New Classroom

[lazybones77]

I'm going to have my first class after the summer holidays and was wondering if anyone had any tips for what to buy to set up my classroom. I've no idea what stage I have yet but any general tips and tricks would be really helpful. Thank you.

I can't help as I'm still training but have you looked on Pinterest. It's brilliant for ideas

Yes. I'm addicted to Pinterest. I was looking more for things like baby wipes for cleaning the white board, buy your own staple remover etc. Sorry I wasn't clearer.

Primary or secondary?

I am secondary and buy:

Kitchen spray and kitchen roll - does for whiteboard and general mess
Box of tissues
Hole punch, stapler & staple gun (I label them - these are mine, not for borrowing! Then I can buy decent ones)
Nice calendar
Set of felt pens (for me, not the kids)
Pens
Stickers (lots of)
Big box with lid for carting marking around
Stuff to make it feel "mine" (nice desk tidy thing, couple of posters for the walls, a clock, a Bluetooth speaker)

I order stationary through school but buy my own notepads so I can have pretty ones. I also have a load of subject specific books, but they have my name in, and when I leave the school, they'll be going with me.

Thank you. These are great tips. I'm primary Evil.

Ok well from a recent placement I would say little bags for teeth that come out, a small box for girls to put earrings in for P.E, loads of hair bobbles (again for P.E), your own really big sharp scissors and staple gun. Also stickers and lovely post it notes.

Go to Ikea (or similar) and get those boxes with lots of compartments for all your pencils, glue sticks, scissors etc.
They also do these fabric leaves and canopies, add some cushions and fleecey blankets to make a lovely reading den or 'quiet corner'.
Label absolutely everything!

I wonder how many people realise how much of a teacher's own money is spent in the classroom?

I agree with stickers, I like ones that have my name on them. "Mrs Bin thinks I'm great", that kind of thing.

Oh yes, scissors. I get the sets of three from Dunelm. That'll get you at least to half term.....

Where do you get the personalised stickers from please pipbin

I'm a TA. Congratulations.
I would buy a set of stamps. Staples makes some good ones-You are a star etc
Stickers-The Range sell books for £1 in the kids section.
Possibly a stapler but school may provide. Definitely a staple remover, the metal one.
IKEA- a set of small drawers. Paint them with match pots in bright colours. These will be for your personal stuff. Staples, erasers, scissors( Dunelm sell a set really cheaply and they stay sharp for years), sticky tape, pens.
Possibly a set of plastic letters for making board headings then you can keep them at home and use them when watching TV and multi task.
Once you find out which year group it is then you can go to summer car boot sales/ charity sales and buy some good quality second hand books and wet weather games. No need to spend a fortune as I have bought perfect books and games for about a £1 each.
Some bags from the Good Bag Company as they last ages and are perfect for carrying files in. You can now have a custom made one.
Hope this helps.

Personally, I'd wait til you're in there and see what there is already.

Personalised stickers from here.
www.primaryteaching.co.uk/allstickers

I'm primary. I have get a toolbox and fill it with pens, scissors, a stapler, a staplegun, a whistle, some hand gel, tissues, a lanyard for your whistle/memory stick/pen. A note book and some post its.

Also get a mug that you like and a mug with a lid for playground duty.

Leave everything else until you get to know your class.

I use a lot of stamps for marking and "I've done guided reading" etc for the reading diaries.

Definitely laminator! You also need labels with your name to stick on everything you buy so that you remember what's yours and other people know it belongs to you personally if they borrow it.

I'd wait until you know what year group and you see the size of your classroom and how well resourced it is before buying too much too.

Then wet play games, nice stories to read to them, stationery and stickers/stampers...

A subscription to Twinkl.
A lifesaver.

Cutlery drawer tidy... Brilliant for keeping drawers tidy with sections for stuff. Micro fibre duster thing for wiping white board... With the nodules on iyswim. Don't use a strong cleaning spray on the board or you'll leave a residue that means your own will act as permanent and be difficult to wipe. Water is all you need or special board spray. I use a classroom where the resident has used a strong cleaner and whenever i teach in there i can't wipe the dry wipe pens off. Cheap discount stores do a plastic shower caddy container with a hook that you can hang directly beneath the white board with pens and duster in. My latest find is bendy rollers from pound land as fiddle toys for fidgety kids. Sensory, squidgy, bendy and cheap!

I'm a secondary hod and I find this discussion a bit mad tbh! Your own laminator?? Since when did it become accepted that teachers have to find this stuff themselves??

Thanks pip
Sorry if I gave misleading advice about the canopies, we have involvement with 5 different schools through family members and they've all bought them and used them in primary classrooms with no problem so I hadn't realised it would be a problem with some LA's

Don't buy any equipment until you have moved into your classroom; most of the things suggested above should be supplied by the school. Investigate the stockroom and your new classroom first to see what yo inherit.Your own laminator, sets of felt pens for the children, wet wipes, canopies for reading corners? Not your job to supply these.

A small box or bag on wheels for carrying all the exercise books and stuff round school and home is useful, as is a pvc apron, rubber gloves and dish mop, and a good hardbacked spiral bound notebook that goes everywhere with you for writing down everything about everything. But wait and see what the school provides first.

Tesco reusable bags are great for taking books home

Since when did it become accepted that teachers have to find this stuff themselves??

You don't have to but having a £10 one from Wilkos is a very worth while investment. Our school one gets broken by fucking idiots on an almost weekly basis. With your own you don't need to worry and you can laminate stuff at home.

A Contigo travel mug- they are amazing.
Distinctive staffroom mug, or two.
Whistle
Most robust memory stick you can find and maybe an external hard drive.
Heavy duty staple gun. School will provide you with one. It will be sh*t.
Beautiful biscuit tin in which to stash chocolate and biscuits- which is all that will get you through December.

YY to platinum Twinkl membership.