Plenty of teachers start the year with a new planner app and have quietly dropped it by half term. The best one isn't the planner with the most features; it's the one that fits the shape of a school year. Below is what to look for, and how Teacher Task Manager measures up.
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These are the criteria that matter in a school, not the ones a general productivity blog would list.
The app should understand term time: INSET days, holidays and the way a school year is split up. Deadlines should be colour-coded to match.
Marking is a unique type of task. It involves multiple classes, return dates and progress tracking. A good teacher planner handles it properly, not as a generic to do item.
Your planner should know when you're teaching. Bell schedules, class groups and free periods matter when you're scheduling tasks around your week.
School Wi-Fi is unpredictable. The best teacher planner app works offline as a PWA so you can add tasks and check your schedule anywhere, any time.
Teachers don't have big software budgets. A good planner should be free to start, with an affordable Pro plan. Teacher Task Manager is £3.49 a month.
AI features should earn their place. An assistant is only worth having if it can see your real task list, rather than handing out the same advice it would give anyone.
A complete digital teacher planner: free plan and Pro plan.
Natural language quick-add, six task views (cards, list, Kanban board, calendar, weekly and workload), priority scoring and school-calendar-aware deadlines.
Set up your bell schedule and term dates once. The app knows your school's rhythm. Every feature is aware of when you're in school and when you're not.
A private scratchpad always one tap away: lesson ideas, meeting notes, observations. No account needed for offline access.
Install to your phone's home screen. Fully functional with no internet connection once installed.
Add a curated routine such as parents' evening, reports season or start of term, and the prep and follow-up tasks spread across your calendar in one step.
Log marking by class, set return dates, track progress and get deadline reminders.
Context-aware AI that knows your task list: daily briefings, priority help, deadline conflict warnings.
AI-assisted lesson plans tied to your timetable: objectives, activities, adaptations and assessment, plus standalone plans for one-off lessons.
Draft and refine pupil report comments with tone and length control, plus a reusable comment bank. First names or initials only.
Create teams, assign tasks to staff, real-time chat and shared team calendar.
Two-way sync with Google Calendar: your tasks appear in your calendar and vice versa.
Other ways Teacher Task Manager fits your school week.
No card, no setup fee, and free forever for the essentials.