Positive Schools Conference 2013

1. Positive Schools Conference 2013

2. Acknowledgement of Country

3. 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.

4. 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?

5. It is not enough to be a positive person How do we create a positive organisation?

6. A Positive School • 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?

7. Walk in my shoes • Who is in my school community? • Who feels most included? • Who feels least included? • What practices assist all school community members to feel included?

8. Checking out our environment • What messages do you get from: • The physical environment: • art work, signage, displays, murals, posters, notice boards ...? • The personal environment: • Staff, students, greetings, sounds ...?

9. At the Gate

10. At the Office

11. In the Classroom

12. Some thoughts • 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?

13. Positive Schools Conference 2013

14. 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)

15. 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

16. Plan your positive school To 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?

18. Allow time for SEL and positive ed, when planning units of work Find out what students are good at outside school Report on engagement Ask students to feedback on your teaching style. Do students perceive you as positive Be familiar with school policies. Are policies framed from strengths Reflect on your teaching for 2-4 weeks. Notice the positive Encourage students to plan & teach a lesson Model emotional intelligence Use positive language Share student successes with other teachers 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 Use connection activities at start of year/term Link with other teachers Know where to refer students Use connection activities whenever a new student arrives or a student returns after extended absence Involve community in teaching SEL Share student successes with families

20. Planning backwards for classroom mental health and wellbeing

21. Contact Us Vivienne Archdall MindMatters Email: Vivienne.Archdall@pai.edu.au Paul Shelton KidsMatter Phone: 0419 774 362 Email: Paul.Shelton@pai.edu.au Lisa Dyer KidsMatter Phone: 0400 111 353 Email: Lisa.Dyer@pai.edu.au