This guide will walk you through setting up lessons on Involve, typically for music, drama, counselling or learning support.
1️⃣ School Settings (Access via the school icon on the toolbar)
Before scheduling, ensure the following:
- Term Dates – Set up term dates for the year; scheduling won’t work without them.
- Rooms – Assign rooms to the correct departments. You only need to set up the rooms relevant to scheduling.
2️⃣ Staff Setup (Access via the Staff Table under People)
For each staff member you want to schedule, check that:
- They’re assigned to the correct department.
- They have the appropriate access level:
- Admin – For users who need access to school settings and additional functionality.
- Teacher – Standard access with visibility of all staff and students.
- Restricted Teacher – For Peripatetic/VMT staff, allowing them to see only their assigned students.
3️⃣ Lessons & Schedules (Manage via the Pods Table)
Once school settings and staff assignments are in place, you can start adding lesson schedules. This step ensures our calendar knows what lessons each teacher has and when they should take place.
- Click "Add a Pod" and select Lesson → Department.
- For each teacher, add:
- Their activity.
- Each student they teach (each row represents an individual lesson – multiple students can be added for group lessons).
- Whether the lesson is fixed or rotating (indicated by the padlock symbol).
- If rotating, specify the rotation schedule (e.g., weekly, every other week). If fixed, set the lesson time.
- Review the teacher’s schedule settings in their profile to ensure the calendar can place lessons correctly:
- Teaching days & hours (including any breaks).
- Preferred teaching room.
Once everything is set, you’re ready to draft and publish weekly timetables and roll out Involve!