The Unteachables Podcast

#101: My 3 non-negotiables for the first week back at school. How to set strong expectations students follow AND still smile before Easter!

• Claire English • Season 6 • Episode 101

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Are you heading back to school and wondering how to set expectations that your students will actually follow, all while building a positive classroom culture?

You’re not alone, my friend! This is the top question I’ve been asked by teachers! In today’s episode, I’m tackling how to balance expectation-setting and relationship-building right from the start of the school year. Spoiler alert: yes, you can smile before Easter and still set boundaries that your students respect.

Whether you’re feeling the back-to-school panic or you’re already knee-deep in planning, this episode is full of actionable tips to make the transition smooth, enjoyable, and effective.

IN THIS EPISODE, I DISCUSS:

  • The real goal for your first day back: It’s not just rules and routines. It’s buy-in! Learn why this is the cornerstone of everything you want to achieve.
  • Why “Don’t smile until Easter” is bad advice: Discover how strategic use of your non-verbal cues can build credibility and connection at the same time.
  • Three non-negotiables for the first week: From learning names to icebreakers and collaborative expectation-setting, I share how to establish a classroom culture that’s safe, seen, and heard.
  • How to make expectations a living, breathing framework: Move beyond “stick-it-on-the-wall” rules and create a year-long dialogue around shared values and consequences.

Take the Stress Out of Back-to-School Planning!

  • Behaviour Club Members: Access my full library of icebreakers, expectations lessons, and more!
  • Not a member yet? Grab my Back to School Bundle for instant access to everything you need to hit the ground running. 

Let’s make 2025 the year classroom management feels more human and less like crowd control.

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

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Speaker 1:

Oh, hi there, teachers, welcome to the Unteachables podcast. I'm your host, claire English, and I am just a fellow teacher, a toddler mama and a big old behavior nerd on a mission to demystify and simplify that little thing called classroom management. The way we've all been taught to manage behavior and classroom manage has left us playing crowd control, which is not something I subscribe to, because we're not bouncers, we're teachers. So listen in as I walk you through the game, changing strategies and I mean the things that we can actually do and action in our classrooms that will allow you to lean into your beautiful values as a compassionate educator and feel empowered to run your room with a little more calm and, dare I say it, a lot less chaos. I will see you in the episode. Well, hello there. Beautiful humans, welcome back to 2025 and, my gosh, the third year running of the Unteachables podcast. This is episode 101. I didn't realize I reached episode 100 until I uploaded it. I didn't make a big deal out of it, so I wanted to just acknowledge the fact that I reached 100 episodes. So if you are listening for the first time, hello, my name is Claire English, I am the host of the Unteachables podcast, and if this is the first time you're listening. Then you have a back catalogue of 100 episodes to listen to and all of them have so many nuggets of classroom management gold. So, yeah, dip into those archives and find something that might be of use to you. I hope that you all had a beautiful new year and Christmas and whatever else you celebrate.

Speaker 1:

Period, although it definitely feels like we're back in the thick of it already. I feel like things have been a very chaotic start to 2025. I had my daughter's second birthday, which, again, it's something that just blows my mind. I started this podcast when she was still in my belly and she's kind of come along on this journey with me and now I've got this very rambunctious, independent, bossy, like beautifully bossy two-year-old and I couldn't be prouder of her. So we celebrated her second birthday and we are moving back to Australia in.

Speaker 1:

We're supposed to be moving back to Australia in less than three weeks, but we don't have a place to live yet. So we are definitely in the messy middle trying to find a place. However, without jobs in Australia and the context of the market in Australia and how competitive rentals are, we're definitely not the most desirable candidates. So watch this space. Hopefully we do find a place to live. Either way, we are putting our stuff on that ship and we are sending it across the sea and, fingers crossed, when we get to the other end, there's somewhere to deliver it to. So fingers crossed there, but I really look forward to being back home with family.

Speaker 1:

I don't recommend two international moves in the space of 12 months. It is a lot. It's a lot with a toddler and it's a lot without a toddler. It would be a lot for anybody. But that's what's going on in my world.

