A CBE school timetable maker in Kenya helps schools organise learning by connecting grades, learning areas, subjects, teachers, rooms and weekly lesson requirements. The timetable should reflect the programme the school actually offers rather than copying a generic grid.
Prepare CBE timetable information
List every grade and stream, the learning areas or subjects taught, responsible teachers, specialist rooms and periods available each day. Record assemblies, clubs, games and other fixed activities. Senior schools should also separate pathway subjects and combinations clearly.
Manage specialist teachers
Teachers may serve several grades, streams or subject combinations. Enter all allocations so the system checks the complete workload. A teacher cannot be placed in two learning sessions during the same period even when the separate class timetables look acceptable.
Practical rooms and double lessons
Laboratories, workshops, computer rooms, fields and creative spaces are limited resources. Add the required room and lesson length before generation. The class, teacher and facility must be available together.
CBE scheduling process
- Create days and lesson periods.
- Add grades, streams and pathway groups.
- Add teachers, learning areas, subjects and rooms.
- Enter allocations and weekly totals.
- Record double lessons, availability and fixed activities.
- Validate, generate alternatives and review all views.
Review the educational balance
A conflict-free result still needs professional judgment. Check that practical lessons have suitable time, demanding subjects are distributed sensibly and teacher sequences are manageable. Curriculum leaders should review learning-area and subject schedules before approval.
Example CBE scenario
A combined school has Grades 7–9 and a senior section using one computer room. One ICT teacher serves junior classes and a senior pathway group. The generator must protect the teacher and room across both levels while meeting each group’s weekly requirements.
Implementation checklist
- Use consistent names for grades and teachers.
- Confirm weekly totals before generation.
- Review pathway groups separately.
- Check teacher and room schedules.
- Save the approved version before later changes.
Keep the timetable connected to school decisions
CBE scheduling depends on decisions made by the school about staffing, groups, facilities and the programme offered. When one decision changes, update the source record rather than editing several printed grids. If a teacher moves to another grade, change the allocation and inspect every affected class, teacher and room timetable.
Prepare for the next term
Copying an earlier timetable can save setup time, but first confirm classes, streams, teachers, pathway groups and fixed activities. Remove outdated allocations. Run validation again because a small staffing change can affect many schedules.
Give staff one dated approved version and keep older drafts away from noticeboards.
Before approval, ask grade and pathway coordinators to confirm that every learning group appears and that shared staff have workable movement between sections. Their review should use the generated schedules, not memory alone.
Frequently asked questions
Can the system handle junior and senior levels?
Yes. Enter each class, group and allocation separately.
Can pathway subjects be scheduled?
Yes. Create the relevant groups, teachers, rooms and weekly requirements.
Does software choose the school curriculum?
No. The school enters its approved programme and the system schedules it.
Can we revise the timetable later?
Yes. Save the approved version, change the affected records and review a new option.
Read the CBC timetable guide, explore the senior school timetable maker, or open the workspace.