Living Well, Learning Well - Checking for Gaps

LEADERS

Authentic leaders do what they say they are going to do. They constantly check for the gap between the aspirational and the actual. They narrow this gap with pragmatic setting and communicating of improvement goals. ‘More students feel safe, cared for and valued’ is more authentic than ‘All students feel safe, cared for and valued’ (if you know some don’t).

ð Leaders are informed and current in their understanding of contemporary
models of student support.
ð Leaders model language and practice of the Living Well, Learning Well
Framework.
ð Leaders actively check for gaps and plan to minimise gaps between
the aspirational and the actual in student support domains.
ð Middle Leaders are recognised as key influences on classroom practice
and outcomes and as drivers of teaching staff coherence.
ð Leaders in the school accept a collective leadership responsibility for
improving conditions of learning and wellbeing for children and young
people.

DOCUMENTS

Check that all documents align with an ecological, multi-tiered model of student support.

ð Readable and accessible.

ð Focused first on adult actions ('this is what we do', before 'this is what students must do').

ð Concise as possible while meeting purpose.

ð Positively framed, protective factor focus.

ð School-family partnership focus

REMOVE

ð Legalistic language.

ð Language and tone of control, management and discipline.

ð ‘Students must…’, ‘It is expected that…’ ‘The school believes..’ and similar.

REPLACE

Bullying references with unsafe behaviour references. c leaders do what they say

WHOLE OF STAFF COHERENCE

Check that all staff have access to professional learning supporting understanding of ecological, multi-tiered model of student support. Assess protective factor capacity of staff team.

ð Universal high regard for children and young people.

ð Whole-staff team of skilled, helpful adults.

ð Informed, coherent language and practice.

ð Skilled multi-tier system of support and intervention team.

Support staff acknowledged as equally influential and significant as teaching staff in building protective capacity of the school.

SETTINGS

Check that students hear a similar language and practice across all school settings.

ð Communicating expectations and instructions.

ð Common scripts for common scenarios (say and do this, in this situation)

ð Common scaffolds for assessing severity, impact, and responses of and to
behaviours.

ð De-escalating behaviour replacement strategies that provide students with
time and space to replace an unproductive behaviour

o Selectively attending

o Redirecting to learning

o Giving support and choice to replace behaviour

o Inevitable follow through

ð Multi-tiered system of support focus

INTERVENTION TEAM
An intervention team, working in a multi-tiered support framework, collects data and plans interventions and support for individual students and groups of students.
ð Staff actively identify barriers to full participation at school and barriers to
strong connection to school.
ð Particularly in larger schools individual case management is supplemented
by identification of groups of students facing similar barriers or similar
impacts of risk factors.
ð Tier 2 and 3 interventions are planned after gaining an understanding of the
impact and influence of the barrier on the student population.
ð Tier 1 preventative strategies are planned based on the identified barriers
for the particular school population.

SCHOOL-FAMILY PARTNERSHIPS

Check for an explicit promotion of the idea that positive partnerships between families and school strengthen the school community and improve learning, wellbeing, faith development and life opportunities for all children/young people in the school.

ð Families as Partners in Catholic School Communities document is promoted
and used as the basis for productive partnerships, including at enrolment,
parent association meetings and in newsletters and other communications.

ð Families are informed of improvement goals in student support domains, strategies and interventions for improving support for individuals and groups, and provided with evidence of impact of these strategies and interventions.at they say

STUDENT VOICE AND PARTICIPATION

Check that staff explicitly plan for meaningful student participation in the life of the school: voice, influence, choice and opportunities to work together.

ð Student Participation: A good practice guide is used as a source document in planning for meaningful student participation in the life of the school.

ð Students are aware of the fundamental improvement goal of working together so more students feel safe, valued, cared for and highly regarded as learners.

ð Meaningful participation is embedded in classroom practice (where students spend most of their time) through a calm setting, student-centred pedagogy and positive climate.

ð Students are regularly asked about how they feel at and about school: at the school, cohort and individual levels (Living Well, Learning Well Survey, class surveys, and through regular staff-student interactions).

ð Students are informed of improvement goals in student support domains, strategies and interventions for improving support for individuals and groups, and provided with evidence of impact of these strategies and interventions.