A coherent and consistent language and practice of student support is an essential element of an ecological approach. An unavoidable outcome of coherence and consistency is that staff lose some autonomy. The goal is not to mandate a language and practice. The work of leaders and middle leaders is to provide a model, rationale and justification that:
Reflect contemporary expert advice and align with goals of providing an inclusive environment where children and young people feel cared for, respected and valued.
Become a protective factor in the school setting ('every adult here seems to talk and act the same way to support me') rather than a risk factor ('I wonder what the response will be from this adult?').
Particularly in secondary schools, where students typically change settings multiple times in a day, coherence and consistency reinforce that teaching and learning are no longer private activities that take place behind closed doors: they are public activities, characterised by features and qualities valued by members of the school community.
Language Matters - Informed, Inclusive Language
Avoid inappropriate labels and labelling. Negative labels about aspects of identity such as race, gender, sexuality and ethnicity are recognised nearly universally as harmful and discriminatory. Several harmful labels persist because of Government policy and documentation, and should be substituted for in schools. 'Special Education', 'special needs' and other deficit-based terms, for example, persist and should be avoided. Harmful labels in well-being, disability, learning and related domains may still be used in some schools. School leaders should work to eliminate harmful language and investigate preferred terminology, particularly in inclusion and wellbeing domains.
Person-first language is preferred, for example 'student with a disability', 'child with vision-impairment'. Groups of people should not be referred to by a disability, behaviour or wellbeing category.
Avoid acronyms. Don't refer to students by an acronym, even when it is an approved disability classification, for example 'our "acronym" students'. Do not refer to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, families or support staff as 'ATSI' students, families or support staff. Culturally, this is deeply disrespectful.
Replace terms such as 'discipline' (in it's traditional iteration), 'discipline policy' and 'behaviour management' in documentation. Use 'unproductive behaviour' and 'unsafe behaviour' as major behaviour classifiers. Assess impact of behaviour using provided scaffolds. Complete accounts of student behaviour using agreed descriptors.
Avoid emotive terms and legalistic language. Behaviours typically described as bullying behaviours are named unsafe behaviours and are subject to a risk assessment. Terms such as allegation, perpetrator and victim are avoided in favour of clear language outlining unsafe actions, associated risk and risk-mitigation strategies.
Practice Matters - Skilled and coherent adult practice
Skilled and coherent adult practice starts with professional reading to build understanding of the goals (and legal responsibilities) of effective student support. Leaders assess at each site and determine professional reading and learning needs and opportunities for individuals and teams.
A starting point is the idea of ensuring that each staff member is a skilled, helpful adult (or on the way to becoming one). This emphasises the protective factors provided by collective and individual skilled practice. It highlights the positive impact of student recognition and the negative impact of misrecognition. It acknowledges the large (though rarely fully-realised) collective positive influence of support staff in contributing to student recognition and student connection to school.
While language and practice are inseparable, all staff are supported in their practice to:
Assist students take next steps to replace both internalised and externalised unproductive behaviours.
Be receptive to help-seeking actions from students.
Communicate their adult concern about students (learning, wellbeing, safety, behaviour) to the appropriate people in the school setting.
Contribute to a building of the protective factor capacity of the school setting and contribute to the mitigation of risk-factors in the school setting.
