Setting Up for Student Success - Entry Routines at Emmaus Catholic College

If you think teaching only matters inside the classroom, think again. Ever heard of an “entrance or entry routine”? Believe it or not, how students enter their classrooms can have a big impact on their learning. According to the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO), an effective entrance routine “promotes safety, builds positive connections with students and maximises instructional time.” (Classroom Management Practice Guide, Dec 2023)

As set out by AERO, an entrance routine should set the tone for the lesson - calm and focused. Students know exactly what is expected of them as they move into the classroom, transition to their desks and begin learning. In a real life case study of this classroom management strategy, teachers at Emmaus Catholic College Kemps Creek are embracing this approach and capturing student attention before they even enter the room.

Mark Leahy, an experienced teacher at Emmaus, is seeing the benefits of a structured entry routine.

“We don’t have to focus on behavioural issues, we can start the lesson straight away…I can see clearly that students are a lot calmer and more focused,” Mark said.

So what are teachers at Emmaus doing differently?

The structured routine starts outside the classroom with a positive greeting and has students enter in an ordered fashion with an activity ready for them to complete. It sounds simple, but this strategy is delivering big learning gains with minutes of additional learning time gained each lesson

“In the past what I would do is have students enter the room and basically just wait for them to be settled, then I would commence the lesson. Whereas now, there is a structured routine,” said Mark.

After 20 years of doing things roughly the same way, Mark explains that the shift was subtle, but necessary. Moving away from what students shouldn't be doing, to a focus on what they should be doing.

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The focus on entry routines is one aspect of the professional learning being delivered across Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese (CSPD) as part of Uplift, a system-wide approach to learning and teaching focused on excellence in learning outcomes. “Time on learning is a big predictor of teaching quality and small tweaks make all the difference”, said Rebecca Birch, Head of Secondary Learning.

A key component of changing things up in the classroom, is giving teachers the knowledge, support and time to make the change. Mark De Brun, Senior Education Officer, CSPD explains that often the focus of professional development is on knowledge building alone.

“At CSPD we’re bucking this trend, by developing teacher techniques and providing support to sit alongside this knowledge. This approach ensures that what happens in PD sessions goes on to impact what’s actually happening in classrooms,” Mark said.

Mark explains that a key component of this approach when working on entrance routines is scripting what the routines look like and then rehearsing them with colleagues.

“It’s much more effective to try something new, make mistakes and seek feedback from a trusted colleague rather than trying to deploy a new technique for the first time in the heat of the moment, in front of 25 students whose learning time is precious,” said Mark.

Emmaus teacher, Piyanka Prasad agrees and also uses the rehearsal phase to practice and improve her approach, highlighting the role of the teacher as a lifelong learner.

“Rehearsing with others was really helpful, because as teachers we do the same with our students - you’re going to do this presentation and you need to rehearse as a group.”

Ultimately, by refining their craft together, these educators are ensuring that every student is set up for success from the very first minute of class.

-> Watch our video to learn more

_Source:

_{https://www.edresearch.edu.au/sites/default/files/2023-12/entrance-routine-aa.pdf}

Written By

Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au

17 Jun 2026
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