Speaker 1:

In terms of the unteachables world, you might have realised that the introduction is a little bit different. Everything's actually going to be different here in 2025. This is my year of really solidifying what I've created here. If you have followed me right from the start whether it's like podcast on my Instagram you'll know that I've just kind of been working it out as I've gone along and I'm such a big advocate for doing things messy, doing them in whatever way you can to begin with Right. And if you look back at my website or anything, my Instagram, like everything's kind of evolved as I've evolved and nothing is consistent. Like the branding is inconsistent. I feel like I've had the same colors for a while. That's probably the only thing that's been the same, but I've just been working it out as I've gone along.

Speaker 1:

So one of the things that I decided to do this year was to work with a beautiful, beautiful human called Kaylee. She is a designer and she has done my brand, my Untteachables brand because I really wanted to have something that reflected who I am and the work I do here with you. So watch this space. I, just before I popped onto the podcast, saw the drafts of what she'd been working on, and I am just elated. I am so excited. It's so beautiful, and you can't judge a book by its cover, but people do. Like the second, you click on someone's website, like, oh, that's a bit dull, that's a bit, that's a bit crap, um, so I want someone to click on my website or click on anything that I have, and be like. You know, this is the kind of person that I want to support me. So, uh, yeah, that's that's the vibe at the moment. That's what's going on, what's going on. So let's get into the actual reason why you're listening to this podcast. You probably don't want to hear me ramble on about my life for four minutes, but there you go.

Speaker 1:

So recently, just at the start of the year, I asked a question on my Instagram stories. I just said give me all your back to school questions. What questions do you have? Throw them at me and I will focus on those for the podcast and whatever I do. This month, one question was asked more than any other how to set expectations. But specifically it was about balancing expectation setting and rapport building, because if you're listening to my podcast, if you follow me on Instagram, it's likely that you are a beautiful, compassionate human being who wants to do things differently with your students. So it was all about like, really, obviously you still want to be able to, you know, have some kind of control over your class. Like you're not over, but you know you want to have control in your classroom space. Like you want to be able to teach, you want to be able to get through content. You need to balance that with the rapport building and with the things that you do value. So I'm not surprised that this was a question that popped up so often. So that is what I am going to be talking about today.

Speaker 1:

First up, I want you to think about the purpose of that first day back at school. By the way, this is going to obviously be most relevant to those of you in the Southern Hemisphere with me who are going back to school at the end of this month. However, if you are in the Northern Hemisphere, this applies to if you want to do like a reset in the middle of the year, if you want to go back at the start of a new term or maybe you're just listening to this in July or August when you are going back to school. So just want to say it's probably most relevant for my Southern Hemisphere peeps. So that first day back at school, that first week back at school, what do you really want out of that? Like, what is the purpose? And there is actually a right answer for that. There's not very many times where I would say there's a right and wrong answer, but the right answer for that first day back at school, what you want is buy-in.

Speaker 1:

That is the key to everything and if you said anything else, you probably still got the right answer, because beneath that is buy-in. You need buy-in for everything. You want strong classroom management. You need buy-in. You want to be taken seriously. You want buy-in. You want them to get great results and learn. You need the buy-in. You want them to care about the expectations that you set. You need buy-in. You want them to engage in yes, buy-in. I think you get the point.

Speaker 1:

And to get that buy-in, you need to craft that first day and that first week in a way that has students walking away when the bell goes, feeling excited and just knowing they're going to be safe and seen and heard throughout the year. And for that to happen, you need to ignore one of the most commonly used pieces of advice at the start of the year, which is don't smile until Easter. If you're in the Northern hemisphere, they probably say don't smile until Christmas or Thanksgiving. You know that first term, consider this your permission slip to fricking smile Like.

Speaker 1:

I need to say that, uh, because one thing that you do need to know from the get go is that having students behave and that is in quotation marks behave is not about us being too strict or too nice. It's actually about us being able to use our non-verbals strategically and intentionally. So when we need to be credible, we can be credible, and when we need to be approachable, when it's appropriate to be approachable, we can do that as well. And if you have done my low-level behavior bootcamp, you know exactly what I'm talking about and you know how to execute that. But this is what allows us to build beautiful bonds with our students and be warm and be compassionate, while still being a highly effective teacher who can set expectations and boundaries. That students need to feel safe, because those two are so interlinked. We can't have one without the other.

