School behaviour support and management plan
Direction and guidance on developing, implementing and reviewing the School behaviour support and management plan (SBSMP).
Note: This policy document is released for familiarisation and school planning purposes, for implementation from Day 1 Term 4 2026.
Audience
All staff in NSW public schools, parents and carers.
| Date | Description of changes | Approved by |
|---|---|---|
| 12/10/2026 | Updated definitions of behaviour of concern, bullying and detention and/or reflection. Added definitions for cyberbullying, positive bystander, racism, religious discrimination or intolerance. Added requirements to align practices to NSW Anti-Bullying Framework, Student code of conduct and Anti-racism policy. Added specific evidence-based practices for anti-bullying and anti-racism, and requirements for initiating a response within 2 school days of becoming aware of an incident. Clarified expectations for parent and carer consultation, including how the school seeks annual acknowledgement of the Student code of conduct from students and parents or carers. Clarified expectations for formally reviewing the plan at least every four years. | Secretary, NSW Department of Education |
About the policy
These procedures relate to the Student behaviour policy, particularly section 1.3, which states that schools must develop School behaviour support and management plans that include anti-bullying strategies and prioritise learning continuity. Plans must facilitate whole-school, prevention-focused and positive approaches to behaviour support, to meet the needs of all students. Implementing the plan helps staff meet their obligations under the Work health and safety (WHS) policy.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Behaviour of concern | Challenging, complex or unsafe behaviour that requires more persistent and intensive interventions. It does not include low-level, developmentally appropriate behaviour. There is no exhaustive list of behaviours of concern. They can include, but are not limited to, intimidation, violence, harassment, victimisation and discrimination, including that based on sex, race, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation or gender identity (refer to Suspension and expulsion procedures for more information). Bullying, cyberbullying, racism and religious intolerance are defined below. |
| Bullying | Bullying behaviour (as opposed to other forms of aggressive or unkind behaviour) is typically:
|
| Cyberbullying | Aggressive behaviour by an individual or group using digital technology to intentionally misuse power to support repeated, and hostile behaviour, to harm a person or group who cannot easily defend themselves. |
| Detention and/or reflection | A behaviour management intervention that schools may use to respond to inappropriate student behaviour. During detention, students are required to spend time in a designated area under teacher supervision during non-teaching periods (lunch or break times) or directly before or after school. |
| Positive bystander | A positive bystander is a person who witnesses bullying and takes constructive actions including seeking to improve the situation of the person being bullied. Positive bystanders include upstanders who take deliberate, safe action to protect or assist someone being targeted. |
| Racism | The process by which systems and policies, actions and attitudes create inequitable opportunities and outcomes for people based on race. Racism is more than just prejudice in thought or action. It occurs when this prejudice – whether individual or institutional – is accompanied by the power to discriminate against, oppress or limit the rights of others. |
| Religious discrimination or intolerance | Religious discrimination or intolerance refers to distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference based on religion, faith, belief or spirituality that impact human rights and freedoms. |
| School behaviour support and management plan | The operational document that outlines school processes and practices for behaviour support and management, including anti-bullying practices to align to the NSW Anti-Bullying Framework. It must be checked annually and published on the school website by the end of Term 1 each year, so it is available to all students, parents, carers, school staff and school community. |
| Time-out | Teacher-directed time-out is a de-escalation strategy and occurs where a student is directed away from an educational activity or setting when they engage in behaviours of concern. It is used after other de-escalation strategies and teaching practices have been tried. Self-directed time-out enables a student to remove themselves from a situation or environment causing stress. It is a planned informal behaviour support strategy that may be used as part of a behaviour support response and documented as an agreed strategy. |
Public schools, including Directors, Educational Leadership:
- provide proactive and responsive specialist advice and support for schools in the development, implementation and monitoring of the School behaviour support and management plan (SBSMP)
- ensure their schools have published their SBSMP on their school website by the end of Term 1 each year.
Student Wellbeing Support – Team Around a School:
- provide advice and support for schools in developing and implementing the SBSMP as requested.
Principals:
- lead the school community in developing, implementing, monitoring and reviewing the SBSMP
- ensure they have consulted with school staff in developing, implementing and reviewing the SBSMP
- ensure they have consulted with students and parents or carers, in developing, implementing, and reviewing the SBSMP, as appropriate
- seek specialist advice from relevant education support teams as needed, in developing and implementing the SBSMP, including Student Wellbeing Support and/or Aboriginal community liaison officers
- ensure all staff know their responsibilities for responding to behaviours of concern and seek an annual acknowledgement from parents or carers and students that they have received and acknowledge the expectations outlined in the Student code of conduct.
