Positive Behaviour for Learning initiatives help parents, whānau, teachers, early childhood centres, and schools address problem behaviour, improve children’s well-being, and increase educational achievement.By strengthening relationships and creating more positive home and school environments we remove barriers to engagement and improve students’ chances to achieve at school and beyond.
PB4L is a long-term, systemic approach involving ten initiatives. These include whole-school change initiatives, targeted group programmes, and individual student support services. PB4L is well supported within Te Paeroa Cluster.
Since 2012 RTLB have increased and upskilled our knowledge and understanding of PB4L-SW, Restorative Practices and Incredible Years for Teachers Programme through ongoing professional learning development to enable us to support and lead our schools who are implementing these within their environments.
We have also taken on a lead role in facilitating and leading the implementation of these initiatives within schools and with teachers. Through our effective leadership and collaborative professional relationships with our schools, these initiatives are developing and changing the school environments within our cluster.
PB4L Schoolwide
Within Te Paeroa RTLB cluster it is our aim to support schools who are on the PB4L journey either the Ministry of Education Contract or embarking this with cluster support.
Positive Behaviour for Learning School-wide is a very popular initiative. Since 2012 we have supported 20 schools, who are involved in the Ministry of Education contract to implement PB4L within their environment.
Of these 20 schools we have 10 schools completing their Tier One training and 8 schools completing their Tier Two training with the MOE. Since 2016 RTLB have supported two schools who have started the PB4L journey without MOE funding.
Facilitators
Within our cluster we currently have five RTLB who are able to facilitate the PB4L training.
Incredible Years for Teachers Classroom Management Programme
The Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Programme is “designed to reduce the multiple risk factors associated within ineffective classroom management practices, early-onset conduct problems and social, emotional difficulties in young children aged 3 – 8 years” (Reinke, Stormont, Webster-Stratton, Newcomer & Herman, 2012, p. 419). It is based on a preventative model and the content of the programme includes evidence-based effective behaviour management practices, strategies for increasing the social, emotional, academic and problem solving capabilities within children, and developing behaviour plans with appropriate developmental expectations (Webster-Stratton, 2011; Reinke et al, 2012; Webster-Stratton, Reinke, Herman & Newcomer, 2011; Webster-Stratton 2001; Carlson J, Tiret, H, Bender, S & Benson L, 2011).
Within Te Paeroa RTLB cluster it is our aim to empower teachers by providing the strategies that will support them in managing all students within their class including those with social and emotional dysregulation.
This is a very popular initiative within our cluster. Since 2012 we have facilitated 8 programmes for 162 teachers from 27 primary schools.Over the past three years we have developed the coaching component of the programme. This framework is based on a strengths-based approach, where teachers to set goals for themselves and the facilitators work alongside the teachers to ensure success.
Another area we are currently developing is sustainability. We have created a page on our website to keep teachers and schools up to date with courses and any useful information. We are developing refresher courses for those teachers who completed their training at least two years ago and would like to be reminded of the strategies. It is hoped that these will be on offer during 2018.
To ensure our Workshops are culturally responsive we:We currently have seven trained IYT group facilitators within our cluster. Of these seven four are experienced group facilitators and three completed their training in the past two years and are co-facilitating their first full programme.
Restorative Practices
Restorative Practice is the third initiative under PB4L that the schools are supporting within Te Paeroa Cluster.
It is our aim to support schools who are on the RP journey.We currently do this by facilitating professional learning development, facilitating RP conferences when necessary and accessing external support for schools.