We are committed to ensuring a safe and happy environment for your child.
Therapy Dog
Everyone has been very excited this term to welcome our Therapy Dog in training, Killara.
Killara is currently having two months intensive training and will visit us every week during this time. After that she will continue to train and come to Cessnock West PS.
Once she has been accredited Killara will be with us up to three days a week as our Therapy Dog.
We support your child’s health and safety through a range of strategies including:
- the behaviour code for students, which outlines the standards of behaviour expected in all NSW public schools
- anti-racism education
- anti-bullying programs
- conflict resolution and mediation training
- peer support
- road safety education
- the Healthy School Canteen Strategy.
For more information, visit the student wellbeing section of the department’s website.
Like all NSW public schools, we promote the healthy development of students through:
- school programs and practices that protect and promote health and safety
- supporting individual students who need help with health issues
- providing first aid and temporary care of students who become unwell or who have an accident at school.
Student wellbeing
Like all NSW public schools, we provide safe learning and teaching environments to encourage healthy, happy, successful and productive students.
The department is committed to creating quality learning opportunities for children and young people. These opportunities support wellbeing through positive and respectful relationships and fostering a sense of belonging to the school and community.
The Wellbeing Framework for Schools helps schools support the cognitive, physical, social, emotional and spiritual development of students and allows them to connect, succeed and thrive throughout their education.
Bullying behaviour can happen in all social contexts within our community.
The NSW Anti-bullying Strategy uses evidence-based research to support educators, parents and carers, and students to identify, prevent, and respond effectively to student bullying behaviours. For more information see https://antibullying.nsw.gov.au/ and the links below.
Positive Behaviour for Learning
At our school, we use Positive Behaviour for Learning – a whole-school approach for creating a positive, safe and supportive school climate where students can learn and develop. Our whole school community works together to establish expected behaviours and teach them to all students.
Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) clearly defines expected behaviours school wide for all community members, students, staff and parents alike.
Students on a weekly basis are taught the expected behaviours for all school settings. Staff within these lessons are responsible for practising situations and discussing the consequences of their actions, be it positive or negative. The school in turn has developed clearly definded reward systems for positive behaviours and behaviours requiring reform for the whole school community.
PBL focuses on referred data which is reviewed twice a term. We as staff identify the problem areas and address these through reviewing current practices and developing lessons that are taught to every student.
PBL primarily focuses upon positive behaviours and this is evident with the reward systems throughout the school:
- Resect, responsibility and learning tokens (Roowards) are handed out to students with desirable behaviours in the playground and during PBL lessons. Students collect these arwards and save them towards a set of five. This set entitles them to a special award from either the green, purple or orange PBL mystery box. All of the names of students who have collected five of the Roowards are then put into a weekly draw. The Roowheel is spun and the lucky winner recieves an additional prize such as principal for the day, gift vouchers, movie tickets or class teacher for the day.
- Ranger Roo is our school PBL mascot. He makes appearances at assemblies and in the playground to promote positive behaviour and to give out Roowards to students.
- Clear consequences for negative behaviour have been developed by the whole school community and the end product was endorsed by the school P&C association.