School executive, teachers, school learning support teams and school support staff:
- contribute to developing, monitoring and reviewing the SBSMP, as appropriate
- implement the processes and strategies within the SBSMP including record keeping, reporting and referrals, as appropriate to their role.
Parents or carers:
- work in partnership with the school to implement the SBSMP, supporting their child to follow the expectations outlined in the Student code of conduct, resolving issues about their child’s behaviour, and communicating with school staff and the school community respectfully and collaboratively consistent with the School Community Charter
- annually acknowledge the expectations of their child as outlined in the Student code of conduct
- be involved in consultation with the school during the SBSMP’s development, implementation and review, as appropriate.
Students:
- follow the behaviour expectations outlined in the Student code of conduct
- annually acknowledge the expectations outlined in the Student code of conduct
- be involved in consultation with the school during the SBSMP’s development, implementation and review, as appropriate.
What needs to be done
The Student behaviour policy requires all schools to develop a School behaviour support and management plan (SBSMP). Plans must align practices to the NSW Anti-Bullying Framework. Schools should also ensure their SBSMP aligns to expectations set out in the department’s Anti-racism procedures and other related department policies and procedures (refer to the Policy Library).
Schools must:
- consider their context and data when developing and reviewing their SBSMP
- develop the SBSMP in consultation with their school community, as appropriate
- publish the SBSMP on their school website
- implement the SBSMP
- reflect on the SBSMP annually and adjust where necessary to make sure it is up-to-date and accurate and re-publish by the end of Term 1 each year
- formally review the SBSMP at least every 4 years and in alignment with review of their School Excellence Plan
- seek an annual acknowledgement from parents and carers and students that they have received and acknowledge the expectations outlined in the Student code of conduct.
1. Incorporate mandatory requirements for the plan
Develop or update the School behaviour support and management plan (SBSMP), with the required information:
- strategic, integrated whole-school approach that incorporates a multi-tiered care continuum to support all students, including a focus on prevention, early intervention, targeted and individual interventions
- high expectations for student behaviour, in line with the Student code of conduct
- effective, evidence-based strategies to model, explicitly teach, recognise and reinforce positive, inclusive and safe behaviours
- effective whole-school strategies to identify, prevent and respond to disruptive and harmful student behaviours, including racism and religious intolerance, bullying and cyberbullying, and behaviours of concern when they occur
- clear, consistent and proportionate bullying response processes that are culturally responsive, prioritise safety and wellbeing, including how initial responses are enacted with 2 school days of schools becoming aware of bullying.
- establishment of positive expectations for parents or carers to engage with the school in creating and using student behaviour management strategies in line with the School Community Charter
- how the school consults and partners with parents or carers and the community in developing, implementing and reviewing the SBSMP and to prevent and respond to bullying
- how the school seeks an annual acknowledgement from parents or carers and students that they have received and acknowledge the expectations outlined in the Student code of conduct
- provisions for formal review of the SBSMP, in alignment with review of their School Excellence Plan at least every 4 years, based on evaluation of school data and context.
Use the optional template or a school-developed document that includes all required information. For example, SBSMPs and other support resources refer to School Behaviour Support and Management Plan - simple template (staff only) and School Behaviour Support and Management Plan - pre-filled template (staff only).
2. Develop the plan structure
The following headings can be used as a guide for structuring the school plan.
2.1 Overview statement
The overview statement outlines the aims, beliefs, values and/or principles on which the SBSMP is based. It should align with the department’s endorsed approaches, although your school may build on these.
The department’s endorsed evidence-based approaches include:
- explicit teaching of behaviour (for example, through Positive Behaviour for Learning)
- trauma-informed practices
- the principles of inclusive practice.
2.2 Partnerships and consultation with parents and carers
Parents or carers play an important role in the school community. The School Community Charter outlines how parents or carers can work with NSW public schools.
The SBSMP should:
- provide an overview of how the school will collaborate with parents or carers to set clear expectations for their involvement in developing and implementing student behaviour management strategies.
- use existing two-way, open and active communication channels to consult and broadly engage with the school community during the development, implementation and review of the SBSMP.
- outline when and how community consultation takes place during the development and review of SBSMP. At a minimum, parents or carers should be consulted during the initial development and during formal reviews.
- outline the process by which parents or carers and students confirm they have received and understand the Student code of conduct each year. Schools should use methods that best support engagement and understanding within their local communities.
The purpose of the acknowledgement is to set out the department’s high expectations for student behaviour to both students and their parents or carers. This helps reinforce the importance of these standards and encourages active engagement and shared responsibility in maintaining a positive school community.
