positive schools conference 2013

Positive Schools Conference 2013

Acknowledgement of Country

Key Messages

•Creating a positive organisation

•The primacy and power of relationships

•Including the whole community

•Building and using data

•The KidsMatter and MindMatters initiatives; some

structures to help your journey.

Where are you now?

• Chat to the person next to you.

• What are you already doing at your school that is,

or could be positive school practice?

Is anyone planning the process?

It is not enough to be a positive person

How do we create a positive organisation?

When you think of a positive community what

comes to mind?

What are 3 positive things about school that

you remember?

If you didn’t have a positive experience at school, then

what would have made a difference?

A Positive School

Who is in my school community?

Who feels most included?

Who feels least included?

What practices assist all school community

members to feel included?

Walk in my shoes

What messages do you get from:The physical environment:

art work, signage, displays, murals, posters, notice boards ...?

The personal environment:Staff, students, greetings, sounds ...?

Checking out our environment

At the Gate

At the Office

In the Classroom

• Who’s participating?• Who gets a say?• Who comes?• Who doesn’t?• Who are you missing?• Who are you not noticing?• Who feels comfortable?• Who feels threatened?• Who feels overlooked?

Some thoughts

Positive Schools Conference 2013

Positive Organisational Scholarship

“Is the study of especially positive outcomes,

processes and attributes of organisations and

their members”

“...Examines the development of and the effects

associated with virtuousness and eudemonism”

Robert’s, L.M. (2006)

Positive Practice = Positive Organisations

“Positive practices that were institutionalised in organisations, including providing compassionate support for employees, forgiving mistakes, and avoiding blame, fostering the meaningfulness of work, expressing frequent gratitude, showing kindness, and caring for colleagues, led organisations to perform at significantly higher levels on desired outcomes”

Cameron, K. 2012 The Oxford Handbook of Positive Organisational Scholarship p. 6

Plan your positive schoolTo create these positive organisations we need

to be prepared to plan.

What would you need to build on in your school to achieve a positive school?

Reflect on your teaching for 2-4 weeks.

Notice the positive

Ask students to feedback on

your teaching style. Do students

perceive you as positive

Map where SEL fits across your

subject

Talk to other teachers about

where they teach SEL and

positive education

Learn about & integrate

cultural backgrounds of students

Link with other

teachersKnow where

to refer students

Involve community in teaching SELShare student successes with

families

Use connectio

n activities at start of year/term

Use connection activities whenever

a new student arrives or a student

returns after extended absence

Encourage students to

plan & teach a lesson

Allow time for SEL and positive

ed, when planning units of work

Use positive language

Share student successes with other

teachers

Be familiar with school policies. Are

policies framed from

strengthsModel

emotional intelligen

ce

Report on engagement

Find out what

students are good at

outside school

Planning backwards for classroom mental health and wellbeing

Contact UsVivienne ArchdallMindMattersEmail: Vivienne.Archdall@pai.edu.au

Paul SheltonKidsMatterPhone: 0419 774 362Email: Paul.Shelton@pai.edu.au

Lisa DyerKidsMatterPhone: 0400 111 353Email: Lisa.Dyer@pai.edu.au