First weeks classroom management planner

The first half-term sets the year. Routines now save you hours in November. Tick as you go; not every line every week.

Week 1 — Names, doors, basics

• Greet every child at the door by name, every morning
• Learn and use all names by the end of the week
• Teach one entry routine and one exit routine, then rehearse them
• Show the class where everything lives: trays, toilets, water, the calm corner
• Agree three or four simple class rules, in the children's words

Week 2 — Routines stick

• Rehearse lining up, carpet time and tidy-up until they're automatic
• Teach your attention signal and practise it cold
• Notice and name the children who get it right, out loud, often
• Set up the calm corner with the cards from Tool 6

Week 3 — Relationships

• Have a one-minute chat with each child about something not school
• Send one positive message home for a child who rarely gets one
• Spot the child who's drifting at the edges and find them a small job

Week 4 — Consistency

• Apply your routines the same way on a tired Friday as on Monday
• Re-teach any routine that's slipping, don't just nag it
• Check your seating: who needs moving, who needs a partner

Week 5 — The harder cases

• List the two or three children you're already worried about
• Start a behaviour log for any recurring pattern (Tool 3)
• Talk to your SENCo if a child may need more than classroom strategies
• Plan a positive first contact with those parents before any problem call

Week 6 — Review

• Re-read your class rules with the children, keep what works

• Reset any routine that's gone slack over half-term

• Note what to carry into next half-term: ___

Setting routines, expectations and relationships with a new group

The first month sets the ceiling for the year. Routines beat rules: a rule is a poster, a routine is what they do without being asked. Tick what you've actually done, not what you meant to.

Week 1 · Establish the basics

• Stand at the door. Greet every student as they come in, every lesson.
• Teach your start-of-lesson routine explicitly. Don't assume they know it.
• Set out three or four non-negotiables. Say them. Then show what they look like.
• Learn names fast. Use a seating plan from lesson one.
• Practise one routine (entry, or getting them quiet) until it's smooth.

Week 2 · Make routines automatic

• Reteach any routine that slipped. Don't let standards drift.
• Notice and name three students doing the right thing, by name, out loud.
• Have one short, calm word with anyone who tested a boundary last week.
• Check your seating plan is working. Move people if it isn't.

Week 3 · Build the relationships

• Find a non-behaviour reason to talk to your two trickiest students.
• Feed back on one piece of work per student so they know you're watching.
• Log any repeat issues now, while the pattern is small (see tool 3).
• Make first contact home with one positive message, not just the problems.

Week 4 · Embed and review

• Review which routines stuck. Reteach the weak one.

• Identify any student who may need more than classroom craft. Note who (see tool 4).

• Check in with your tutor team or head of department on shared groups.

• Decide your one priority for the next half-term: ___