For many families, but especially for those whose children are disabled or neurodivergent, September is a daunting time, as children often find themselves in a classroom with new faces, spaces or routines.

Much is said about the importance of the 3Rs for teaching and learning (reading, writing and arithmetic), but when we think about inclusive classroom cultures, it’s necessary to consider three other Rs: routines, rituals and rites of passage.

Those 3Rs are often implicitly part of classroom management research, but as a researcher focused on inclusive education, I believe their role extends to creating a classroom community.

For example, my article on alternative teaching methods demonstrates an inclusive routine for learning for all children.

Especially in settings composed of a diversity of learners, routines, rituals and rites of passage are building blocks for a classroom where learning and engagement becomes possible for all children.

Structures at the beginning of the year

It is essential to stress the importance of these kinds of structures at the onset of the school year where it all begins.

Neuroscience has taught us that children’s developing brains need to have attachment to people they depend on, and support for their executive functioning skills.

Engagement and motivation (the why of learning) sit in the limbic system. This needs to be well integrated with the cortex (the what of learning) and the prefrontal cortex (the how of learning).

If that is not the case, learning and classroom management becomes a major issue for the........

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