Back to School — Tips from a Teacher

“Back to school.”

These can be three chilling words for teachers and pupils alike. They remind us that long holidays do come to an end, that serious work lies ahead, and that you’re running out of days to finish that binge-watch you’ve finally found time for.

With lessons looming on the horizon, how can we switch from ‘holiday mode’ back to school routines? As term approaches, I find that I often have to carry my pupils with me: wind them up without ‘winding them up’, as it were!
 

Planting Transition Seeds

As the long summer holiday approaches, I will have spent some time with my future class on Transition Day. This is when I give them a few things to do over the summer break to keep them in the realm of learning – just a more casual version of it. I send my new pupils off with a set of prompts related to the learning they’ll start in September. Some of this is information about topics, some of it is tasks or things to do when boredom inevitably sets in. For example, I ask them to:

• keep a diary of holiday activities they enjoyed doing
• read a book and review it
• do something craft-based or creative

I also encourage them to keep any creations that they can bring in or to make a scrapbook of them. In September, I make a display in our library corner and give pupils time to share their summer experiences with each other.

At the end of term, I put as much information as I can on the class webpage about up-coming events and topics.  I also send out a message to families to wish them a happy holiday, plus a gentle prompt that they can find ideas for things to do on our class page. I send a similar message as term is about to start up again.

An Enabling Classroom Environment

When pupils return, I want the classroom to look refreshed, welcoming, and full of accessible information and resources linked to our topics. I want the room to sing out what we will be learning. The class library will have a selection of books that pupils can access, and pupils will have structured times when these books are available to read (to ensure everyone gets a fair turn). I encourage pupils to bookmark pages that might interest other readers, to encourage active reading.

I make sure children know where everything is in the room —e.g., dictionaries, maths resources, word mats— and what each of our display boards will be used for. I have basic displays up initially, with some prompt questions or pictures that stimulate interest in our topics. Part of day one’s agenda is to make sure pupils know their room and can be as independent as possible accessing resources and information.

I expect pupils to take on roles in class, such as librarian or book monitor (handing out books).  I also expect them to take responsibility for maintaining their school equipment, and encourage them to take on wider school roles, such as being a school councillor. This will be a key focus in week one when we talk about democracy and the importance of pupil’s voices.
 

Meet the Parents

In the first week, I aim to meet my cohort’s parents and carers to give them the same information I have given to their children. We look at the topics, the events coming up and the classroom environment. I demonstrate the webpage and make sure they are all on the school’s texting information system. We go over the reward systems and talk about what’s special or different about this year in school. The PowerPoint from this brief meeting is then posted on the class web page for those who could not attend.
 

Together in the Circle

The first week is a time for teachers to get to know their new pupils and get a feel for the dynamics of the group and their relationships with each other. Circle time is a great way to get the class speaking about themselves. We will sit in a circle, and I’ll spread a set of prompt cards in the middle. A child randomly picks a card and reads it to the circle. We have a class mascot (an owl called Obiwan) who is treated as a member of the class and given a personality (that usually includes several bad habits that we all need to help him with). When you are holding the mascot, you may take your turn to speak.

Establishing firm rules on speaking and listening is one of the first things I try to nail down. “One person speaks while we all listen” is usually the simplest rule. A helpful addition is coming up with a clear way to indicate when someone else wants to contribute. I encourage pupils to think about what someone has just said and build on it or respectfully offer a different viewpoint.

Some of the prompt cards I use are as follows:

School is boring compared to the holidays. Do you agree?
This year, I am looking forward to…
 My biggest worry about Year X is…

I encourage honesty and challenging responses that pupils disagree with. Quite often, the controversial questions bring out the best discussions. Children can be strong advocates of the importance of school and education – they are always full of surprises!

End of Week One

The first week can feel long and at times emotional or exhausting. But it’s a great moment to celebrate getting over the first hurdle of coming back to school and getting back into routines.

At the end of the first week, we award our first ‘Learning Star’ awards in a special full-school assembly. This is a chance to recognise whole classes, as well as individuals. It’s often an impossible task to pick out one person, so it can be a great opportunity to say how much all the teachers have been impressed with their new cohorts.

Near the end of the first week back, I also take a moment to set a target for the following week. This is usually related to talking rules, routines, or an expectation around homework or reading at home.

Coming back to school can be an anxious time for all concerned. Schools have routines and simple rules at their heart — these are what make the whole thing tick over so that learning can happen. We soon forget that we were on a beach or having a good lie-in a week ago and quickly get ourselves back to school, back to learning and hopefully back to enjoying something new.

I have been a teacher for 28 years, deputy head for about twenty-four of those, and taught from Reception all the way up to Year 6. In this time, I did a two-year stint with my local authority as an adviser for ICT, working in a wide range of schools with teachers and children. I have always been a class teacher at heart, inspired by the wonderful minds of pupils, which makes teaching such an intense but creative and satisfying career. 

Take a look at CGP+ resources by Simon.           

Simon has also written a blog post about the Transition to secondary school.

(If you’re looking to help children transition between Primary years, there are plenty of resources for you to explore on our website!)