Building a Safe and Supportive School Environment

There are many things schools can do to create an environment which is safe and supportive for the whole school community. The benefits of creating a positive culture within the school are wide spread and can include a reduction in problematic and violent behaviour. Some of the options available to schools are outlined below.

Schoolwide Positive Behaviour Support

Schoolwide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) is a whole school system to support appropriate student behaviours to create positive learning environments. SWPBS is a capacity-building program that builds school environments in which positive behaviour is more successful than problem behaviour, therefore allowing academic success to be achieved.

National Safe Schools Framework

The National Safe Schools Framework is a collaborative effort by the Australian Government and State and Territory government and non-government school authorities that provides an agreed national approach to help schools and their communities address issues such as bullying, harassment and violence. The Framework consists of a set of nationally agreed principles for a safe and supportive school environment and includes appropriate responses which schools can adopt to address these issues.

The Framework recognises the need for sustained positive approaches that encourage all members of the school community to:

value diversity
contribute positively to the safety and wellbeing of themselves and others
act independently, justly, cooperatively and responsibly in school, work, civic and family relationships
contribute to the implementation of appropriate strategies that create and maintain a safe and supportive learning environment.

MindMatters

MindMatters is a national mental health initiative which is available for secondary schools. It uses a whole school approach to mental health promotion and considers a range of mental health and wellbeing determinants, including the significance of cultural context.

Positive mental health and wellbeing have been strongly linked to improving schooling outcomes for young people.

Schools can use MindMatters to build an environment where young people feel safe and valued. It can also help to develop social and emotional skills that enhance resilience and resourcefulness to make good decisions.

Restorative Practices

Restorative Practices is about the range of practices used to facilitate the process of:

taking responsibility for our behaviour,
understanding the impact our behaviour has on others
looking at how we can repair the harm and move on.

Its objective is to replace punitive disciplinary processes with restorative alternatives.

Restorative practices give schools the skills to:

deal with harm and inappropriate behaviour
repair relationships
develop the understanding that we need to have strong healthy relationships.

Functional Behaviour Assessment

Functional behavioural assessment is a problem-solving process for addressing student problem behaviour. It relies on a variety of techniques and strategies to identify the purposes of specific behaviour.

A functional behavioural assessment looks beyond the behaviour itself and focuses on identifying significant, pupil-specific factors associated with the occurrence of specific behaviours.

Guidance Officers, Intensive Behaviour Support are trained in both functional behaviour assessment and restorative practices and are able to support schools in implementing these practices. Guidance Officers, Intensive Behaviour Support can be contacted through your regional office.

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