In this guide 6 sections
Plan a coaching term on one grid: batches down the side, time slots across the top, and a faculty name and room in every cell. Add test dates as a second layer. When one teacher, room or batch appears twice in the same slot, the clash is visible before classes start.
Start with the batch list, not the timetable
Write down every batch you plan to run. For each, note the course, the board or exam target, the expected strength and the days it should meet. A Class 10 evening batch and a repeater morning batch need different slots.
Then mark the fixed points. School hours decide when students can attend and exam dates decide when a syllabus must be finished. Fix these first. Let everything else bend around them.
Keep the list on one sheet. Batches that share a subject can share a teacher, and seeing them together makes that obvious.
- Batch name and course
- Target exam or board
- Expected strength and fee band
- Preferred days and hours
- Syllabus end date
Build a faculty grid with limits written in
Each teacher has a weekly ceiling and a set of subjects, and some teach only mornings because they hold a college job. Write these limits at the top of the faculty sheet so nobody schedules around them by accident.
Then fill slots. A teacher appears once per slot, never twice. Add a travel gap if the centre has two buildings, and a break before a long evening run.
Leave one free slot per teacher each week. That slot is where a missed class gets made up without cancelling something else.
- Subjects each teacher can take
- Days and hours available
- Weekly teaching ceiling
- Leave dates already known
- Substitute for each batch
Match batches to rooms and benches
A room has a seat count, a whiteboard and perhaps a projector. A batch of forty will not fit a room built for thirty, and the crowding will bother everyone by the third week.
Make a room grid that mirrors the timetable, with batch, teacher and strength in each cell. Any cell where strength passes the seat count should turn red, by hand or by formula.
Think about doors and corridors too. Two batches ending at the same minute can jam a narrow staircase, so stagger finish times.
Layer test dates over the term
Tests take a room, an invigilator and a teacher to prepare papers. Put them on the same grid in a different colour, so a Saturday test never collides with a regular Saturday class for another batch.
Space tests so students never sit two in a week with no revision day between them. Mark the paper-setting deadline and the marks entry deadline as separate dates, because those are the ones that slip first.
Share the test calendar with parents at term start. They plan around it. Fewer last minute leave requests arrive.
- Test date, room and invigilator
- Paper setter and paper deadline
- Marks entry deadline
- Result sharing date
- Revision gap before the next test
Check for clashes before the term opens
Read the grid three ways: by teacher, by room and by batch. Each read catches a different error. Highlight any name that shows up twice in a slot, then fix the plan rather than the cell.
Ask each teacher to confirm their own column in writing. Then stand in the corridor at one busy slot and see whether the plan makes sense on the floor.
Once the plan is stable, lock a dated copy. Changes after that go on a log with a reason. Start next term by copying the template and filling in only the batch list.
Term planning grid
A single workbook with four tabs. Batches lists course, target exam, strength, preferred days and syllabus end date. Faculty lists subjects, available hours, weekly ceiling and leave dates. Rooms and Timetable share a grid of slots by day, with batch, teacher and room in each cell. Tests places paper setting, invigilation and marks entry dates on the same calendar.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
How early should we plan the next term?
Start the batch list when enrolment closes for the current term. Faculty confirmations take longest, so ask for them first and leave room for late joiners.
What if a teacher leaves mid-term?
Use the free slot and the substitute column on the faculty sheet. Name a backup for each batch before the term begins, so a gap does not stop a syllabus.
Can a spreadsheet catch clashes on its own?
Yes, with a formula that counts how often a teacher or room appears in the same slot. It works for a few batches. Beyond that, software that checks clashes as you type is safer.
How do we plan for batches that are not full?
Mark a minimum strength for each batch. If enrolment stays below it, merge batches in the same subject and slot, and free up a teacher or room.