Acknowledgement of the Student code of conduct cannot be required as a legal condition of enrolment. Therefore, seeking this acknowledgement as part of the SBSMP enables schools to confirm that both students and their parents or carers have received the Student code of conduct and are aware of expectations contained in it. Behaviour expectations apply regardless of whether acknowledgement is provided.
2.3 Student code of conduct, school-wide expectations and rules
The school’s expectations and rules for behaviour should:
- align closely with the Student code of conduct
- be clear, positively stated and easy for the whole school community to understand.
The SBSMP should include:
- 3 to 5 overarching expectations of student behaviour and 3 to 5 more specific rules that sit under these expectations
- a link to the Student code of conduct.
In addition to alignment with the student code of conduct, schools should also consider the following when developing school-wide expectations and rules:
- alignment with the school’s overview statement and/or community expectations
- accessibility of verbal and written communication methods
- diversity of their communities and relevant contextual factors.
2.4 Whole-school approach across the care continuum
The SBSMP should provide specific whole-school and targeted strategies, interventions and programs that support student behaviour at each stage of the care continuum (prevention, early intervention, targeted intervention and individual intervention) to foster a strong sense of student belonging and wellbeing. Where relevant this is guided by the provisions of the Disability Standards for Education 2005 (Cth).
The SBSMP should include contextually relevant practices, programs and strategies including:
- effectively identifying and supporting students who are at risk, through early intervention and targeted supports, including those impacted by or engaging in behaviours of concern
- supporting individual students demonstrating complex and challenging behaviour through mitigation and de-escalation strategies
- referring to the school’s anti-bullying prompt response and triage processes (refer to section 2.5 Planned responses to student behaviour > Planned identification processes and responses to bullying, cyberbullying, racism and religious intolerance).
As outlined in this section, schools should also include evidence-informed contextually relevant, universal practices, programs and strategies that promote positive behaviour, and prevent bullying, cyberbullying, racism and religious intolerance.
For further information and to help identify appropriate and relevant strategies, schools can use the following resources:
The SBSMP must include evidence-based:
- contextually relevant, universal practices, programs, and strategies that focus on preventative and proactive approaches to model, explicitly teach, recognise, and reinforce:
- positive, safe and inclusive behaviour among all students
- school-wide behavioural expectations, including the Student code of conduct, and clear routines for behaviour
- positive student relationships with teachers, school staff and other students
- social and emotional skills needed to meet behavioural expectations
- proactive and responsive classroom management strategies
- culturally responsive and inclusive practices.
Using effective universal prevention strategies and quality teaching practices increases both student engagement and positive student behaviour and decreases student bullying.
In addition to the practices outlined above in Promote positive behaviour, the SBSMP should include contextually relevant, universal practices, programs, and strategies that specifically prevent bullying and cyberbullying behaviours. Evidence-based practices include explicitly teaching:
- positive bystander education
- digital citizenship and online safety education (integrated into learning)
- cyberbullying education and awareness
- respectful conflict resolution that fosters an environment where bullying is less likely to occur or persist.
Schools should not rely solely on stand-alone or short-term activities as their primary bullying prevention strategy. One-off events, isolated lessons or reactive responses alone are insufficient to effectively prevent bullying and should be supported by ongoing whole-school bullying prevention strategies.
For more information about bullying, refer to:
For more information about cyberbullying, refer to the eSafety Commissioner .
In addition to the practices outlined above in Promote positive behaviour and Prevent bullying and cyberbullying, the SBSMP should include evidence-informed contextually relevant, universal practices, programs, and strategies that prevent racist behaviours including:
- explicitly teaching about racism and religious intolerance and its impacts on individuals and communities
- promoting inclusive, respectful school environments that value diversity and foster a strong sense of belonging for all students
- developing students’ skills to recognise, challenge and report racism and religious intolerance, including through positive bystander action
- implementing consistent processes in line with the Anti-racism procedures to prevent, respond to and monitor incidents of racism and religious intolerance.
For more information about anti-racism education refer to Anti-racism education.
2.5 Planned responses to student behaviour
Schools must outline their planned responses to:
- positive behaviour
- inappropriate behaviour and behaviours of concern, including support for students impacted by behaviours of concern
- bullying, cyberbullying, racism and religious intolerance.
The SBSMP should include strategies and processes that the school uses to promote, respond to, recognise and reinforce positive behaviours and school-wide expectations including the Student code of conduct.
The SBSMP should include:
- clear, consistent and proportionate strategies and processes that the school uses to respond to and manage inappropriate behaviours and behaviours of concern that do not meet the expectations outlined in the Student code of conduct.
- the supports available to support students’ safety and wellbeing.
