Social and Emotional Learning

PBL-Supporting Student Wellbeing

This year, we have been fortunate to work with Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) to implement the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) framework.

PBL is a whole-school approach that promotes positive behaviour and supports the development of safe, inclusive and supportive learning environments. A key component of PBL is the explicit teaching of expected behaviours, along with acknowledging and reinforcing students when they demonstrate these behaviours.

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) creates the foundation for a safe, respectful, and supportive environment where every child can thrive. By explicitly teaching and modelling positive behaviours, students develop clear expectations, strong relationships, and important self-management skills. When students feel respected and safe, they are more engaged in their learning and better able to achieve their personal best, while also supporting their social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

An important part of the PBL framework is identifying 3–5 core values that reflect what we, as a school community, believe are important for all at St Joseph’s. Our current STAR values were developed with the St Joseph’s community around 10 years ago. As such, we are taking this opportunity to revisit them to ensure they continue to meet the needs of our students. We may find that some values remain, while others are refined or replaced. Once established, these values will be explicitly taught to students, including what they look like and sound like in different settings across the school.

During the first week of term, staff (teachers and LSOs) engaged in a process to identify the behavioural needs of our students and developed a shortlist of five values that we believe should underpin PBL at St Joseph’s. These are the values we feel should be explicitly taught and consistently acknowledged across the school.

Once responses from students and staff have been collected, the PBL team will review the feedback to determine the values that best represent St Joseph’s Malvern and will form the foundation of our PBL approach.

Thank you for your support and involvement in this important process.

Ms Georgina Carman

Wellbeing Leader