Maryborough Special School

Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students

(based on TheCode of School Behaviour)

  1. Purpose

Maryborough Special Schoolis committed to providing a safe, respectful and disciplined learning environment for students and staff, where students have opportunities to engage in quality learning experiences and acquire values supportive of their lifelong wellbeing.

This Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students is designed to facilitate high standards of behaviour so that the learning and teaching in our school can be effective and students can participate positively within our school community.

  1. Consultation and data review

Maryborough Special Schooldeveloped this plan in collaboration with our school community. Broad consultation with parents, staff and students was undertaken through survey distribution and community meetings held during 2012. A review of school data relating to attendance, absenteeism, school disciplinary absences and behaviour incidents from 2010-2012also informed the development process. This plan aligns with the school’s Annual Improvement Plan for School Wide Positive Behaviour Support which is the framework which underpins the behaviour management policies and procedures at Maryborough Special School.

The Plan was endorsed by the Principal, the President of the P&C/Chair of the School Council and (Regional Executive Director or Executive Director (Schools)) in (insert month) 2012, and will be reviewed in 2015 as required in legislation.

Copies of revised plans issued to whole school community members.

  1. Learning and behaviour statement

All areas of Maryborough Special Schoolare learning and teaching environments. We consider behaviour management to be an opportunity for valuable social learning as well as a means of maximising the success of academic education programs.

Our Responsible Behaviour Plan outlines our system for facilitating positive behaviours, preventing problem behaviour and responding to unacceptable behaviours. Through our school planshared expectations for student behaviour are plain to everyone,assistingMaryborough Special Schoolto create and maintain a positive and productive learning and teaching environment, where ALL school community membershave clear and consistent expectations and understandings of their role in the educational process.

Our school community has identified the following school rules to teach and promote our high standards of responsible behaviour:

  • Be safe
  • Be helpful
  • Be ready to learn.

Our school rules have been agreed upon and endorsed by all staff and our school P&C. They are aligned with the values, principles and expected standards outlined in Education Queensland’s Code of School Behaviour.

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  1. Processes for facilitating standards of positive behaviour and responding to unacceptable behaviour

Universal Behaviour Support

The first step in facilitating standards of positive behaviour is communicating those standards to allstudents. AtMaryborough Special Schoolwe emphasise the importance of directly teaching students the behaviours we want them to demonstrate at school. Communicating behavioural expectations is a form of universal behaviour support - a strategy directed towards all students designed to prevent problem behaviour and provides a framework for responding to unacceptable behaviour.

A set of behavioural expectations in specific settings has been attached to each of our three school rules. The Schoolwide Expectations Teaching Matrix below outlines our agreed rules and specific behavioural expectations in all school settings.

Schoolwide Expectations Matrix

All Areas / Classroom / Walkways / Playground / Toilets / Bus Lines
Be Safe /
  • Only Staff to push wheel chairs
  • Keep hands and feet to self
  • Follow school rules
/
  • Keep hands and feet to self
  • Look after Classroom
things /
  • Walk on the path
  • Shut the gate behind you
  • Walk behind the teacher
/
  • Hands and feet to self
  • Hat and shoes on for play
  • Use kind words
/
  • Walk safely to toilet
  • Wash and dry hands
  • Shut toilet door when in use
/
  • Hands and feet to self
  • Sit and wait quietly
  • Listen to staff and bus driver

Be Helpful /
  • Be kind to others
  • Share and help others
  • Use kind words
/
  • Listen and do what staff say
  • Help and look after each other
/
  • Give others space
  • Hold the gate open
  • Walk behind the teacher
/
  • Share play things
  • Play nicely at all times
  • Help pack up play things
/
  • Put paper in the bin
  • Walk straight to toilet and straight back
  • Flush toilet after use
/
  • Stay in bus line
  • Look after each other
  • Walk quietly to bus

Be Ready to Learn /
  • Do as you are asked 1st time
  • Listen and follow what staff say
  • Tell the truth at all times
/
  • Be ready to start work
  • One person talking at a time
/
  • Listen and follow what staff say
  • Line up at classroom after bell
/
  • Listen and follow what staff say
  • Line up at the end of play
  • Walk quietly to classroom
/
  • Ask staff to go to toilet
  • Ask for help if you need it
/
  • Listen for name at the gate
  • Stand and wait quietly
  • Get on the bus quietly

These expectations are communicated to students via a number of strategies, including:

  • Behaviour lessons conducted by classroom teachers;
  • Reinforcement of learning from behaviour lessons on School Assemblies and during active supervision by staff during classroom and non-classroom activities.

