Tes launches cloud-based school timetabling software

Tes has launched Timetable 2.0 Essentials for schools, a cloud-based product for primary and secondary timetabling.

The platform is designed to automate the process of building school timetables, a task many school leaders still manage through spreadsheets, paper records and manual adjustments. It imports school data from management information systems and produces a working timetable in hours.

Schools can then adjust staff allocations, room use and timetable structures in the software rather than rebuilding plans by hand. The aim is to reduce reliance on specialist expertise held by a single staff member.

Timetabling has become more difficult for many schools as leadership teams try to accommodate part-time staff, job shares, specialist subjects, split year groups and unplanned absences. Small staffing changes can have wider effects across a school, particularly before the start of a new academic year.

The software uses a guided workflow so more than one member of a leadership team can take part in timetable planning. It also provides an overview of staffing, room allocations and clashes, allowing schools to make changes without working through separate documents and systems.

Primary focus

For primary schools, the platform includes options to build timetables around different lesson lengths and scheduling structures. It can also help schools coordinate additional teaching support, including buddy teaching and targeted learner interventions.

An integrated cover feature allows schools to schedule support teachers and teaching assistants, notify staff when changes are made and manage last-minute cover requirements. Timetables can also be shared with staff and students, with updates sent automatically when changes are made.

The launch adds to Tes' wider portfolio of school management products. The company says it supports more than 14 million educators worldwide across software and services including timetabling, SEND provision, behaviour management, recruitment, professional development and parents' evenings.

Rod Williams outlined the company's view of the problem the product is trying to solve.

"Creating a school timetable is one of the most demanding operational tasks leaders face each year, yet too many schools are still relying on spreadsheets, whiteboards and even sticky notes that depend on the expertise and knowledge of a single individual. Timetable 2.0 removes that complexity and dependency. By using the power of AI, combined with a guided workflow process, we're helping schools to optimise their timetables for pupils and teachers alike, in a fraction of the time that they're used to, while giving leadership teams the ability to adapt more quickly as circumstances change," said Rod Williams, Chief Executive Officer, Tes.

The cloud-based software keeps timetable data accessible from different locations. It also lets schools organise pupils into custom groups, apply school-specific constraints and manage teacher cover within the same system.

Broader push

The release of Timetable 2.0 Essentials comes as education technology suppliers look to shift more routine administrative work in schools away from manual processes. Timetabling is one of the more complex examples because it combines staffing, curriculum requirements, room availability and day-to-day disruptions.

For school leaders, the issue is not only speed but continuity. When the timetable sits in spreadsheets or on paper and is managed largely by one experienced staff member, changes in personnel can leave schools exposed at critical points in the year. Tes is seeking to address that risk by storing the process and underlying information within one platform.

The product is also intended to make timetabling more collaborative by allowing leadership teams to contribute to planning rather than leaving the task to one specialist user. That reflects a broader trend among school software suppliers to present operational tools as shared systems rather than desktop applications managed by a single administrator.

Tes describes itself as a technology company serving the education sector, with products spanning school operations and teaching support alongside its publishing activities. Timetable 2.0 Essentials is the latest addition to that business, targeting a function that schools revisit every year and often adjust repeatedly as staffing and pupil needs change.

As a cloud-based solution, it keeps timetable data securely accessible from anywhere.