Strategies for students with highly complex and challenging behaviours require individual assessment, implementation, monitoring and review. Schools need to build capacity of school teams and teaching staff to be able to undertake functional behaviour assessments (FBA), develop an individual student support plans and risk management plans for individual students, in collaboration with parents and other department staff.
Remember to use this resource during school planning and when aligning with the Student Behaviour Policy and Procedures, and developing your School Behaviour Support and Management Plan (by end of Term 2 2023) and a student’s individual support plan. Schools do not need to implement every strategy within the care continuum to move along it. Not all these strategies may be available locally.
Individual intervention strategies for students with complex and challenging behaviour may include but are not limited to the following:
- Communication with parent, and where relevant, the use of communication books.
- Check-in/check-out.
- Sensory assessment and supports.
- Programs to explicitly teach social competence and interpersonal skills, and social-emotional skill development.
- Negotiated playground programs.
- Attendance programs.
The Delivery Support team will work in conjunction with the Learning and Support Team to:
- develop appropriate behaviour expectations and strategies with other staff members
- monitor the impact of support for individual students through continuous data collection
- provide consistent strategies and adjustments outlined within an individual student support plan.
- Refugee student counselling support team and targeted support - More information is available through this link. The Refugee student counselling team offers psychological expertise to schools to support refugee students and their families. For more information, phone 1300 579 060 or email refugeesupportteam@det.nsw.edu.au.
- The implementation of programs to support newly arrived EAL/D students and students from refugee backgrounds.
Students with disabilities or significant support needs may access help from itinerant support teachers (hearing and vision, conductive hearing loss, early intervention and support teacher transition) who visit schools and work directly with the student to plan and develop personalised learning and support.
Itinerant support teachers will:
- work in partnership with the student, parents or carers, classroom teachers, the school’s learning and support team, and other support agencies or services
- support the development of individualised, coordinated and systematic transition to school or to early intervention links with other agencies and the community
- support the development of personalised learning and support for children in early childhood school settings and/or the first year of school.
- Understanding behaviour support planning eLearning. This e-learning provides an overview of student behaviour support planning for teachers, learning and support team staff and Delivery Support team staff.
- Positive Behaviour for Learning Tier 3 – Individual systems of support eLearning. This training develops behaviour expertise in schools to confidently deliver Tier 3 systems and practices.
- Introduction to Functional Behaviour Assessment eLearning. This eLearning provides the foundations understanding behaviour and that all behaviour is functionally related to the environment. By understanding why and when behaviours occur educators can develop, implement and evaluate interventions that better meets the needs of the student.
- Support from other stakeholders such as Delivery Support team members (Out of Home Care Teachers, Aboriginal School Liaison Officer, Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer, Home School Liaison Officer, Assistant Principal Learning and Support, Behaviour Specialists, Networked Specialist Facilitator), Refugee Student Counselling Support Team and external agencies such as paediatricians, psychologists or those involved in individual case management.
- Engage specialist allied health services via the Specialist Allied Health and Behaviour Support Provider Scheme. The scheme supports schools that may need to engage specialist allied health services to ensure learning adjustments are appropriate and effective for students.
- Safeguarding Kids Together (staff only site) team for on-the-ground specialist knowledge and support to foster continuous improvement in health, safety and wellbeing.
- School counselling service including telepsych services. This link provides more information about the school counselling service. School counselling staff support students by providing a psychological counselling, assessment and intervention service.
- The Perfect Presence Pilot Program aims to support students showing early signs of disengagement from school, so that they feel stronger connections to school and learning and are supported to build on personal and social capabilities.
- Restorative practice resources.
- Application for integration funding support through Access Request.
- Emergency student support.
- Education Court Liaison Officers.