Get Ready for the New School Year

It's that time of year again. Time to say goodbye to one class (and let's be completely honest here - good riddance to one or two of the little darlings) and hello to the new. The fresh faced promise of next year, the next generation of children to benefit from your wisdom...if only they were as well trained as the children you are about to send to another lucky teacher!

If this is your first year welcome, it will be hard work but it's also rewarding. Rule number 1 - look after yourself! There's lots of support out there so make sure you use it.

If you've been teaching for a while, and you're staying in the same year group, it's surprising to find that no matter how many new classes you have, it's always a worry that they don't seem to know anything! Of course, we know this simply isn't true. It's just the 'reset' - it happens every year when you send up one class who have benefitted from your amazing teaching, and are an entire year older and wiser than the children you have now inherited. Of course, the teacher they have just come from feels exactly the same, as does the teacher you have sent your class to and so it continues!

If you are moving to a new year group it can be a whole new world, especially if you are moving to a new key stage. It can be an exciting time with new challenges, but it can also be a bit of a worry. No matter how long you have been teaching, suddenly having to teach a different age group with a curriculum you are not as familiar with can be daunting but remember - you are only human and there's lots of support available. Don't expect yourself to be an expert over-night. Continue to be your awesome, hard-working and diligent self and everything will be fine!

1. Saying Goodbye

It's time to say goodbye to your class. These kids have been a big part of your life for a whole year so you might have some mixed emotions. Maybe they've been a dream class - considerate, hard-working and a joy to teach. Maybe they've been the class from hell (we've all had them) - rude, lazy and a pain in the bum. Chances are they've been somewhere in between and you'll be sorry to see them go. At this point, it's nice to give your class something to remember you by. It's a lovely feeling when you see pupils years later and they still have the keyring you made them or the little teddy bear you bought them. Here are a few low cost ideas I've used in the past;

• Keyrings - Print out inserts for photo keyrings with the children's name on one side and a picture/logo/quote on the back. You can buy photo keyrings here.

• Book marks - These can be easily made, printed and laminated at school at no cost to you. If you make a little extra effort they can make a lovely, memorable gift. When I was teaching in reception class I asked the nursery teacher for photographs of the children when they started nursery and took a photo of them at the end of reception. I put the nursery picture at the top, a poem in the middle (I wrote my own but there are lots of ideas on-line), and the new photograph at the bottom. Once laminated they looked really good, and I had children coming up to me years later to remind me of the gift I had made for them.

• Teddy bears - Everyone loves a teddy bear! You can get packs of teddies from Amazon and these always go down well with the children. Click here for a set of different coloured teddy bears that are a nice size.

• Badges - Kids love badges. You can print out whatever you like and make it into badges for your class. Click here for a set of 30 badges from Amazon. If you have a particular 'thing' that makes you class unique it's a great way for kids to remember being part of something special. Maybe you have a class pet or a mascot you can add a picture of to your badge, along with your class name and 'class of 2024'.

2. Preparing for Next Year

Whether you are preparing for you first ever class or you've been doing this for years you probably already have some ideas, even if you don't know it yet!

• Think about last year - What worked well? What could be improved? Did a particular transition take too long? Were there things that got on your actual nerves?! Now is the time to review your routines and make those little tweaks that will make your life easier. If there was something last year that caused stress think about what can be done to improve it. Ask colleagues for their opinion or have a look online. Check out my blog on classroom management ideas here.