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Maryborough Special Schoolimplements the following proactive and preventative processes and strategies to support student behaviour:

  • Annual induction and update sessions regarding SWPBS behaviour management practices to all staff. (induction booklet)
  • School Behaviour Leadership team members’regular provision of information to staff and parents, and support to others in sharing successful practices.(SWPBS focus)
  • Comprehensive induction programs in theMaryborough Special SchoolResponsible Behaviour Plan for Students delivered to new students as well as new and relief staff.
  • Individual support profiles developed for students with high behavioural needs, enabling staff to make the necessary adjustments to support these students consistently across all classroom and non-classroom settings.
  • Development of specific policies to address:
  • The Use of Personal Technology Devices* at School (Appendix 1)
  • Procedures for Preventing and Responding to Incidents of Bullying (Appendix 2).

Reinforcing expected school behaviour

AtMaryborough Special Schoolcommunication of our key messages about behaviour is backed up through reinforcement, which provides students with feedback for engaging in expected school behaviour. A formal recognition and monitoring system has been developed. This reinforcement system is designed to increase the quantity and quality of positive interactions between students and staff. All staff members are trained to give consistent and appropriate acknowledgement and rewards.

Raffle Tickets

Staff members award raffle tickets each day to students they observe following school rules in both classroom and non-classroom areas. This reinforcement occurs continuously throughout the day. When they observe a student following the rules they can choose to give them a raffle ticket. When students are given a raffle ticket they drop them in one of the designated collection points at the following locations:

  • School administration block
  • Classrooms
  • Playground
  • Undercover area
  • Bus lines

Each Friday the SWPBS co-ordinator reviews the submitted raffle tickets and recordsindividual student’s tally and identifies the number given out by school staff. Prize draws are conducted each week on Parade and a celebration day is held each term to acknowledge students who have received a specified number of tickets in the term. Each week the teacher who has handed out the most raffle tickets is also acknowledged. Weekly winners, students and teachers are acknowledged in the school newsletter.

Responding to unacceptable behaviour

Students come to school to learn. Behaviour support represents an important opportunity for learning how to get along with others.

Re-directing low-level and infrequent problem behaviour

When a student exhibits low-level and infrequent problem behaviour, the first response of school staff members is to remind the student of expected school behaviour, then remind them of the school expectationsBe safe, Be helpful, Be ready to learn..

Our preferred way of re-directing low-level problem behaviour is to ask them to think of how they might be able to act more safely, be more helpful to staff and other students or be more engaged in learning tasks. This encourages students to reflect on their own behaviour, evaluate it against expected school behaviour, and plan how their behaviour could be modified so as to align with the expectations of our school community.

When a student is engaged in unacceptable behaviour, the teacher will use the following strategies:

  • Distract the student from the cause of their behaviour
  • Re-direct the student towards the preferred positive behaviour e.g. “I can see that you are upset about this, but right now I need you to ‘Be Safe’ and sitting in your place.
  • Repeat the re-direction and offer a choice: “I need you sitting in your place now and doing your work. You can do your work now or at playtime. Which would you like to do/”
  • Offer some cool-down time, in a designated area and for a specific time, either in class or out of the class. “I want you to sit here quietly for five minutes. Then you can join in again, if you are being safe and ready to learn.”
  • Contact “Buddy Class” and take the student there for some time away from the classroom environment. Students know where the Buddy Class is as this is part of ‘Settle in at School Unit’ taught to all students in the first weeks of a new school year.

This is the last step before referral to Principal or Deputy Principal.

  • Contact Administration for assistance from Principal or Deputy Principal. If the student displays dangerous behaviour, other students may be removed from the vicinity.
  • If necessary, Lock-Down Procedures are to be followed. Police may be called if the situation is serious enough.

Targeted behaviour support:

Each year a small number students at Maryborough Special Schoolare identified anecdotally and through our data as needing extra in the way of targeted behavioural support. In most cases the problem behaviours of these students may not be immediately regarded as severe, but the frequency of their behaviours may put these students’ learning and social success at risk if not addressed in a timely manner.

Students who are thus identified (usually through discussion between staff members and referral to the Principal or Deputy Principal), will have discussions with their class teacher and /or the Principal or Deputy Principal, to consider what has happened and why. The student will be asked to help create a plan to avoid the problematic behaviour. They can then attend their normal scheduled classes and activities with appropriate adjustments as required. Consequences for the problematic behaviour are also discussed with the student, so he/she is aware of the plan to assist the change in behaviour, and what will happen if the behaviour does not change. Often the plans involve rewards that the student can obtain from the class teacher by demonstrating the positive behaviour required to replace the problematic behaviour. This gives the student daily positive contact with significant adults and increased opportunities to receive positive reinforcement. Where required, adjustments are made to the student’s program through academic support, adult mentoring or intensive social skills training.

