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Parkside Primary School's behaviour support policy guides:

• the behaviour we expect of children and young people
• how staff, parents and carers will support positive behaviour
• the safe inclusion of children and young people.

Parkside Primary School's policy aligns with:

• the Department for Education behaviour support policy (PDF 165 KB)

About behaviours

Children and young people's behaviours fall along a continuum. This means behaviour can range from safe to unsafe.

Range of behaviours

• Positive, inclusive and respectful behaviours.
• Developmentally appropriate boundary testing. This behaviour can interrupt learning but can be redirected.
• Behaviours that cause concern due to their severity, frequency and duration. This behaviour significantly interrupts learning and needs consistent guidance and support.
• Complex and unsafe behaviour which can place children, their peers and others in danger.

All along the continuum, the policy and practice approach is proactive, consistent, responsive and tailored to the child or young person's needs.

How we implement the department's policy

We will support the safe inclusion of children and young people in learning with these actions.

Promote

We will promote, model and support productive and positive behaviour.

• Promote a school wide positive behaviour approach. We will work on this with our community that includes parents/carers, staff and students.
• Display behavioural expectations. Share these with students, parents and carers in the newsletter and on the website.

Teach

We will explicitly teach positive behaviour and expectations about behaviour.

• Create predictable, consistent structures and routines across all learning environments. This guides students in how to positively participate in learning.
• Teach students self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and social management through the schools nominated behaviour education program, Play is the Way.

Intervene

We will intervene to prevent, reduce or redirect behaviours of concern. We will use methods that are the least exclusionary possible.

• Staff use proactive strategies to co-regulate students to prevent behaviours of concern.
• Safe, quiet spaces are provided for students to use as an opportunity to self-regulate. The educator supports students to re-enter the learning environment when they are ready.

Work with others

We will work with children, their families, professionals and other key adults to understand the environmental, social and family context of a child or young person's behaviour. We will draw on these people to support positive behaviour change.

• Involve and value students perspectives when developing behaviour supports.
• Engage students and families to understand possible reasons for behaviour.
• Use a team approach to coordinate, assess, plan, monitor and review behaviour interventions.

Respond

We will respond to behaviour visibly and fairly. Responses will help grow confidence and trust.

• Tell those who raise behaviour concerns about the process to respond to the concern. Do this without disclosing personal information of the parties involved.
• Investigate concerns about behavioural incidents. Understand the nature of the incident and the experience of the incident by those involved.
• Apply behaviour responses based on Play is the Way and other suggested frameworks from the Department. Tailor to students’ circumstances,. taking into account children with disability or additional needs, children in care and Aboriginal children.
• Document responses in Behaviour Support Plans, Safety and Risk Management Plans, and Safety and Support Plans.

Repair and restore relationships

We will repair and restore relationships harmed by behaviours of concern.

• Implement restorative approaches. This includes incorporating the Play is the Way language and key concepts into restorative practices.
• Ensure students who have acted inappropriately recognise the impact of their actions. Give them the chance to apologise and express remorse. Then give them the chance to repair and restore relationships when appropriate, safe and consented to by all parties.

Create safety and wellbeing

We will create safety and wellbeing for people involved in behaviour incidents.

• Provide specific and relevant strategies to reduce the risk of harm to students and staff following behavioural incidents.
• Use suspension as a last resort strategy if immediate safety is required.
• Refer students, staff and others who have been harmed by unsafe behaviours to counselling or other support where necessary.
• Engage department supports when responding to serious incidents. (for example, the Social Work Incident Support Service). Responses might include telling parents and carers of those involved in or effected by the behaviour.

Behaviours of concern

Behaviours of concern:

• are challenging, complex or unsafe behaviours
• are more serious, happen more often or last a long time
• significantly interrupt learning for the child or others
• could put the child or others in danger
• need consistent guidance and support.

Behaviours that disrupt learning or safety will always receive a response that considers:

• the needs of the child or young person with behaviours of concern
• other people's rights to learning and safety.

