Management 3 min read Updated October 2026
Opening the school year in a boarding school: a full checklist
The first week of the year sets the pace for the whole year. Whatever wasn’t prepared before the students arrived gets done along the way, under pressure, at the expense of time with the students. This checklist is split into six areas, each with an owner and a deadline.
1. Three weeks before: structure
Start with the structure, because everything else rests on it. A final student list, groups with responsible counselors, and room and bed allocation.
Institution structure
- An up-to-date student list: who continues, who is new, who left.
- Permanent groups, and a responsible counselor for each.
- Room and bed allocation, including free places for students who arrive during the year.
- Temporary groups already known: weekend stayers, teams, transport.
2. Contacts and medical information
Contacts that haven’t been updated since last year are the first problem to surface in the first incident. Update them with the parents, not from an old spreadsheet.
- Phone numbers for both parents, and an additional emergency contact.
- Who may pick the student up, and who may not.
- Current medical information: allergies, medication, limitations, and who on the staff needs to know.
- Standing consents parents give, if any, for example for certain exits.
3. Staff and permissions
Before anyone starts a shift, you need to know who they are, which group they belong to and what they may see.
Staff
- A user account for every staff member, with permissions by role and group.
- Close the permissions of anyone who left last year.
- A shift schedule for the first month.
- An onboarding plan for new counselors, with a guide for each.
- An up-to-date phone list: people in charge of shifts, managers, clinic, gate.
4. Reports and timetables
Report templates and timetables are what the staff will use every day. When they’re set up in advance, day one starts with a routine.
- Attendance report templates: times, groups, who reports and who receives the report.
- A timetable for the learning center and clubs, with a number of places per lesson.
- Updated procedures, for example exits, late return and the night shift, where all staff can read them.
- Communication channels with parents, and what goes through which channel.
5. Arrival day
On arrival day everything should already be ready. The goal is that every student gets into their room, meets their counselor and knows what happens tomorrow.
01Welcome by groupEach counselor receives their own group, not one desk for the whole institution.
02Check detailsContacts, medical information and who may pick up, with the parents who came.
03Into the roomsAccording to the allocation. Changes are recorded immediately so the first count is right.
04The first countIn the evening, from the list. Anyone who didn’t arrive is followed up that same evening.
6. The first week: what to check
At the end of the first week, stop for an hour and check the routine works, before mistakes become habits.
End-of-week-one check
- Are all groups reporting attendance on time?
- Are there students with no placement in lessons or clubs?
- Are there staff still without an account or the right permissions?
- Have parents received a first update?
- What changed in the room allocation, and is it up to date?
Common mistakes
- Contacts copied from last year without checking.
- Permissions of staff who left that stay open.
- A timetable built after the year has already started.
- A room allocation that changes on arrival day and isn’t recorded.
- Procedures that were updated but nobody on the staff has read.
Want to open next year with groups, rooms, permissions and report templates already in place? We’ll build an opening plan for your institution together.
