How to avoid double bookings in curriculum planning season
What is curriculum planning?
International schools most commonly follow one of the International Baccalaureate, UK or US curriculum. Each of these sets out the subjects that should be taught, what content belongs in each and the standard students should achieve.
At a school level, curriculum planning is the process of taking this and planning the specifics of taught content, how and when this is taught, and ensuring it’s done in a way that meets students’ learning needs and meets required standards.
Challenges in curriculum planning
Curriculum planning is complex and can be difficult. Common challenges in curriculum planning include:
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Covering necessary content in limited time
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Outdated resources and teaching materials
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Pressure on exams and an emphasis on teaching to meet exam needs
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A lack of training and subject knowledge for teachers
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Meeting the needs of students with special educational needs and disabilities
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Meeting these needs and requirements while addressing modern challenges, such as in technology and teaching critical thinking
For school leaders and support staff, managing timetabling and room bookings alongside these is challenging, and can lead to issues with room assignments and booking – often resulting in errors such as double bookings.
Five ways to avoid double booking during curriculum planning
It may feel difficult to overcome the challenges you face in managing curriculum planning, timetabling and room bookings – but streamlining your processes and booking management can make a big difference, enabling you to avoid double bookings at school.
1. Go digital
The most impactful way to streamline your processes is to use a digital platform. When it comes to room bookings, this enables you to manage all your spaces on one central platform, avoiding errors and simplifying room booking.
Digital booking management means no paper systems or spreadsheets, making processes more straightforward and saving time. As well as being more time-consuming, paperwork leaves room for error and inconsistencies between staff members’ recordkeeping – plus runs the risk of getting lost, without backups.
Giving school staff an easy way of booking rooms online also makes it clearer which spaces are available, so you and your staff can make the most of the resources you have.
2. Automate systems
Booking software that’s specifically developed for schools, such as Tes Room Booking, can integrate with your school management system. This automatically ensures rooms can only be booked when they're free of timetabled classes.
Automated syncing and real-time updates to the platform make scheduling easier, minimising the risk of errors and double bookings – especially where multiple teams and members of staff are involved in planning and booking processes.
You can automatically sync room availability based on your timetable, term or semester dates, room closures and teacher cover. Changes will automatically be reflected on your system, so you and your staff don’t have to make manual updates, saving time and helping you avoid errors.
3. Strong communication
Ensuring your staff and teams communicate regularly goes a long way in supporting planning and avoiding booking errors.
Tes Room Booking sends automated email notifications when a room is booked or becomes unavailable, so all staff members are on the same page. Similarly, a system that automatically reflects timetable changes means staff can be informed of conflicting bookings by email.
The platform also enables users to store customisable information against a booking, so you can clarify what the booking is for or what room layout you will need, giving leaders and colleagues with permission full transparency.
4. Manage permissions
Establishing booking permissions means you and your support staff have control over what can be booked and when, supporting you to minimise crossover and double bookings.
With room booking software, you can limit how many bookings staff can make and how far into the future they can book – as well as making your system fairer, this means you can make sure certain rooms and resources are only available for specific departments and teams.
5. Make data-driven decisions
Using room booking software also enables you to use data to make decisions about your setting – Tes Room Booking gives you statistics that show bookings by user, department and day, so you can see which room, resource or times are the most popular.
This helps you identify and address any challenges, such as where specific rooms are oversubscribed or if any departments need more resources, so you can make data-informed decisions and support colleagues to make the most of your school and the resources available.
Streamline room bookings with Tes
With Tes Room Booking, you can make booking processes easier and minimise errors, all while saving time. Get room bookings synced with your timetable, allow staff to book rooms themselves to take pressure off management, and hire out your school facilities easily, with invoices and costs tracked in one central system.
Our free guide explores how Room Booking helps you to move away from paper and spreadsheets to use an automated system, making it easier than ever for busy staff to save time while managing rooms more effectively – and supporting you to make double bookings a thing of the past.