How We Teach & Support

SWPBS is a systems approach for establishing the social, cultural and individualised supports needed for all students to achieve both social and academic success. It is a way to support everyone to create the kinds of schools where all students are successful and included.

The purpose of SWPBS is to help our school select and identify the effective, efficient, and evidence-based things we can do to support all students to experience success. SWPBS enables us to organise those practices into a continuum; from universal support for all students through to intensive, targeted support for those who need it.

Evidence-based features of SWPBS include:

• prevention
• defining and teaching positive social expectations
• acknowledging positive behaviour
• arranging consistent responses to challenging behaviour
• maintaining ongoing collection and use of data for decision-making
• establishing a continuum of interventions
• utilising team-based implementation (systems that support effective practices).

SWPBS Mission Statement

Roberts McCubbin Primary School is a safe, welcoming and engaging community. Together we value respect in all areas, build resilience in our community and creative inclusive environments for all students to thrive in.

SWPBS Vision Statement 

 Working with the RMPS staff, students and wider community the SWPBS team aims to:

• Improve the student/teacher/parent and community relationships
• Foster positive attitudes to guide behaviour
• Ensure everybody feels valued and their voices are heard

At Roberts McCubbin Primary School we imbed student voice and leadership in each classroom by ensuring the students can share their ideas, ask questions and provide feedback in a safe environment. We also have an official Student Voice and Leadership Team, which consist of a group of students in our Senior School who have been elected to represent the student body. These students are involved in two or more meetings each term, where the staff can present any current topics, questions or seek feedback from the students’ perspective. Earlier this year, the Student Voice team met to discuss how they can best seek feedback from each student in our school. The team developed, refined and conducted questions, surveys and ideas from the whole student body, on ‘How we can improve our School Grounds.’ This enabled the student community to research, collaborate and effectively voice their ideas and feedback.

RRRR (Resilience, Rights & Respectful Relationships) at Roberts McCubbin Primary School.

What is it?
The RRRR (Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships) program is a mandated Victorian
Government initiative. It is divided into eight topics that fall under social and emotional learning:
emotional literacy, personal strengths, positive coping, problem solving, stress management, help
seeking, gender and identity and positive gender relations.

The Department of Education has
developed a set of level appropriate resources and lessons that target each topic. Research tells us that Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) helps our students to succeed in school, at work and in life – helping with their decision making, awareness of self and others and self regulation. Students who are self-aware and confident try harder and handle failure better, helping them develop resilience and achieving better academic results. SEL has a positive impact on mental and physical health, reducing emotional distress and increasing self-esteem.

Respectful Relationships education also focuses on building and promoting gender equity in
relationships, challenging gender stereotypes and tackling family violence. At RMPS we have started to implement this as a whole school approach. The Respectful Relationships program recognises that schools are a workplace, a community hub and a place of learning. Everyone involved in our school
community deserves to be respected, valued and treated equally. Changes in attitudes and behaviours can be achieved when positive attitudes, behaviours and equality are displayed across the school community, and when classroom learning is reinforces this. Respectful Relationships supports schools and early childhood settings to promote and model respect, positive attitudes and behaviours. It teaches children how to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence.

We are really excited that each year that goes by the cultural diversity at our school grows and we celebrate the rich contributions of the many cultures that make up our RMPS community at our annual Harmony Day Celebration.
Our teachers are experienced and skilled in differentiating our instruction to meet the need of the individual child. EAL students are supported by a qualified EAL teacher who assists classroom teachers to understand the needs of each individual student, supplies extra resources and helps plan for the students learning. If required the EAL teacher works with EAL students individually or in small groups to ensure their English skills are continually built upon and they are able to access the curriculum successfully.

The transition from kindergarten to school is an important and special time for families. At RMPS we are committed on building the valuable skills your child has learnt in kindergarten as they take on exciting new challenges and learning experiences. We pride ourselves on the care and partnership we take between you the parent, your child, the pre-school setting and us.
Our aim is to make your child’s transition from kinder to school as smooth and enjoyable as possible. We ensure parents and carers are well informed throughout the transition process. We encourage prospective parents to attend our weekly school tours or our virtual school tour, as this is a great way to see our school.
The school publishes a Transition Calendar of Events early in the school year detailing forthcoming events for prospective Foundation students. The school holds Foundation Information Evenings and Tours throughout the year. A particular highlight is visiting our school during Education Week in May, as well as attending one of our Twilight tours held in the evening throughout the year to cater for working families.
During Term 3, RMPS offers several Stepping Up sessions whereby pre-school students can attend on site and have an opportunity to participate in our Specialist classes; Physical Education, Visual Art, Performing Art, Japanese and Robotics. Parents and carers are welcome to stay for the duration of these sessions.
In Term 4 we offer additional Stepping Up sessions in a Foundation classroom and morning teas are held by our PFA to welcome new parents/carers to our school community. In the final weeks of the school year, enrolled students are invited to attend a morning session with their new classmates and teacher that they will be with for the following school year.
The Foundation teachers and Principal frequently visit our local kindergartens and pre-school settings. We have developed excellent professional relationships with teachers at these settings. This relationship enables our Foundation team to get to know many of our future students and promote successful transition for each and every child.
RMPS is fully committed to building relationships with our students and their families. We believe that effective relationships are at the core of positive transition to school experiences. When families and school communities work together in positive and collaborative ways, a child’s capacity to achieve their learning potential is greatly enhanced- and so is their general health, wellbeing, positive outlook and sense of purpose in life.

Better Buddy Program
Better Buddies is designed to help reduce bullying and create friendly and caring school environments. The Framework builds strong relationships and research shows children benefit immensely – with younger students feeling safe and cared for, and older students feeling valued and respected.

The Buddy Program is designed to provide support between junior and senior students by creating friendly and caring school communities.
Better Buddies, an initiative of The Alannah and Madeline Foundation, helps students to feel safe, valued and connected to the school community. The school pairs a younger student with an older buddy.
They learn the values: caring for others, friendliness, respect, valuing difference, including others and responsibility.
All children in the school learn these values through formal and informal activities.

Below: A video of a student who successfully transitioned to our school from another school.