Since Term 3 of 2022, the St Matthew’s Leadership Team in conjunction with the teachers have been working on changes to our current Behaviour Management Policy. We would like to share some key points about our new policy with you over the next few weeks. 

When designing our new model, there were some key considerations that we saw as vital. These were: 

• We know that academics need to be in order to ensure that behavioural issues are not occurring because a child does not have adequate access to the curriculum.
• We wanted to see the behaviour focus on what we do want - not, what we do not want.
• Where possible, teachers would only attend to the desired behaviours.
• All staff explicitly teach and model the behaviours we expect.
• High levels of student connectedness to the school. This incorporates the use of inclusive language and giving the students at St Matthew’s a real, and deep sense of belonging.
• A flowchart of agreed consequences 

“The largest major factor protecting young people from emotional distress, drug abuse, and violence - other than the closeness they were able to achieve within their families - was ‘perceived school connectedness.”

Protecting Adolescents From Harm 1997.
A National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health. 

At St Matthew’s, we value the relationships between teachers, students, and the wider community. Grounded in experiences of relationships and community, students at St Matthew’s learn to understand their own behaviour and its impact on others, and they develop the skills needed for resolving conflict and building healthy relationships. 

At St Matthew’s:

• all staff model Gospel values
• each teacher develops a positive classroom tone, based on the teachings of Christ.
• every student and teacher has the right to feel safe and be safe
• students are responsible for their own behaviour.
• students respect themselves and others.
• students are considerate, cooperative and courteous towards others.

Our New School Rules
The school rules revolve around four basic premises of:

Lead - we lead by caring for ourselves, for others and for our environment.

Listen - we listen to and follow instructions.

Learn - We allow teachers to teach and students to learn.

Safety - we keep our hands, feet, and objects to ourselves.

Next week, we will share more on specific strategies that support our students, an agreed flowchart on behavioural consequences and our awards and incentives for students at St Matthew's.