5 Top Tips to Ensure a Successful ‘Back to School!’

The beginning of a new academic year always comes around within the blink of an eye, as the summer holidays speed past. Before you know it, you are back in school preparing for a new group of children to come through your classroom door. It is always important to be prepared and ready for every eventuality, as anything could happen during the first day! Having activities up your sleeve when needed will help calm your own nerves and ensure a smooth and successful day. Children thrive on familiarity and routine and look to their teacher to instil this in their classroom as soon as possible.

Here are five tips to help you prepare for the first week at school and settling in your new class.

1. Keep it Familiar

The first day of term is always a nervous time, for children and staff alike. Children in particular are often worried about their new teacher and what they will be like, as well as moving to a new classroom and unfamiliar surroundings. These worries can be alleviated by having something in the classroom that children will recognise; this could be anything from a class mascot to some work that they completed in the previous term. A familiar object reassures children that their teacher is thinking about them and wants them to be successful during the year ahead. It also gives you an already prepared display that can go on the wall straightaway!

2. Do Your Research

Knowing who is going to walk through the classroom door at the beginning of September is essential to starting the year in a positive way. Having some background knowledge and information about a child helps to start a conversation and makes them feel comfortable and safe in your presence. For example, asking about their favourite football team or the birth of a new sibling will put a child at ease straightaway. Another good idea is to have a seating plan ready that you have discussed with the children’s previous teacher – this way, you can nip any issues in the bud immediately. A seating plan also helps with learning names – a quick glance at the sheet helps you recall a name without having to ask!

3. Stationery

Every teacher’s nightmare on the first day back is not having enough stationery to go around, leaving children with nothing to write with. Make sure you know how many children are in your class before September and order sufficient stationery well in advance. It might be that your school admin department organises the stationery; in which case, make sure you know what you want and how much, otherwise it may not appear! A teacher always knows best as to what should be in their classroom- make sure you communicate this clearly to others, so they know what your expectations are. Wherever you are, glue sticks are always a precious commodity, so treat them with care!

4. Planning to Succeed

The first week of term is often a mishmash of lessons, assemblies, official photos etc and timetables may not be fixed in place yet. It is worth having more lessons planned than you need, just in case you have your class for a lesson you weren’t expecting! This will also set you up for the week after, when things start to settle down and the school timetable kicks into gear. Many lessons in the first week of term are often expectation setting so this is a great chance to instil the behaviour and routines that you want from a class for the rest of the year.

5. “Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You!” 🎵

Getting to know a new class as soon as possible is essential for settling them in and establishing clear routines and boundaries for the year ahead. The more you know about a child, the more prepared you are if they start to find their learning challenging. To this end, playing a game with your class is a relaxed and informal way of getting to know them without putting too much pressure on individuals. For example, every child could have a bingo card that has certain characteristics and children call out when one applies to them. The class could create a giant jigsaw puzzle, with each piece representing a child and some key facts about themselves. There are lots of ideas online, some which require a lot of preparation and others which require none. Putting in the effort during the first week always pays off and sets you up for a great year with your new class!

Contact Us

If you’d like to know more about how Paper Plus can provide your school with the supplies and stationery it requires, please get in touch. Call us on 01444 238 050 or pop us an email at sales@paperplusuk.com