Not just rules: creating a class with purpose
Updated: Sep 3
Every September, teachers spend time setting expectations with a new class. Sometimes those expectations become a list of rules that pupils can repeat but do not really feel part of. At their best, though, class agreements do something more powerful: they help pupils think together about what this class is for, how they want to learn, and what they will do when being that kind of class gets difficult.
Developing a shared sense of class purpose needs careful framing. Pupils need questions that help them move from individual hopes and memories towards a shared picture of the kind of class they want to build together.
‘Agreements’ are better than ‘rules’
When pupils are involved in shaping their own class expectations, they are more likely to understand what those expectations are for. Creating a class agreement can help pupils think about why they are in school, what kind of class they want to be part of, and how everyone can help make that possible.
It often helps to start with pupils thinking, writing or drawing on their own before sharing with a partner, then a four, and then the wider class. Classes that gel usually have repeated chances to work with different people, so it is worth planning simple ways to mix up who pupils talk to and learn with.
1 - Warm-up the context
It is difficult for pupils to move straight into new and abstract ideas. They need a reminder of what is already known as a springboard. Questions that draw on previous experience can help them begin to develop a shared purpose:
What was our favourite thing about our class last year? Why?
What have you heard about what you will learn in Year X? Which of the things you heard excited you the most? Were there any things you were not so keen on?
What are you hoping to learn this year? Why?
Document the work by creating a scrapbook of the children’s ideas, with words, pictures and drawings which can travel with the class over the year. This way, the class culture can build year on year, developing a sense of history and tradition, as well as development and change.
2 - Create a rich picture of a class they would like to learn in
This stage is all about getting a concrete grasp of an abstract idea. What is the class that the children want to be in and work in? Question prompts that can help explore these ideas include:
Try to remember a particular experience during the previous year when you felt good about yourself or about everyone else and school was just great.
What exactly was going on when you felt that way?
Were there rules that helped or made it worse?
How was the class set up?
Make the picture even clearer by contrasting it with a class they would not want to learn in, again starting from what is known and familiar to them:
Try to remember a particular experience during the previous year when you felt bad about yourself or about everyone else and you couldn’t wait for it to be over. What exactly was going on when you were feeling that way?
How was the class set up?
Were there rules that helped or made it worse?
What can we do this year to make sure things go better?
A deep and rich picture can be overwhelming to try to live up to, so the final stage is to summarise the work. Questions that can draw these ideas together into 5–7 key elements include:
If this classroom was learning well together – what would an observer see us doing? Hear us doing? Feel when they were with us?
Recording the work helps it last. Try dividing the class into groups, one for each agreed element, and ask them to illustrate that element for a class display.
3 - Move from imagining to doing
By now, the idea of this ideal learning environment is likely to feel quite precious to the class. Before turning it into an agreement, it can help to ask pupils how they would protect it. Most classes already know the small things that can make learning harder, but they may need help to talk about them without blaming particular people.
What would be the most effective way for someone to make our class a place you would not want to learn?
This is the point where pupils can begin to turn their ideas into something they can actually use. One powerful question can help the teacher take up the role of facilitator, with the class thinking alongside them:
If you were to behave like that in our class, what would help you? What would you want me as your teacher to do to help you? What would you want other pupils to do to help you?
The class can record these ideas in groups, producing posters for the display board: What we can do to help one another learn well in class.
Documents are powerful witnesses
Remember that the documents and displays created during this work can become powerful witnesses to what the class is trying to build. A scrapbook of children’s drawings about their best classroom, photographs of the class creating the agreement, images of the rules or display taking shape, posters showing how pupils can help one another learn well, or a noticeboard of ideas about how to be the best class team they can be can all help make the work visible.
These records do more than decorate the room. They give pupils something to look back at and say, this is what we decided mattered. They also give the teacher something concrete to return to when the class is doing well, when it is drifting, or when it needs to repair and reset. Over time, the display or scrapbook can become a kind of class history: evidence of what the pupils hoped for, what they practised, what they changed and what they are still becoming together.
This handout gives teachers a ready-made lesson structure for helping pupils move from memories and hopes into a shared class purpose they can see, discuss and return to.
Time spent building shared purpose is not time away from learning. It gives pupils a clearer sense of what the class is trying to become and gives the teacher something real to return to when the class is learning well, drifting, repairing or starting again.
Copyright notice © Educational Psychology Services for Schools Ltd., 2026. Written by Dr Kathryn Gibb. You are welcome to use and share this blog and its accompanying resources within your school or setting, provided the source is acknowledged. Please do not sell, publish, adapt or reproduce the materials elsewhere without permission.
Disclaimer These ideas are offered as general guidance to support classroom culture and relationships. They are not intended to replace professional judgement, individual educational psychology advice, school policy, safeguarding procedures or advice from relevant specialists. If a pupil’s behaviour, wellbeing or safety is causing concern, staff should follow your school’s usual procedures and seek appropriate support.
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