Schools apply the Suspension and expulsion procedures where necessary in response to behaviours of concern and serious behaviours of concern.
The SBSMP should include:
- the school’s strategies for recognising allegations and/or occurrences of bullying, cyberbullying, racism and religious intolerance. This includes behaviours identified through staff observations, disclosures or student self-reports, and concerns raised by parents or carers, community members or external agencies.
- clear, consistent and proportionate strategies and response processes for incidents, including the school’s processes for initiating a response within 2 school days of becoming aware of an incident. This must include:
- making reasonable efforts to contact parents or carers and advising next steps
- putting immediate safety measures in place and providing initial wellbeing support
- making reports to the department via the Incident Report and Support Hotline (staff only) or other authorities where required
- taking initial appropriate and proportionate response actions.
- when informed of an incident, the school’s process for triaging to limit harm, manage risk and ensure each student receives the level of support they need.
- information for students and families about incident response processes including how to report, how the school will manage the response, communication of actions, available supports and escalation pathways.
The SBSMP should include an outline of the school’s process for reporting and recording:
- student behaviour incidents
- staff actions including communications
- student planning processes and outcomes.
The process should be clear, consistent and robust and in the school’s behaviour and/or wellbeing IT system.
Staff must follow reporting and record keeping processes outlined in the:
- Incident notification and response procedure (staff only), Incident reporting (staff only) and Incident notification and response flowchart (staff only) (PDF 81 KB)
- Child protection - responding to and reporting students at risk of harm procedures
- Student behaviour policy
- Suspension and expulsion procedures
- Anti-racism policy
- Anti-racism procedures
2.6 Restorative, reflection and detention practice
If schools choose to use these practices the SBSMP should include school system details of:
- when restorative, reflection and detention practices will be used and where they will occur
- the maximum length of time appropriate to the student’s age and/or developmental level
- food, water and toilet breaks
- the school staff approved to facilitate them (by role, not specific name)
- how the school will record details, for example in ERN or approved third-party system.
These details provide an overview only and the SBSMP does not need to include every instance of these occurring. Refer to the Detention and time-out procedures for further details.
3. Implement and evaluate the plan
After the SBSMP has been developed, the school must:
- publish the SBSMP on the school website
- make the SBSMP available to all students, parents or carers and school staff through appropriate channels
- take action to embed the identified practices and strategies in day-to-day school operations.
To ensure evaluation process are embedded, the school should:
- reflect on the SBSMP annually and adjust as necessary to ensure it continues to be up-to-date and accurate
- evaluate and formally review the SBSMP at least every 4 years and in alignment with review of their School Excellence Plan
- monitor current behaviour and bullying school data to inform practice, continuous improvement and direction including community and student feedback.
Mandatory tools and templates
Supporting tools, resources and related information
- NSW Anti-Bullying Framework
- National Framework for Addressing Bullying in Australian Schools (PDF 2 MB)s
- NSW Anti-Bullying Framework practice examples (PDF 344 KB)
- NSW Anti-Bullying Framework - Ineffective anti-bullying practices in schools
- NSW Anti-Bullying Framework Implementation Tracker (PDF 361 KB)
- NSW Anti-Bullying Framework Actions for Schools (PDF 185 KB)s
- Student behaviour policy
- Student Code of Conduct
- Suspension and expulsion procedures
- Detention and time-out procedures
- School Behaviour Support and Management Plan - simple template (staff only)
- School Behaviour Support and Management Plan - pre-filled template (staff only)
- School Behaviour Support and Management Plan - Checklist of requirements (staff only) (link will be available soon)
- School behaviour support and management plan (staff only) <for example school SBSMPs and other resources>
- Care continuum guide (DOCX 768 KB)
- Resolving a suspension guide (staff only)
- School Community Charter
- Team Around a School
- Behaviour professional learning
- Positive student behaviour - professional learning catalogue
- Behaviour Support Toolkit
- What Works Best: Key practices for positive student behaviour evidence guide
- Classroom Management: Creating and maintaining positive learning environments
- Anti-bullying
- Anti-racism education
- High-risk student behaviour
- Student use of mobile phones in schools policy
- Digital devices and online services for students policy
- Anti-racism policy
- Anti-racism procedures
- Work health and safety (WHS) policy
- Incident Notification and Response procedure (staff only),
- Incident reporting (staff only)
- Incident notification and response flowchart(staff only)
- Child protection - responding to and reporting students at risk of harm procedures
Policy contact
Leader, Student Participation
StudentBehaviour@det.nsw.edu.au
The Executive Director, Inclusion and Wellbeing monitors the implementation of this procedure, regularly reviews its contents to ensure relevance and accuracy, and updates it as needed.