How we respond to behaviours of concern

At we use specific responses to behaviours of concern.

Educator responses

• Provide quality differentiated teaching practice. This is a way to meet each child and young person's learning styles and needs. For example, the teacher plans ahead to clearly teach values and safe and inclusive behaviours.
• Create plans that support positive behaviour change. Partner with parents, carers and others to do this.
• Explicitly teach values and safe and inclusive behaviours, keeping in mind individual differences to promote student engagement.
• Provide time and space for students to self-regulate or co-regulate with appropriate support and supervision. This might include sitting quietly, talking quietly, doing calming activities (for example, breathing and yoga) or physical activity (for example, running, shooting hoops or bouncing a ball).breathing and yoga) or physical activity (for example running, shooting hoops or bouncing a ball).
• Stopping behaviours of concern. Work with students to name and describe behaviours to help them understand what they are doing that is problematic. Redirect students to the preferred behaviour. Support students to develop and practise the skills required to maintain the preferred behaviour.
• Offer students choices that allow them to stay regulated and participate. For example offering to finish their work now or during recess and to do their work sitting down or standing up.

Leader responses

• Monitor behaviour. Act on any reports about behaviour of concern. This includes incidents that happen out of hours or off-site that impact relationships at ${name}.
• Consider the use of suspension and exclusion from school to support safety. This is after we consider all other options to reduce danger.
• Report criminal offences to the police.
• Work with the Education Director and Department for Education staff to plan whole of site communications about serious behavioural incidents.
• Provide leadership and / or external assistance to facilitate restorative processes (including re-entry meetings) where staff and students directly involved require impartial assistance to resolve the issues.
• Work with all staff and parents across the site and community to look at the behaviours and strategies to mitigate them.

Department level responses

• Negotiate other learning options away from school to make sure the school community is safe. This is after we consider other options to reduce danger.
• Support staff and local leadership in how they respond to a child or young person.

Responsibilities

Children and young people

• Treat others with kindness, respect and inclusiveness.
• Make sure their actions are safe, respectful and inclusive. This includes verbal, physical and online actions.
• Seek help from adults to intervene when they see behaviours of concern in person or online.
• Report behaviours of concern to a person they trust. This includes, parents, teachers, ssos, student wellbeing leader or a member of the leadership team.
• Support their friends and peers to seek help from trusted adults. Do this if their friends are experiencing problematic behaviours.
• Support their friends to behave in safe, respectful and inclusive ways. Do this if their friends are engaging in behaviours of concern. Students have a responsibility to restitute their behaviours accordingly.

Parent and carer

• Report any students concerning or unsafe behaviour to the classroom teacher, student wellbeing leader or a member of the leadership team.
• If an incident happens, work collaboratively with us to resolve concerns.
• Follow the complaint resolution process to deal with concerns. A copy of the complaint resolution process is on our website or in our front office.
• Show and encourage safe, respectful and inclusive relationships with: their own children; other students; other parents and carers and staff.
• Support their children to develop safe behaviours at home. Check on and supervise their children’s social interactions, including online.
• Seek support from school staff to create consistent responses to behaviours of concern. This includes at home and at our site.
• Take part in learning opportunities about safe and inclusive behaviour. Find out how the school works with parents, carers, children and young people.
• Know about Parkside Primary's behaviour support policy and procedures. Know how to identify and report behaviours that are concerning or unsafe.
• Talk to their children about safety issues, including unsafe behaviours. Help them understand what it is, why it’s harmful and how to respond. Use the same messages that Parkside Primary School promotes.
• Make sure their children keep coming to our site while a behaviour issue is being resolved. This is in a child or young person’s best interest. If you feel that your children coming to our site is not in their best interest, talk to us.
• Seek external professional support for their children when needed.
• Do not approach other students or parents about behaviours of concern. Report this to the leadership team for follow up and ensure the grievance procedures are being followed.
• Understand that, because of confidentiality, the school cannot share information about other children.
• Support their children to stay off-site during suspension, exclusion or expulsion. A child can still come on-site if they have the leader’s written approval.