Coogee Public School follows the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) philosophy which encourages all our students to live our school motto "Play the Game".
We play the game at Coogee by being Safe, Respectful, Learners in all that we do. We call this the Coogee Buzz!
Our Expectations
We expect all members of our community to
The PBL philosophy operates on the understanding that all students need to know and understand the expectations. These are set out in the matrix of expected behaviours. Students are expected to be able to state the rules and are taught what they mean. When students produce the expected behaviours they are recognised for their efforts.
Teaching the rules
Everywhere you go in our school you will see our expectations clearly stated. Each week at our Monday assembly we remind students what being a safe, respectful learner means. Every Monday afternoon we hold lessons on social skills, following the rules and bullying.
Recognising positive behaviours
The most powerful form of recognition is positive praise. We all like to be told we've done a good job! This is our most powerful tool and we are working hard to get better at this.
We also operate a more formal recognition system:
Bee Stickers and Stamps – students are recognised for their efforts to be Safe, respectful learners using stickers and stamps. The stickers and stamps remind students of our expectations. When you've collected 10 stickers or stamps they are exchanged for a bee merit.
Merits – Our school uses merit cards to recognise students. Merits are issued when students collect 10 bee stamps/stickers or by teachers in weekly assemblies.
Principals Award – When students collect 10 merits they are eligible for a principals award. These are issued twice per term at a full school assembly.
What we do when student break the rules?
The school uses a range of approaches to work with students who break the rules.
These include:
- Time out
- Teacher conferences
- Mediations
- Restitution
Students who are having continual difficulties in following the rules may be referred to the school 'time to think' room. This is staffed by an executive staff member and is a time for students to 'think' about the rules they have broken and plan a strategy for improvement.
For more serious behaviours parent contact and parent interviews may be required.
The school PBL team is currently reviewing the strategies for supporting students who have difficulty following the rules. If you would like to provide any feedback on this please send an email to the school with PBL Feedback in the subject line.