Three primary pupils working quietly at bright desks

“Half the lesson goes on getting them in, settled and listening.”

Calm Classrooms: Routines That Hold

Primary and secondary Starting out

What you will be able to do

  1. Plan the first ten minutes of any lesson so pupils know exactly what to do
  2. Rehearse a routine until it runs without you
  3. Respond to low-level disruption without raising the temperature

The programme, unit by unit

40 lessons in 6 units, 9 h 20 min in all. Lessons run about 14 minutes each, so you can fit one into a free period.

  1. Why routines work, and why they fail

    5 lessons · 1 h 10 min · running total 1 h 10 min

  2. Entry and settling

    7 lessons · 1 h 38 min · running total 2 h 48 min

  3. Getting attention and keeping it

    8 lessons · 1 h 52 min · running total 4 h 40 min

  4. Transitions and moving about

    7 lessons · 1 h 38 min · running total 6 h 18 min

  5. Low-level disruption

    8 lessons · 1 h 52 min · running total 8 h 10 min

  6. Ending the lesson well

    5 lessons · 1 h 10 min · running total 9 h 20 min

What is in the course

Streamed video lessons, watched online.

  • Lesson-by-lesson walkthroughs of each routine, with the wording to use
  • Worked examples filmed in primary and secondary rooms
  • A one-page plan for the first fortnight with a new class
  • End-of-unit reflection prompts you answer on screen

Who it’s for

Early career teachers, supply teachers and anyone taking on a class that has lost its rhythm.

Primary and secondary teaching.

What this course is not

  • An accredited qualification. It is professional development, not an award from an exam board or a university.
  • Live teaching. There is no live tutor and no timetable. You press play when you are ready.
  • Marked or assessed. Nobody marks your work. Practice tasks are for your own planning and reflection.
  • A replacement for your school. It does not replace your school's own induction, or a SENCo's advice about a pupil.
  • Something to download. Everything is streamed online. There are no files to keep.

Watch it in your week

About 4 weeks at 3 hours a week

The lessons add up to 9 h 20 min, which is 9.3 hours. Give it 3 hours a week and 9.3 ÷ 3 = 3.1, rounded up to 4 weeks. That is about 13 lessons a week.

You have 24 months of access, so you can stop for a busy half-term and pick up where you left off.

  • 1 hour a week10 weeks
  • 2 hours a week5 weeks
  • 3 hours a weekour suggestion4 weeks
  • 5 hours a week2 weeks

Same shelf

More on Starting out

All 11 courses

£547taxes included