• Getting Organised - Thinking about how you will organise your classroom, your routines and your time before you welcome your new class will give you time to get to know them when they land in your classroom! First of all decide on seating arrangements - how do you want to group your children? Many schools group by ability, some people mix the pupils so they can help each other. There's something to be said for both of these approaches and sometimes it can depend on what's best for this particular cohort. It's always a good idea to speak to their previous teacher. They will have lots of knowledge about the children they are sending up to you and this can be invaluable. However, keep in mind that a new school year should be a fresh start for everyone so if you are warned that 'little Johnny is an absolute toe-rag' (they're always called 'little Johnny' for some reason - I don't think I've ever taught a child called 'little Johnny' in my life...but I digress!), remember that there could be all kinds of reasons this child struggled last year. Try to balance the insights from their last teacher with preparing to give every child a new beginning in your class. Once you have decided where everyone is going to sit think about how and when the resources in your room need to be accessed. A simple example - maybe if I put the pens over there 'little Johnny' (yes, he's here again!) won't have to travel across the entire classroom to access them. Of course, he might do that anyway but that's 'little Johnny' for you! Think about the routines and transitions between lessons and how you are going to minimise disruption during these times. Having a plan for this will definitely help to minimise stress for you and your class. Finally, make sure you have all the information you need including where to go for support and ideas. I started doing something a few years ago which has been really helpful. I asked one of the nice ladies in the school office for an excel spreadsheet with useful information about the children and then added my own information to it. So, I asked for a list of names, dates of birth, SEN status, whether they were pupil premium, whether they were EAL etc. Then I added other information I had such as user names and passwords, which groups I'd put them in, basically anything I thought would be useful. Keeping a database for my class was incredibly helpful and saved a lot of time - I would highly recommend it!

3. Saying Hello

Well, they're here! The new class has arrived. Luckily, you have everything organised and are ready to greet the new school year with optimism...or at least you are ready to see what the new school year will bring, which will have to do!

• First of all it's vital that you establish your routines and expectations starting on day one. Make sure the children know exactly what you expect, model it, reinforce it, and stick to it! The more everyone knows what's expected, the more your routines flow throughout the day and minimise disruption, the better for everyone. If clear routines are established early this will give more time to get to know your new class.

• Get to know them and let them get to know you. Kids love knowing a bit about their teachers and it really helps to create a bond with them. I'm not suggesting you tell them your life story or let them read your diary - that would be completely crazy! However, sharing little things like the name of your pet and the silly thing they did this morning, or the things you like does wonders. Let them share in your sense of humour (as long as it's appropriate) - kids love it if you say something funny or can be a bit silly with them, it helps to build trust. Finally, let them know that you are interested in them. Find out what they are in to, talk to them, ask their opinion - it all makes for more rewarding relationships, more understanding and trust which in turn makes everyone's life a calmer place!

4. Keeping Going

To most people the school year seems to go pretty quickly. But anyone who says it isn't stressful is fibbing! Remember, it isn't a race to get to the end of the year. I'm just as guilty of this as anyone. I really have to reign in my instinct to work myself into the ground. In my mind if I work really hard for hours on end it will save me time in the long run and I'll get everything done and everything will be rainbows and lollipops! In 25 years this has never, ever worked!

• Pace yourself. Do what needs to be done to have things ready then stop! We are not at home to Mrs 'I can get ahead if I just...' It doesn't work and you will just end up doing more for no reason and getting nowhere! As I said before, it isn't a race.

• Set boundaries. It can be hard as a teacher to have boundaries between your home-life and your school-life but try your best for your own sanity. Set a finishing time, or a limit on how many hours you are going to do at home and stick to it! And for goodness sake try to have a lunch break!

• Self care. We hear this one all the time. Some people seem to think it means having a long soak in the bath, preferably with a glass of wine and a box of chocolates and, while this can certainly be part of it, it's actually much simpler than that. It is as simple as the name suggests - take care of yourself! If you are tired the chances are you aren't getting enough sleep or aren't getting any time to relax. If you are hungry try to remember if you did actually stop for lunch today! Every now and again stop and ask yourself what you need - no one will do it for you. It's not being selfish, it's being responsible.

So there you have it - my thoughts and ideas on ending the school year and getting ready for the next one. I hope you found some useful nuggets of wisdom in there. Good luck with your new class - have a great (and restful) summer and a successful and happy year!