Caboolture East State School’s Values Journey

This month, we feature Caboolture East State School (just north of Brisbane), who have successfully embedded trauma-informed practices and a values-based enquiry process to help students engage and learn. Berry Street Education Model (BSEM) has been working closely with Caboolture East for over three years. We are proud to support them on their journey.

The journey to an inclusive values approach

Caboolture East has many strengths as school community—including a deep commitment to supporting the healthy development of their students. However, the leadership team recognised that their Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) acknowledgement system, and their end-term rewards was creating angst for teachers, parents and students. The school felt that their goal of ‘consistent positive acknowledgement’ was no longer being achieved. A ‘Gold, Silver, Bronze’ daily token system was found to be inconsistent and the school felt that it was becoming a punitive approach as students were effectively receiving ‘double consequences’ by missing out on end of term celebrations. The school decided to engage in a values-based enquiry process to arrive at a new approach that would be more positive and effective, for staff and for students.

Community ownership – bringing values to life

In 2019, following their BSEM training, staff engaged in conversations on how BSEM strategies could positively acknowledge students without using extrinsic rewards. Staff used the Australian Values Framework to explore how personal values and beliefs impact on staff responses when school rules are broken. The school took the time to explore shared beliefs about learning and moral purpose and to reveal any divergent views that might impact on the school’s ability to achieve their goal - a consistent and positively framed approach to student behaviour. The school also reached out to the wider school community to ask which values should be prioritised by the school. Caboolture East State School wanted their values to be child friendly and aligned to learning and they wanted their students to feel engaged in the values journey, so an art competition invited students to create superhero values-based characters.

Students were then supported by staff (using process praise!) to refine the superpowers for each character and Kasey Be Kind, Becky Be Brave, Wesley Work Hard and Bailey Belong were born! The deep thinking that the school engaged in throughout this journey is reflected in each of the final characters. The character illustrations are far more than pretty images, they reflect the Caboolture East ‘hero’ strengths!

For example:

Kasey Be Kind has:

Glasses – to help her see the situation from someone else's point of view

A Kindness Wand – which sends out positive thoughts and feelings to others

A Heart – that glows when people are treating each other kindly

Wings – that allow her to fly to help others who need her support.

Aligning social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum to school values and expectations

The school has a two-week ‘Heroes in Training’ program at the beginning of each year that aims to reconnect students, to build belonging and develop a shared understanding of class expectations. Using the four school values, a framework was created to align SEL curriculum and student wellbeing and the ACARA Personal and Social Capabilities. The school then designed a differentiated system for children to create personal wellbeing goals, appropriate to their unique strengths as well as their support needs. Each student’s goals are reviewed at the beginning of each term. Weekly targeted lessons with explicit instruction are ongoing across the year to support students to achieve their personal goals. Explicit teaching is focussed on growing the child’s ability to self-regulate in the learning environment.

Building consistent language and strength-based celebrations

Visual signage is used to reinforce school values across the school. Term values celebrations are held, but now all students participate. The school keeps celebrations fresh and fun with a variety of year level celebrations, team challenges, free dress days and a random acts of kindness challenge. As students demonstrate a school value, they receive a sticker with that superhero character in their ‘values passport’. The values passport is sent home at the end of each term. The semester report card also includes a positively framed description of each child’s growth within the personal and social capabilities.

Impact on school culture and learning

The process to revitalise school culture has helped Caboolture East State school to embed values and vision through school acknowledgements at all levels, from individual student interaction, classroom environment, to whole school celebrations and community events.

The suite of efforts the school has engaged in over the last two years has shifted behaviour practices from a more deficit, reactive response to a proactive and positive trauma informed approach. This has contributed to an incredible 39% reduction in major behaviours and suspensions along with 26% increase in levels of achievement in English!

This highlights a key BSEM principle; Learning and wellbeing are critically entwined. Caboolture East found that key to shifting staff capability was the realisation that individualised support for social and emotional wellbeing is equally important as adjustments in key learning areas.

All staff have developed their capability to manage complex behaviours through ongoing, targeted professional development including coaching, instructional rounds, peer observations and staff meeting sessions to increasing their understanding of trauma’s presentation in an educational setting.

Finally, staff wellbeing is also a continuing priority at Caboolture East State School. Staff physical activity, e.g. bootcamp and staff recognition awards, build morale and positive wellbeing. The approach aims to reduce compassion fatigue through a joint responsibility of self-care, and to empower staff with strategies and school wide processes that engage students and increase wellbeing and achievement for all.

We loved hearing this story of sustained effort in defining, and realising positive and inclusive school values and we are delighted to see the gains that Caboolture East State School have enjoyed as a result of their significant investment in time, and of course care, for their entire student cohort.

We would love to feature your own school’s stories of success. Get in touch if you would like to share with us and your fellow BSEM alumni community in 2022.