Speaker 1:

And so when I talk about my approach to classroom management and someone's like, oh, but what about being a teacher who holds high expectations? And those two are one in the same? I hold higher expectations than some teachers that go in really strict, and you know so it's not about that those two don't. You know like being strict doesn't equate to higher expectations and vice versa. But unfortunately, the rhetoric is still geared towards us needing to go into the classroom and crowd control when in reality, classroom management should be incredibly intuitive and human. So, yes, expectation setting is super important, but when we start by setting stringent rules and setting, you know, putting up a list of to-dos and don't to-dos, we are missing out on the most important piece of the classroom management puzzle, which is buy-in. We need the buy-in, so how do we approach that first day and first week back at school and kind of balance those two things balance setting high expectations and also balance the buy-in. Well, here are my three non-negotiables that help me to do exactly that, to help me balance being in the credible teaching persona and being approachable when I need to as well, so we can build those beautiful relationships.

Speaker 1:

The first non-negotiable is names, and it seems quite simple, but I really wanted to highlight this point. No, I'm not going to learn all of the students' names straight away and, if I'm honest with myself, I'd probably stuff it up right up until the last day of school. I'm probably going to stuff up names from day one, all the way up to day 200 in school. I have horrible working memory and as a secondary teacher I teach about 220 students a year. I'm not going to get everybody's names and I'm really really, really bad at it. However, just showing from that first day that I even know a couple on that first day helps because it shows that I am trying, and that's where the difference is made. It's all about communicating non-verbally, you matter. I'm trying, I'm human.

Speaker 1:

A big thing that I do to help me kind of like get it and really grasp onto it is. I do seating plans and I make sure that on that seating plan I've got everybody's names I'll use like names on tables. I'll be really intentional with my welcomes when they're coming into the room and I'll make them repeat their name and I'll be really, really, really intentional to try to get their name and just to communicate to the students. I am trying. I'll even just be really honest with them and say my memory is shocking and it's not just you, 30 in front of me that I need to learn the names of. I need to learn you 30 plus the other 170. So I promise you that every single one of you matter to me. But please give me a break. Intentional and really I'm really open with my students and I just do my best to know names and I just wanted them to know from the very beginning that it matters to me because they matter to me and they're not just a number in my class.

Speaker 1:

So non-negotiable, one is trying to get their names from the get-go. The second non-negotiable is icebreakers, and I know that also sounds super simple and you're probably going yeah, well, everyone does icebreakers, but I wanted to just highlight what I do with ice breakers, because I do these with a focus on planting a seed, not being a one and done. Ice breakers are not something that I do on the first day and then go okay, sweet, we know each other, we're more comfortable with each other and now let's dive into the learning for the rest of the year. I start each lesson for that first week back, or two weeks back, depending on how many times I teach a class. I might teach a class three times a week, so I'll do that for the first two weeks 15 minutes, 20 minutes, just having games and icebreakers, with the goal of just getting students feeling more connected, more familiar with each other, more comfortable with me as their teacher, each other, the environment. I keep them really low stakes, I keep them fun, I keep them engaging and I just want to open up opportunities for natural discussions, not forced discussions.

Speaker 1:

What you need to understand about icebreakers is a lot of the icebreakers out there. They're actually questions that involve really like difficult things for students to speak about. So even if you've got questions about family and all of these things that actually require a lot of vulnerability from some students, like some students might not want to talk about that, it can be really, really hard for students to actually throw themselves into it and sometimes students just don't know the answers to some of the questions we give them. Like what are your goals in life? Like I don't bloody know answers to some of the questions we give them Like what are your goals in life? Like I don't bloody know, I'm 13 years old. So really keep them low stakes, engaging, fun, and that's why I love things like what would you rather? Because it's really funny or never have I ever.

