Key takeaways
- Treat the catalog as a curriculum structure, not a flat list of courses.
- Use blocks, bands, sets, and option patterns to show which combinations can run.
- Judge option blocks by satisfaction rate and staffing feasibility.
- Model split classes and shared modules as structure before allocation starts.
What does the catalog need to show?
The catalog should show the structure students and staff will actually use. Blocks place activities in parallel. Bands divide a year group. Setting creates parallel groups of the same subject by attainment. Option blocks group choice subjects so each student picks one subject from each column.
This structure matters because the timetable cannot offer every combination. A student may want Geography and Computing, or Physics plus two languages, and find that two choices sit in the same option column. That is a pattern problem shaped by demand, staffing, and single-class subjects.
Which catalog relationships need to be explicit?
Keep these relationships visible before staffing demand is counted.
- Year group to band or population structure
- Subject to set, where attainment setting is used
- Choice subjects to option blocks and the full option pattern
- Student choices to satisfaction-rate review
- Split classes to their parallel subject groups
- Shared modules to every pathway that uses the same record
How do planners build an allocation-ready catalog?
Build the structure before teacher names are attached.
- List the subjects, pathways, and year groups in scope.
- Define bands and sets where the curriculum needs them.
- Collect option choices from students during the options window.
- Arrange option subjects into blocks and review the satisfaction rate.
- Check the pattern against staffing and specialist-room demand.
- Send the structure through planning cycle governance before allocation starts.
How should option blocks be judged?
Option blocks are a compromise. The aim is not to make every combination possible. The aim is to produce a pattern that gives enough students their choices while staying staffable.
Use satisfaction rate as one measure, then test the pattern against teacher expertise, single-class subjects, and room limits. If a subject can only run once, or a specialist teacher is scarce, the option pattern has to show that constraint before resource and staff modeling.
What should catalog sign-off confirm?
Sign-off confirms the curriculum structure, not the final lesson placement.
- Blocks, bands, sets, and option blocks are named consistently
- Student choices have been reviewed against the option pattern
- Satisfaction-rate concerns are visible to senior staff
- Split classes are recorded as parallel subject groups
- Shared modules are referenced by all relevant pathways
- Staffing and room implications are ready for resource and staff modeling
Questions planners ask about the catalog
What is the difference between a block and a band?
A block is a set of activities that run in parallel, where a student takes one subject from the block. A band is a subdivision of a year group, often by pathway or ability. In a smaller year group, the year may effectively be the band.
How should option choices be tested?
Collect student choices, build an option pattern, and review the satisfaction rate alongside staffing cost. A pattern that gives more choice than the timetable can staff is not ready for allocation.
Are split classes a catalog issue or a timetabling issue?
They are a catalog structure issue first. A split class should show parallel groups of the same subject before teachers, rooms, and timetable placement are attached.