Wellbeing

The purpose of School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) at Whittlesea Primary School is to improve student outcomes through a safe and inclusive learning environment. As a SWPBS school, our community expectations of ‘Respect Your School’, ‘Do Your Best’ and ‘Help Others Succeed’ are pivotal to our school’s success. The school expectations underpin the SWPBS framework across the school. The expectations guide the language used for both positive re–enforcement and when dealing with behaviour issues.

SWPBS Features:

• As with all learning, behaviour must be taught, modelled and reinforced.
• The Behaviour Matrix is explicitly taught to every classroom in every location at WPS.
• Students’ individual needs and abilities are catered for.
• Staff have a common understanding of what the expected behaviours look like.
• All staff take responsibility for implementing consistent behaviour management strategies using a common language.
• Behaviour management data is used to guide further teaching and planning.
• Positive rewards and acknowledgments are offered to reinforce school expectations and behaviours.
• Staff actively pre-correct and teach expected behaviours.
• Sound relationships are built between staff and students.
• Appropriate consequences are applied if a student is not demonstrating the expected behaviours.
• All staff refer to the school’s Behaviour Process Chart for a consistent approach to responding to inappropriate behaviour
• Teachers need, when appropriate, to anticipate behaviour problems before they fully emerge, implementing appropriate strategies to diffuse certain situations.

Tiered Intervention Framework

SWPBS uses a tiered intervention framework which invests in:

• Tertiary prevention (tier 3): specialised, individualised systems for students with high-risk behaviour (approximately 5% of students)
• Secondary prevention (tier 2): specialised group systems for students with at-risk behaviour (approximately 15% of students)
• Primary prevention (tier 1): school and classroom-wide systems for all students, staff and settings (approximately 80% of students)

Universal Interventions

Universal interventions are evident in every area across the school. The expectations, behaviour matrix, behaviour flowchart, targeted curriculum and the reinforcement systems form the common language and climate of SWPBS. These systems cater for the majority of our students.

Targeted Group Interventions

Targeted group interventions are aimed at cohorts of students that may have a similar point of need or interest. For example, the ‘Chin Up’ program is aimed at regulating anger and developing a variety of coping skills. ‘BOLT’ – Bikes over Lunchtime aims to support students to develop friendships whilst working on a common goal. Other group interventions may include small groups working in the sensory space, learning how to get along with others and take turns or pay a compliment. Group interventions can also be classroom based.

Intensive, Individual Interventions

Students with high-risk behaviour require targeted interventions to support them to be successful at school. These students may require 1:1 interventions, individualised schedules, reward programs and individualised approaches to their daily routine. At WPS we refer to this as being a student’s “Program”. These students also require a Positive Behaviour Support Plan that outlines all the specific programming. A Student Safety Plan also needs to be developed to ensure that escalations are dealt with appropriately.

School Wide Behaviour and Learning Expectation Matrices

The School Wide Behavior Expectation and Learning Matrices are charts that clearly communicate Whittlesea Primary School’s expectations for positive behaviors and learning in various school environments. They aide in teaching, modeling, and reinforcing the expected behaviors in the learning spaces, toilets, outside, gym, assembly, cyberspace and in the community. The Matrices help teachers, principals, aides, and parents consistently reinforce a set of key behavioral and learning expectations during students’ daily routines. When they are visibly displayed in the classroom and other settings, they help to increase students’ understanding of school wide expectations, and offer specific examples of actions students can take to meet these expectations.

Behaviour Process

Teachers follow the Behaviour Process flowchart when re-directing behaviour.

The Behaviour Process flowchart needs to un-packed at the beginning of the year in each learning area. Teams may develop targeted lessons to revisit the Process and ensure that all students and staff have a shared understanding. It must be on display in all learning areas for everybody to see and refer to. Classroom teachers may create their own visual representations of the flowchart suitable to their age of students, however wording and vocabulary must be consistent with the original to ensure continuity. It is essential that the flowchart is followed in a consistent and calm manner to ensure an agreed upon approach across the whole school.

When implementing consequences the following points are made:

• A positive/supportive/logical consequence/approach is to be taken.
• Children must be closely supervised at all times.
• Consequences need to be appropriate to the issue being resolved.
• The dignity of each student must be maintained throughout the Behaviour Process.