Speaker 1:

Because when you're in a class environment and you're putting out questions like that, it doesn't require them to dip into any of their own previous experience although they can if they'd like to and it just opens up opportunities for a laugh, for a chat and to naturally get to know each other. I then and as I said, it's not a one and done and it's not even like a week one and two and done I use these questions as brain breaks, as time fillers in the last five minutes or in like a little patch of the lesson almost every single lesson that I teach to foster that community. So if I've got a 70 minute English lesson, you better believe that halfway through that lesson I'm throwing out a five minute brain break or I'm, you know, finishing the lesson with that when I've wrapped up the learning. I'm doing something every single lesson to foster that community, because it's not a one and done, and it does take a longer time to be able to do that and as the year goes on, I can throw out questions that are a little bit more meaningful. Okay, so that is icebreakers.

Speaker 1:

Non-negotiable number three is which I guess is why people are listening to this episode and it is expectation setting, because of course, we have to set expectations of some kind, whatever way you do it. But this is done in a very specific way, with three goals in mind. The first goal is buy-in, then it's collaboration and then it's just laying the foundations for a year-long discussion and process of classroom management, just like community building. Expectation setting is not a one and done. So I start with the concept expectations. So, if you're thinking about concept-based learning, concepts just connect students with something in the real world so they can then access the learning differently. So I start with the concept of expectations in general.

Speaker 1:

So why should expectations even matter? What even are expectations? Where do they see them in the world around them? Because expectations, students need to know they're not just something at school that mean old Miss English decides to talk about. They are crucial to our world and to our lives as human beings. So where do you see these expectations in your real world? Like when you go to bed at night, like when you wake up in the morning, if you play football, if you play another sport, if you do anything in your life, when you're waiting for the bus. Like, what are the expectations in the day-to-day, in your moment-to-moment? Because they'll soon start to realize and I've got some activities that they really explore these concepts. Once they realize that expectations aren't just something that's enforcing rules in a classroom, they're more likely to come on board and actually contribute really meaningfully to these discussions. Then, after they, I know they've got the idea of expectations, they know what expectations are and why they function and why they're important.

Speaker 1:

I then model the process of setting expectations, starting with me. So what expectations do my students have of me as their teacher? What are the things they can expect of me as their teacher doing this job? So you know, being prepared and being fair and being on time and all those good things, like not coming in with a coffee and spilling it down my top, like 10 minutes into the lesson when I'm supposed to be there, um, and I said, because I've done that, you know, like we're all human, but really explicitly supporting them to collaborate with that discussion as well. So, whether it be through like post-it notes or little cards or discussion pods or whatever you do to get students to collaborate and contribute to the conversation, definitely do that because you want to make sure they know that their voice is heard.

Speaker 1:

Then I pose the question to them. So, once we've established like a list of expectations that they expect of me as a teacher, I then pose the question might I sometimes mess this up? Might I miss the mark on this? Might I fail to meet the expectations that are on this list? And the conversation is yes, like I will sometimes. And we have that discussion why and the students will come up with it you know, like you're a human being, we make mistakes, yes, fantastic.

Speaker 1:

And when we can establish that, we can then have really honest and open discussions about, okay, when we're not able to meet expectations, what has to happen then? Then what we do is we move on to the expectations that we have to have about students and what they have of each other and themselves. We do this in exactly the same way as the teacher expectations, because that is the ultimate buy-in. Then because it's about community. It's not about me forcing something onto them. It's just doing the same process that I've modeled with me and it's just about the things that make this classroom function. So we all in that classroom space are a part of that community and we all have expectations that we need to meet At the end.

Speaker 1:

So when we have gone through my expectations we've spoken about kind of whether or not we're going to miss the mark. Sometimes we go on to their expectations. You can then and, by the way, make sure you're saying like, have we missed anything? If there's something that's really important on that list, say, do you mind if I add something that's really important? You can go to a vote and say, okay, out of these 10, what are the three most important? So any way possible that you can get that collaboration and then really thinking about things.

Speaker 1:

Once you've done all of that and you've got a list of beautiful expectations, at the end you can introduce the shared language that you want to use around consequences. So what happens when we can't meet those expectations? What would happen with me as a teacher. You know, if I was having a bad day and I blew up at Johnny over here for not having his book, if I came in late or flustered, if I, you know, failed someone when I was just having a bad day, you know like random things you can say, you can bring a bit of your personality into it. But really introducing the shared language that you want to use around consequences, you can use yourself as an avenue to kind of explore those things, because that's a way that's not going to get their backs up about it. It's just a really great way to get buy-in to your you know, your classroom management approach.

Speaker 1:

These steps here are the foundations, the language being introduced, the buy-in for your classroom management approach. That is going to be year-long. It's not a one and done stick. You know, the biggest issue with expectations is we do a list of expectations on this. You know big piece of paper and we put it on the wall and then it just collects dust and we might point to it every now and again or we might discuss it every now and again. That's not the point of expectation setting. It really should be a meaningful foundation to your classroom management approach. It is a living, breathing cultural framework for your class and it really is worth the investment in doing this right.

Speaker 1:

But I wouldn't start with this on the first day. I would go into really getting to know their names and doing some icebreakers. You can maybe introduce the concept of expectations, but really digging into the nitty gritty in that first week, but not making it. You know you don't want students to walk out of that lesson and go oh gosh, okay another year. You know rules. Here's what I need to do, what I don't need to do. You want them to feel really comfortable and like this is a community. So I know that was a lot.

Speaker 1:

But when you go into planning for the first week back, just start by thinking, okay, buy-in Like I think I've said it 50 times in this episode buy-in. How can I do this? Or frame this in a way that makes my students feel safe, seen and heard? How can I get their buy-in? And, of course, if you'd rather describe all my resources, you can also do that. You know that I'm all about taking the guesswork and the work work out of things as much as possible. If you are in the behavior club, you already have access to my entire library of resources. You get the icebreakers getting to know your printables and expectations, lesson everything planned and ready to go. So you can just pop your feet up and enjoy the rest of the holidays because you've got it all sorted.

Speaker 1:

If you aren't in the club and you're not quite ready to dive into the membership but still really want to access all of those resources, they are available as a separate bundle my back to school bundle and I've popped that in the show notes for you to go and get. But I don't want you sitting there listening to this episode right before day one, freaking out because you know you haven't got anything planned and you're feeling all guilty and you're listening to this episode going. How the hell am I going to put that all together in such a small amount of time? Stuff that. Just take my resources, walk in with a bit of swagger, just go spend the last day resting or, you know, catching up with a friend or something. It's going to be so much more productive for you doing that than freaking out trying to put everything together. So that was my very quick rundown of my three non-negotiables for the first week back of school. I trust that was helpful If you haven't done so yet.

Speaker 1:

Teachers, please make sure you're following the unteachables podcast on whatever podcast platform you're listening to this on, because 2025 is going to be massive for the podcast. There is so much coming. I've actually planned out the first six months tentatively because I am so excited about the ways that I can support you. This year. My main goal is for as many of you to come on this journey with me as possible and to make some real changes. So I was doing the behavior bites last year. Now I'm changing that to be like quick win challenge episodes, because my whole idea of that is classroom management really is like really effective Classroom management is the accumulation of these micro things that we do in our practice.

Speaker 1:

So over the course of a year, having 52 different challenges that you can implement every single week, by the end of the year, I'm hoping that as many of you as possible can look back and go oh my gosh, that was epic and I have done so much in my practice to make immense change and it really is small, little incremental changes over the year.

Speaker 1:

So please come on that journey with me and I'm so excited for that because my big mantra for the year is stop bloody cloud, stop bloody crowd controlling and start teaching, because we're not bouncers, we're teachers. And all of the ways that we're taught about classroom management is getting us stuck in that crowd control cycle, that crowd control mindset. So I'm here to break that and come on the journey with me and let's do some amazing things together. And I am so freaking excited and, on that note, I'm going to go now and maybe look at realestatecomau and try to find us a house. My gosh, please keep your fingers, toes and everything else crossed for us. I think we need all the luck that we can get. I can't wait to see you next time. Everybody, take care. Bye for now.

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Claire English

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