Positive Behaviour Support

2023 Term 2 PBS Values

Positive Behaviour Support Program (PBS) 

Purpose Statement 

At Northam SHS we care about ourselves, others, our learning and our school; we create an environment where we can grow and learn; we connect our actions with outcomes which helps us make good decisions  

Our Values 

Students and staff selected three key values to underpin all the expected positive behaviours we expect to see within our school: 

• Respectful 
• Safe 
• Supportive 

An Overview of PBS 

In order to develop a positive, safe, supportive learning culture, Northam SHS is committed to implementing the Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) approach to teaching expected behaviours from Year 7 to Year 12. The PBS framework enables us to improve the social, emotional, behavioural and academic outcomes for all our students. 

The goal of PBS at Northam SHS is to create and maintain a positive and safe learning environment that enhances our school culture and our community. Our approach aligns academic and behavioural systems to create an emphasis on explicitly teaching, monitoring, and acknowledging appropriate behaviour. 

PBS provides teachers and students with more time to focus on relationships and classroom instruction. All students, teachers and staff will benefit from: 

• increased respectful and positive behaviour; 
• increased time focused on instruction; 

• improved social-emotional wellbeing; 
• positive and respectful relationships among students and staff; 
• increased adoption of evidence-based instructional practices; and 
• a predictable learning environment with improved perceptions of safety. 

The PBS approach is comprised of evidence based behavioural interventions and practices that can be implemented by staff to effectively address and support the socially and educationally important behavioural needs of students and their families. 

PBS has its conceptual foundations in: 

• Behavioural Theory – Behaviour is learned, lawful and malleable. 

• Applied Behaviour Analysis – Behavioural theory, principles, and practices are applied to socially important observable behaviours in the applied settings in which they are  observed. 

• Positive Behaviour Support – Behavioural supports are considered in the larger contact of improving quality of life.  

Through the implementation of PBS, school wide systems are aligned to create an inclusive 

environment where there is: 

• An instructional approach to behaviour management; 
• An emphasis on prevention; 
• A clear set of positive expectations and behaviours; 
• Procedures for teaching expected behaviour; 

• Continuum of procedures for encouraging expected behaviour; 
• Continuum of procedures for discouraging inappropriate behaviour; and 
• Procedures for data collection - used to drive decision making, ongoing monitoring 
• and continual evaluations.