Teaching load
Set how many weekly meetings each subject needs per level — what a period and a lesson are, and how to build the weekly plan.
Teaching load answers one question for each level and subject: how often is this subject taught in a normal week, and how long is each meeting?
The timetable generator uses that answer to place meetings on the grid. A subject with no teaching load is simply not scheduled.
Who this is for
Administrators preparing subject demand before assigning teachers and generating a timetable.
Teaching load vs. teacher limits
Teaching load is how much of each subject the school needs. Teacher limits (on the Teachers tab) are how much each teacher can work. Set both — they answer different questions. See Scheduling setup.
Open teaching load
Go to Academic → Timetable → Config, then open the Teaching load tab.
- Pick a term (defaults to the current term). This only filters which subjects appear in the sidebar — subjects active in that term.
- Select a level → subject on the left.
- Build the weekly plan on the right, then Save teaching load.
The load you save is for the academic year (that level + subject). Changing the term does not create a separate load; it only changes which subjects you browse.
Periods and lessons — the two words that matter
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Period | One slot on the school day (for example 45 minutes from your timetable config). Abbreviated P in the editor. |
| Lesson | One weekly meeting the timetable must place — for example Maths for Class 6A on Monday morning. |
| Lesson length | How many periods in a row that meeting needs. Single = 1 period, Double = 2 back-to-back (common for labs), Triple = 3, and so on. |
| Lesson block | One row in the editor: “this many lessons of this length.” Example: 4 × Single. |
| Weekly load | All blocks together — how many lessons and how many periods per week. |
A short day might have six periods. A double lesson uses two of those periods one after the other as a single meeting.
What you are building
You are describing the weekly rhythm of the subject for that level — not a dated calendar.
Examples:
| What you set | Meaning |
|---|---|
4 × Single (= 4P) | Four separate one-period meetings → 4 lessons · 4 periods / week. |
2 × Double (= 4P) | Two double meetings (e.g. two labs) → 2 lessons · 4 periods / week. |
2 × Single + 1 × Double | Two short meetings and one long one → 3 lessons · 4 periods / week. |
The preview under the rows shows each meeting as a chip (1P, 2P, …) and summarises
lessons and periods for the week. That is what the generator will try to place for every
class in the level.
Fill in a lesson block
Each row is one block:
| Control | What to do |
|---|---|
| Quantity (− / +) | How many lessons of this shape. |
| Length (Single / Double / …) | How many periods each of those lessons lasts in a row. |
| = …P | Periods for this block only (quantity × length). |
| Split | Turn on only if this meeting is for a class group (half the class), not the whole class. Needs class groups. |
| Room type | Keep Inherit from subject unless these meetings need a special room (lab, gym…). Or pick a type to override. |
Use Add lesson block when the week mixes shapes (singles and a double). Remove a row with the × if you no longer need that shape.
Leave every row empty (or clear the load) if the subject should stay unscheduled for the year.
After you save
- Assign teachers to each class–subject. See Teacher Assignments and Lessons and assignments.
- Generate a timetable group — the generator places one set of these weekly lessons for every class in the level.
Tips and best practices
- Set teaching load before teacher assignments and generation — demand drives what must be placed.
- Match length to real teaching (labs and workshops often need a Double).
- Use Split only for subjects that run in class groups; leave it off otherwise.
- Check the preview: if periods look right but lessons look wrong (or the reverse), change Single vs Double rather than only the quantity.
- Work level by level so primary and secondary can have different weekly rhythms for the same subject name.
Related articles
Timetable groups
Understand the weekly template that groups levels for a term — why you create more than one, and which actions you can take.
Lessons and assignments
Understand what the generator schedules — lessons — and set the inputs that define them: weekly lessons, teacher assignments, groups, and lesson links.