This procedure is coordinated by a school-based team with active administrator support and staff involvement. All staff members are provided with the opportunity to raise issues of student behaviour at Phase of Schooling Meetings and Full Staff Meetings, where staff members are up-dated on the approach being used with particular students.

Staff members have reporting responsibilities via OneSchoolto document major incidents involving students. Class Teachers are informed of minor incidents, so they can keep a tally via a data collection sheet in their class roll folders, and see if a pattern is emerging.

Intensive behaviour support: Behaviour Support Strategies

Maryborough Special Schoolis committed to educating all students, including those with the highest behavioural support needs. We recognise that students with highly complex and challenging behaviours need comprehensive systems of support. This support is co-ordinated as the need arises. The following stakeholders can be involved in developing and maintaining individualized behaviour plans: Principal, Deputy Principal, Class Teacher, Parents/Carers, Guidance Officer, Advisory Visiting Teachers, Child Safety Officers, Disability Services Staff. The following strategies are among those that are used:

  • working with other staff members to develop appropriate behaviour support strategies
  • monitoring the impact of support for individual students through continuous data collection
  • making adjustments as required for the student, and
  • working with the School Behaviour Leadership Team (Principal, Deputy Principal, and Class Teachers)to achieve continuity and consistency.

Maryborough Special School has a simple and quick referral system in place. Following referral, Administration contacts parents and any relevant staff members to form a support team and begin the assessment and support process. In many cases the support team also includes individuals from other agencies already working with the student and their family, a representative from the school’s administration and district-based behavioural support staff when required.

Data is collected on students whose behaviour does not improve, or whose previous behaviour indicates a need for specialised intervention. A staff member trained in Functional Analysis of Behaviour implements the following process which is derived from the Multi-element Model of LaVigna & Wills (1995):

  • Background information: Teachers collect comprehensive information about the student’s medical, disability, school and behavioural history from parents, previous teachers and other professionals.
  • Functional analysis of behaviour: The incident, description and antecedents of the problem behaviour are analysed and a hypothesis about the function of the problem behaviour is formulated.
  • Intervention planning: The process whereby the strategies and tactics to be employed are explored and decided upon by the team (teachers, parents, teacher aides, other professionals, student as appropriate)and involves the development of a multi-element plan on which is recorded the Ecological Strategies, Positive Programming, Focused Support and Situational Management strategies deemed appropriate for the student in the light of the background data collected and the functional analysis of behaviours. This intervention plan is included in the IPBSP.
  • Intervention implementation and review: The process whereby staff are trained, parents are informed, and the IPBSP is implemented, monitored and reviewed.
  • Intervention evaluation: This occurs at specified times and ensures that assessment of the IEP goal and IPBSP takes place.

5. Consequences for unacceptable behaviour

Maryborough Special Schoolmakes systematic efforts to prevent problem student behaviour by teaching and reinforcing expected behaviours on an ongoing basis. When unacceptable behaviour occurs, students experience predictable consequences. Our school seeks to ensure that responses to unacceptable behaviour are consistent and proportionate to the nature of the behaviour. ABehaviour Observation Note (Appendix 3) is used to record all minor and major problem behaviour. The recording of three minor behaviours constitutes a major behaviour.

Minor and major behaviours

When responding to problem behaviour the staff member first determines if the problem behaviour is major or minor, with the following agreed understanding:

  • Minor problem behaviour is handled by staff members at the time it happens
  • Major problem behaviour is referred directly to the school Administration team.

Minor behaviours are those that:

  • are minor breeches of the school rules
  • do not seriously harm others or cause you to suspect that the student may be harmed
  • do not violate the rights of others in any other serious way
  • are not part of a pattern of problem behaviours
  • do not require involvement of specialist support staff or Administration.

Minor problem behaviours may result in the following consequences:

  • a minor consequencelogically connected to the problem behaviour, such as complete removal from an activity or event for a specified period of time, partial removal (time away), individual meeting with the student, apology, restitution or detention for work completion.
  • a re-direction procedure. The staff member takes the student aside and:
  1. names the behaviour that student is displaying,
  2. asks student to name expected school behaviour,
  3. states and explains expected school behaviour if necessary
  4. gives positive verbal acknowledgement for expected school behaviour.

Major behaviours are those that:

  • significantly violate the rights of others
  • put others / self at risk of harm
  • require the involvementof school Administration.

Major behaviours result in an immediate referral to Administration because of their seriousness. When major problem behaviour occurs, staff members calmly state the major problem behaviour and remind the student of expected school behaviour. The staff member then fills out the office referral form and escorts the student to Administration. When necessary Administration will help escort the student to the office.

Major problem behaviours may result in the following consequences:

  • Level One: Time in office, alternate lunchtime activities, loss of privilege, restitution, loss of break times, warning regarding future consequence for repeated offence, referral to Respond Program

AND/OR