Proserpine State School has been a School Wide Positive Behaviour school (SWPBS) since mid 2005. The success that we have achieved in managing behaviours through prevention and instruction was recognised by Education Queensland when we were awarded a Regional Showcase Award in 2008. The school is also used as an exemplar on the Leading Behaviour Change website and has also been cited in the Courier Mail for our use of social skilling to change behaviours.
SWPBS does not come in a kit. It is a process of using data to put systems in place that will support both staff and students in promoting positive behaviour.
It acknowledges that not all children will come to school equipped with social skills that match the expectations of the school and that some students will require either secondary or tertiary interventions to support them in behaving appropriately. The SWPBS triangle model (PDF, 20 KB) illustrates this clearly.
Our school has four core expectations:
Be safe, be friendly, be respectful and be a learner.
Instead of rules, our school has a set of positively stated expectations that are set out in a matrix. We recognise the importance of building positive partnerships with parents and have also developed a parent matrix so that parents can support their students in meeting the expectations.
The expectations are explicitly taught at the beginning of each school year and then revisited regularly throughout the year using a tell, show, practise approach. Regular social skilling is an important part of the curriculum and is imbedded in the curriculum at Proserpine State School (PSS).
What are the outcomes from using this approach?
The primary outcomes of having great expectations for all, explicit social skilling embedded in the weekly timetable, pre-correction, a formalised reward system, agreed processes for managing behaviour infractions are:
data trends show a general reduction in behaviour incidences across the school (P-7) and a more consistent pattern as a result of the implementation of the SWPBS initiative since 2006.
A reduction in the number of major behaviour incidences since 2006.
Improved positive behaviour outcomes for students with disabilities.
Parent satisfaction with student behaviour (school opinion survey/ school survey).
Secondary outcomes which have flowed from reduced behaviour incidences 2005-2007 are:
Improved students’ perception of Schooling (Education Queensland (EQ) school survey 2005-2007).
Improved Indigenous students’ perception of schooling (EQ school survey 2005-2007).
Improved Indigenous parents’ perception of schooling (school based survey 2007).
Community confidence in the outcomes (anecdotal evidence).
Improved staff perception of school climate (EQ school survey 2005-2007).
Tertiary outcomes
The philosophy of the behaviour and academic intervention model was used to restructure and reform the PSS learning support model in 2008 based on the success of this model to achieve improved outcomes. Evidence indicated the existing student withdrawal model achieved limited success.
Anecdotal teacher evidence indicates the introduction of an in-class intervention model, providing students with universal and secondary support by the class teacher is a more effective strategy for supporting children with learning needs, allowing us to differentiate instruction based on individual student needs (school based survey 2008).