School-wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS)

What is SWPBS?

School-wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) is a globally recognised, evidence-based framework that helps schools create safe, positive, and inclusive environments where students and staff can thrive.

SWPBS supports the Education State priorities and the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0 by helping schools build consistent, whole-school systems that reward positive behaviour and promote wellbeing, and inclusion – creating the right conditions for effective teaching, learning, and leadership across the school.

Features and benefits of SWPBS

SWPBS helps schools to:

increase respectful and positive behaviour
strengthen social and emotional wellbeing
reduce classroom disruptions and increase learning time
build positive, respectful relationships between students and staff
create safe, orderly, and supportive school environments.

Schools implementing SWPBS:

use inclusive, evidence-based strategies to support all students
form teams to guide implementation and maintain momentum
provide ongoing training and coaching to staff
partner with students, families, and communities to ensure fairness and consistency
use data to monitor progress and improve practices.

SHPS Behaviour Matrix

SHPS Behaviour Response Continuum

How SWPBS supports all students

SWPBS is built around four key elements

Outcomes: Clear goals related to behaviour, wellbeing, academic success, and school climate
Data: Evidence collected to monitor progress, identify needs, and guide decisions
Practices: Teaching strategies and interventions to encourage positive behaviour
Systems: Structures and processes that support consistent implementation, such as leadership teams and professional development

How does SWPBS look at our school?

At SHPS, Tier 1 supports ensure a universal and inclusive approach for all students in all settings. It includes the use of whole school and classroom expectations, door greetings, daily timetables, morning routines and classroom contingencies. We use ‘High Five cards’ to acknowledge expected behaviours within the classroom and in the yard. Students can redeem these cards at our ‘Reward Arcade’ each term for prizes.
At Tier 2, we provide additional supports for students who may need it. This can be targeted at individuals or small groups and may only be necessary for a limited time. We use social groups, video modelling and ‘Cool Tools’ as key ways of teaching students expected behaviours.
At Tier 3, students need more indivialised supports in addition to the Tier 1 and Tier 2 strategies. Daily check-ins, individual support plans and modified programs are common ways we support these students.

Our journey

Sunshine Harvester Primary School was accepted into a state-wide rollout of the SWPBS framewo

rk in 2013, with training and implementation beginning in 2014.

In 2017, our School Review panel noted that our school climate had significantly improved, and credited the implementation of SWPBS with playing a significant role in this outcome. We continued learning, reviewing and tweaking our SWPBS programs and in 2021 we achieved a Bronze Level Award for successful implentation of SWPBS.

We continued refining our approach and were awarded consecutive Gold Awards for SWPBS in 2022 and

2023. In 2024 our school was invited to present at the Department of Education Queensland SWPBIS conference and we received our third consecutive Gold Award. Early this year, we were very proud to be awarded the highest award, the Platinum Award, for our school’s SWPBS practices in 2025.

Since embarking on the SWPBS journey, the positive impacts on the attitudes, behaviour and learning of our students have been very apparent to us at Sunshine Harvester Primary School. We remain committed to keeping SWPBS as a core element of our school’s culture.

https://www.vic.gov.au/school-wide-positive-behaviour-support