A term timetable is three decisions made in order: when the term runs, which classes run, and who teaches them where.
Get the order wrong and you redo work. Sessions built before the breaks are known have to be deleted by hand. Times picked before the tutors are confirmed have to move after families have booked.
Set the term dates first
Start with the calendar, not the classes.
- The first and last day of the term.
- Breaks inside the term.
- Closure days, such as public holidays and days the centre shuts.
Each session you create later depends on these dates. Settle them before anything else.
List classes before times
Write down each class you plan to run: the course, the year level, the group size you want, and how long a session lasts.
Only then place classes into time slots. Starting from the slots tends to fill the popular afternoons first and leave awkward gaps for the classes you add last.
Check tutors and rooms
For each class, confirm:
- The tutor is free at that time for the whole term, not just the first week.
- The tutor teaches that subject and year level.
- The room fits the group, and nothing else is booked there.
- Students taking two classes are not booked into both at once.
A clash found while planning costs a message. A clash found mid-term costs a family’s afternoon.
Leave room to grow
A timetable full on the first day has nowhere to put a new family. Keep a seat or two free in the classes enquiries ask for most, and note which times could take an extra class.
When a trial family asks for a time, you then have an answer.
Plan where students go next
Write down which course follows which, and where students choose between two. A student finishing one course should have an obvious next class waiting.
That turns the end of term into a review of who continues, not a rebuild of the timetable.
Common mistakes
- Building sessions before breaks are set. You then delete holiday sessions one by one.
- Using last term’s availability. Tutors’ weeks change between terms. Ask again.
- Forgetting rooms. Two classes in one room show up on the first afternoon, not before.
- Moving a class quietly. Families already enrolled need to hear about a new time before the day.
Building it in Atrium
- Set terms, breaks and closures first.
- Make a term’s sessions in one step, after a preview. No sessions are made on a break.
- A tutor in two places, or a room booked twice, shows up while you plan.
- For a new class, get suggested times ranked by room availability, student clashes and tutor fit.
- Set pathways for which course follows which. Roll the term over in guided steps with a preview, and reverse the latest rollover if you need to.