The Department of Education has released a new draft strategy to support teachers managing complex behaviour and improve the long term educational outcomes for some of the State’s most disadvantaged students.
The Department said it was seeking community feedback on the draft Student Behaviour Strategy, which aimed to support positive student behaviour and create effective and engaging classrooms.
Minister for Education, Sarah Mitchell said the Strategy gave principals more power to make the right decisions based on a student’s situation.
“We need a behaviour system in our schools that considers a student’s circumstances to help them stay engaged in school and their education,” Ms Mitchell said.
“We will be empowering schools to increase proactive early intervention and prevention, balanced with strong and appropriate discipline using evidence based best practice to support students inside and outside of the school gate,” she said.
“Student behaviour has sat in the too hard basket for too long and the best tool for success we can give these students is a world class education.”
Ms Mitchell said she wanted to see suspension for Kindergarten to Year Two students limited to instances of physical violence and the maximum length of long suspensions halved from 20 to 10 days.
“We know that suspension disproportionately affects vulnerable students, particularly those with disability, leaving them even further behind in their education than they were at the beginning of the suspension,” she said
She said schools would be asked to provide work for suspended students to learn from home, check in with students daily and provide more opportunity for in-school suspension.
“Managing behaviours in the classroom is a complex task which is why this strategy is now out for extensive workshopping and in-school testing to make sure we get this right and give our schools the support they need,” Ms Mitchell said.
The Department’s eight-page Strategy, as well as information on how to have a say on it can be accessed at this PS News link.
