Learner Care and Management

Learner Care and Management @ Pt England School

What is best for the children?

Hauora

Partnership Protection Participation

What is best for our tamariki? This is a guiding question asked when Staff and Management consider options at Pt England School.

The BOT and Management of Pt England School actively promote the 3 P's of the Treaty of Waitangi in many ways; one of which is the Learner Care and Management Programme.

Mrs Toni Nua and Mrs Angela Moala have the responsibility of making home visits when necessary to help learners and whanau to solve a wide range of health and welfare issues or just give moral support. The reasons for home visits are wide ranging covering such things as:

  • health of learners or whanau

  • finance

  • food

  • social/emotional problems

  • attendance

  • family bereavement

  • friendship

Angela is released from class for 1/2 a day per week to follow up referrals from staff, the Special Needs Committee, School Management and requests from children. Angela and Toni are well known by the parents and a strong element of trust has been built over the years. There is effective communication and feedback with staff to ensure that they are kept informed about their learners.

The Special Needs Committee

The Special Needs Committee meets twice a term and consists of Russell, Toni, Garth, Kent, Team Leaders, Angela Moala, Chris Bush (RTLB) and our SWiS Ali Bevan, along with other invested participants including a Tamaki Community Development Trust representative, our Public Health Nurse, and Police. Learners are referred to the committee, discussed and plans are made for their learning, health, social/emotional wellbeing as appropriate and further referrals are made if necessary. Learner Care and Management teachers give feedback on their visits and accept referrals. The meetings are chaired by Toni Nua and notes/minutes are updated on the Special Needs Register.

SWIS (Social Worker in School)

Our SWIS has always been a very valuable asset to the school community helping families in a different way from the Care and Management Team. For a large part of 2018 we were without a SWiS. We have been very fortunate to have Alison Bevan fulfilling this role from the beginning of 2019. Parents are able to call in and ask for support with a wide variety of needs. The SWIS has the knowledge and mandate to contact agencies and professionals, as appropriate. The SWIS also accesses various support programmes for groups to target particular needs, and takes an active role in supporting individual learners socially and emotionally.

Counsellors

Pt England has access to several Counsellors for learners. Tamaki Community Development Trust and the Glen Innes Family Centre are the main groups used. Tamaki Community Development Trust Counsellors work in school with the learner while their family workers work alongside the whanau taking a holistic approach. This has proved to be of great benefit to many learners and their families.

The Following Systems are in place for Learner Care and Management at School that support the Values Programme.

Our School Rules are:

Just as we have worked to develop a consistent pedagogy throughout the school, so we have worked to develop greater consistency in the way we care for and manage our learners.

We have agreed on certain school wide methods for helping maintain consistent behaviour in our school.

These are:

  • Classroom Volume Indicators

  • Stop, Look, Listen

  • Eyes on me

  • Stop, Think & Do

  • Use your W.I.T.S.

  • Go Round the Outside

  • Wear it with Pride

  • Walk in Line

  • Bin It

  • Be kind to visitors

  • Play in the right place

  • Right time, Right Place, Right Attitude

  • Is it Kind, Is it True, Is it Necessary

  • Be Kind to Visitors

These are all taught and practiced during ‘The Pt. England Way’ in Term 1 and regularly revisited and recycled throughout the year. Each week at Assembly a korero is introduced to the students which reinforces the Value and Key Competencies. Some korero have been used for more than 8 years with success. Others are introduced as issues or contexts show a need. Many of the korero are introduced using created songs and movies to reinforce and help the students to remember the concept.

The korero are revisited by the classroom teachers daily and are also seen on PENN. The students are able to say the korero and have a concrete example to draw on when discussing them.

We have continued to develop schoolwide consistency to support our children to grow and learn what their responsibilities are as part of our school and wider community. This supports both teachers and helps our learners behave well, whilst retaining a warm positive environment. As children move up through the school they will have become accustomed to and successful in our expectations. Our biggest focus is on being consistent.

Challenging behaviour in the classroom:

Please note; we have no wish to specify types of behaviour which precipitate this process. Key indicators would be preventing others learning and direct disobedience of the teacher. Please also note; we have only stood down one child in the last ten years so we would expect in almost every case, that this chain of action when surrounded by a network of support, should be successful. Restorative meetings are frequent and involve whoever is agreed appropriate.

See 'Keeping to the Pt' for process.

Rethink

Rethink is a consequence for challenging or inappropriate behaviour outside the classroom and is supervised by Toni,Kent, Andrea and Angela. Teachers/Support staff make a decision to place a learner on rethink if they feel that is an appropriate consequence for the behaviour. The event is entered onto a google doc recording all relevant information. Staff will often discuss their referral before detention takes place. Learners are called to the Library at 1.10pm. The following process occurs:

1. Learners are asked:

  • To explain what happened

  • To take responsibility for their own actions

  • What they should have done differently and rewind and practise these words or actions?

  • What they will do differently next time?

These questions are discussed with the learner and this is a restorative process.

2. When the learner and teacher have discussed this, an appropriate consequence is applied:

  • Consequences may include:

  • Meeting with the interested parties/victim

  • Apologies - written or oral

  • Work around the school - fixing/cleaning the damage as appropriate

  • Writing out the relevant school rules

  • Writing a letter of explanation

  • Time out of the playground

  • Letter to parents

  • Meet with parents (at school or home)

  • Meet with the Principal

3. Toni, Kent or Angela will discuss the issue with the Team if the learner is referred more than 3 times or the behaviour increases or becomes a more serious concern. Behaviour plans will be put in place after discussion with the Team and further referrals may be made to Special Needs Committee, RTLB, or Specialists as appropriate. Google docs are kept on some individual learners to keep a record of behaviour to help identify patterns or trends.