper planner because the school laptop system has a homework calendar but you can’t add your own things into it, so if you have lots of out of school commitments, the school calendar app makes it look like you have loads of time before the homework is due when really you only have one easy window between now and the due date.

His is just from Amazon. If you search Rileys Academic Diary, that brand has many and they have enough room for extra stuff without having so much room it’s like carrying a dictionary. I like that those start in July so I could get him to arrange his own summer activities on the calendar rather than a September start where he would definitely have defaulted to me planning it all on the family calendar.

I loved the Aldi academic year diary last year and have bought 2 secondhand to re number in case they don't do them again this year. They're large and spiral bound but my daughter uses her school planner for recording all her homework and sports fixtures etc and so doesn't mind.

I think they were in store in August.

I think this is a great idea to take ownership of her own homework.

Get a small a6 academic diary this one seems ok https://www.ryman.co.uk/ryman-soft-cover-a6-mid-year-2026-2027-week-to-view-diary-pink-1
The Works often have them https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/diaries/a6-mid-year-26-27-diary-stripe/5052089404762.html

Then she writes the homework in on the day it is due (not when it is set) which helps her organise her time. Tasks are ticks off once done. This really helps build strong personal habits.