Back to School: How to Prepare for a Smooth First Week

Natalie Cole
Aug 17
3 min read

The first day of the new academic year is creeping up and you’re probably in one of two camps. Either: “I had a great summer but I’m all set and ready to go back” or “Wait… the holidays can’t be over already, I’ve done nothing to prepare and I’m not ready to face reality.”

If you have landed on this blog, chances are you are in the second camp. Do not worry, you are not alone. Here are some things you can do, along with a few resources to help you, to ease yourself back into work mode.

Prepare Mentally

Heading back to school after the summer takes some mental preparation. After weeks of freedom and remembering what it feels like to be a human being again, getting back into teacher mode can feel like a shock. If you skip this step, it is easy to carry negative feelings into school, which impacts your teaching and your interactions with students and colleagues.

Before you step foot in the building, take some time to be a mindful teacher. This is not about yoga mats or incense, it is simply about awareness. Think in three areas:

Self: How are you feeling about going back, mentally, emotionally, and physically? Why might those feelings be showing up?

Environment: Does your classroom feel safe, calm, and functional for both you and your learners? How are you connecting to your school’s wider values and community?

Compassion: Once you have reflected on yourself and your environment, consider how you will show compassion to yourself, your students, and your colleagues. The first week back is tough for everyone, so approaching it with kindness and understanding will make a difference. It will also help you avoid snapping because someone breathed funny.

Back to School: Reflection and Prep Resource

Our Back to School: Reflection and Prep resource is designed to help you start the term calm, confident, and organised.

The guide includes:

Guided reflection questions to increase awareness of your feelings and classroom environment.
Practical activities to plan seating, routines, and expectations for a smooth start to the year.

Reflection & Prep Resource

Your Routines

Next up is your routines. These are what make your classroom run smoothly and keep you in control. Think carefully about the everyday moments. How do you want students to enter the classroom, transition between tasks, move around the room, and leave at the end of the lesson.

Ask yourself what each routine should look like, sound like, and feel like. For example, do you want students lining up calmly outside your classroom with you greeting them at the door? Do you want that moment to feel calm and ready, or lively and welcoming? The clearer you are now, the more confident and consistent you will feel when the term starts.

Set Your Expectations

Finally, get clear on your expectations. What do you want to see from your students every day? What values are non negotiable for you? How do these tie in with your school’s policies?

It is also worth asking whether any expectations last year did not work or were not clear enough. Now is the time to tweak them. Being clear about what you expect from the beginning means you will be consistent in enforcing them, and students will hopefully be more consistent in following them.

Not Sure What To Do for Your First Lesson?

Our Back to School: Ready-to-Teach Lesson PowerPoint gives you everything you need so you can start the year stress-free. The lesson pack includes: