Classroom organisation tips
Summer holidays are drawing even closer so it’s time to think ahead and make your return to the classroom that little bit easier in September. Before you finish for a well-deserved break, why not tidy and organise your classroom? Doing this will make sure that you and your new pupils return to a clean, tidy and organised space in September. It will make it easier to find everything you need, and your pupils will be able to learn the system and independently tidy away and collect what they need.
Implement our classroom organisation tips to help you get prepared for the new school year and consider what storage solutions you need. Take a look at what Gratnells have to offer for storage solutions that are perfect for your classroom, from trays to frames and trolleys.
Organise your desk
It can be difficult to decide where to start when it comes to classroom organisation. A great start is your desk as when your working space is tidy and organised, it feels as though you can tackle the rest. Organise all your paper and personal stationery on the desk by using binders and pen pots. Don’t forget any drawers in your desk too so you can easily find everything you need, and they all have a place.
Throw away with no hesitations
Look around your classroom for anything you don’t need or haven’t used for a while and throw them away. It can be hard to choose what needs to be thrown away, so you have to make sure to have no hesitations when picking the items. Choose paperwork that you don’t need any more and unused items like old stationery. Think if you need this and question yourself if you will use it anymore to help you decide.
Colour coordinate
With classroom organisation, colour coordination makes everything so much easier. It also helps children to find items they need easily as they can recognise where everything is by colour and memorise it. You could organise stationery like pencils by colour and store them in a tray with Gratnells pencil dividers. You could also assign books and resources a coloured label depending on the subject. Colour coordinating is a great way to separate items, books and resources while making it easy to find each item.
Tidy storage cupboards
Storage cupboards are vital for teachers to keep tidy and organised. Storage cupboards are the one place where every item is kept as well as spare stock. If your cupboard becomes overcrowded and messy, it can become really hard to find the supplies you need for the day. Use plenty of Gratnells trays for loose parts and stationery. You could also use moveable shelves to store the trays on. Consider using Gratnells SortED tray inserts to fit more into each tray and to keep them organised.
Find space for stationery
Teachers can often find themselves lost in piles of stationery due to bulk stock for everyone to use daily. Stationery is an important aspect of classroom organisation to find space for all of the items. A great organisation space for stationery is in Gratnells tray storage trolleys. You could label each section of the trolley with the stationery that belongs there.
To further organise stationery, you could put types together as well as colour coordinate. Doing this allows you to see how much of each stationery you have left. This is perfect for colouring pencils and pens so you can see how many of each colour you have left and when to restock.
Use trays and label them
No matter how much you tidy and throw away, there is no getting away from the amount of paperwork and other items you need to keep. For folders, papers, loose bits, and work to look at, store in Gratnells trays to keep them together and organised.
Gratnells trays are perfect to use around the classroom for various items, especially for your own things. With various sizes from shallow to extra deep to store various items, they are fully recyclable and fit standard classroom furniture. Store your folders, papers, and work you need to mark, and completed marked work in these trays and label them so you never lose anything important again.
Use wall space
If possible, it could be good to use wall space for some storage. You can get creative with storing various objects like some essential stationery in small boxes or pouches. You could also have a system for paper storage on the wall for marking work. Use paper trays or racks to hang on the wall and label them to be marked and marked. You could even add a homework one and the day’s worksheets. Encourage pupils to understand the system and collect their work from the correct slots and put away work too. This allows them to be more independent and their work is safely stored together making it easier for them and you.
Create a visual organisation chart
Get help from your pupils to organise the classroom by setting out daily organisation tasks for children to do. Create a visual chart to hang up for everyone to see with small tasks for each day. Show the planned schedule for the week of lessons and what your pupils need to do to organise their utensils and tidy them. For example, show where to get various items at the beginning of the day and where to put them away at the end of the day.
This gives children responsibility for their own items and teaches them to tidy up and organise themselves. It also gives them a routine to stick to which can be helpful with learning the importance of being responsible. Take this responsibility a step further by providing pupils with their own stationery. Allow them to create their own storage for their stationery or provide individual clear tubs that they can personalise.
Use these classroom organisation tips to help you tidy and organise your classroom to make finding items easier for you and your pupils. Involve children in the process by assigning little tasks to keep on top of organisation and keeping the classroom clean and tidy. Consider storage solutions you will need for your classroom and implement systems so everyone understands where everything is stored.
Want to make your classroom feel like new with some different decorations for the new school year? Check out our 27 classroom decoration ideas.