What do the three tiers look like and how do they work together to
support student behaviour?
Tier 1 (all students)
Tier 1, “universal” or schoolwide interventions are the critical foundation for Schoolwide Positive
Behaviour Support (SWPBS). They are so important that SWPBS schools audit them every year to
ensure they are in place. All students receive Tier 1 interventions, including students with emotional
and behaviour difficulties who have more challenging behaviour.
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Tier 1 is administered by the SWPBS school leadership team. Decisions are driven by data
and the team is actively supported by the school principal.
The principal is actively involved in Tier 1 implementation, publically supports staff members
who are implementing Tier 1 as agreed, and has supportive conversations with staff
members who attempt to undermine implementation.
Staff members agree on and implement a common purpose and approach to discipline.
The school has a small number (3-4) schoolwide behavioural expectations, for example Be
Safe, Be Respectful, Be a Learner.
The schoolwide expectations are embedded in common school and classroom routines,
which are then taught to students by their teachers.
There is a schoolwide system for acknowledging students for correctly demonstrating the
schoolwide expectations.
There is a continuum of procedures for discouraging problem behaviour, beginning with a
simple correction of minor behavioural errors and extending to more serious consequences
for moderate and major problem behaviour.
The school has a standardised behaviour referral process in place and all staff members are
trained in its use by the school’s SWPBS leadership team.
Behaviour data, both positive and negative, is summarised and presented to all staff
members at least 4 times per year. These data are used to make decisions about behaviour
support processes for all students and for individual students.
Implementation data is also collected. These data help the school to determine how well
they are implementing SWPBS, that is, the systems and practices needed for improving
behavioural support for students.
Tier 2 (some students)
Tier 2 or “targeted” interventions support an average 15% of students who are not responding to
Tier 1 interventions and who need a little bit more. These students usually have both academic and
behaviour difficulties, often seek more teacher attention, or are withdrawn and more anxious than
their typical same-age peers. These students require additional social skills, self-management skills,
teacher monitoring, and home-school communication.
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Students requiring Tier 2 interventions must have received all of the Tier 1 interventions. In
cases where this was not possible (for example the student has just enrolled in the school),
then Tier 1 interventions are built in to the Tier 2 interventions.
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A small Tier 2/Tier 3 team is formed from the school SWPBS leadership team, and may
include an additional member who is skilled in targeted interventions to support at-risk
students.
The Tier 2 team is not responsible for delivering the interventions, but rather for ensuring
that the interventions and the staff to deliver them are available when needed, monitoring
student progress, and reporting Tier 2 outcomes to the school SWPBS leadership team.
Behaviour referral data is used as an initial screen to identify students requiring Tier 2
Support. Students who have received more than one and less than six major behaviour
referrals are considered appropriate candidates for Tier 2 support.
Students who may require Tier 2 support can also be identified by parent/carer requests, by
teachers in their regular Year-level review meetings, or by concerned student peers. This is
especially the case where students are displaying internalised behaviours including
moderate anxiety and sadness.
Tier 2 team members sit on the Year-level teacher teams. This ensures that teachers have
support to try evidence-based interventions in their classrooms to support an at-risk student,
as well as ensuring that any necessary referral to the Tier 2 team is timely.
Tier 2 interventions are usually “one-size-fits-all.” Individual modifications to the
interventions are made to ensure the student will benefit from them.
“Practical” Functional Behaviour Assessments (P-FBA) can be used at Tier 2 to determine
more precisely what the student’s problem behaviour is enabling them to either get or to
escape or avoid in the learning and/or social environment. Knowing this “function” of the
behaviour allows the school to adjust the Tier 2 interventions to produce more effective
support options.
Interventions at Tier 2 are evidence-based and typically of 6-9 week duration. There are
clearly stated expected outcomes and student progress is closely monitored.
Interventions are designed to provide students what they need, based on assessment.
These may include more structure, predictability and adult feedback. In addition these
students need more opportunity for social and academic success.
Tier 2 interventions are typically small in number and include adult mentoring, checkin/check-out with an adult each day, self-management and self-rewarding report cards, and
social and emotional skilling interventions.
Tier 2 interventions are delivered by school based staff, including classroom teachers, the
principal or deputy principal, student coaches and school counsellors.
Tier 3 (a few students)
Tier 3 or “intensive” interventions support an average 5% of students whose behaviour has not
responded to Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions. Socially and academically these students may face the
same challenges as students receiving Tier 2 interventions, although this is not always the case.
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Often students referred for Tier 3 interventions will have a mental health disorder, serious
emotional problems, or significant behavioural challenges that are potentially dangerous to
themselves or others and that require highly individualised interventions and team based
management.
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Students requiring Tier 3 interventions must have received all of the Tier 1 interventions. In
cases where this was not possible (for example the student has just enrolled in the school),
then Tier 1 interventions are built in to the Tier 3 interventions.
In some cases Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions can be combined to support these students.
Students are identified primarily through the school’s behaviour referral data. Students with
6 or more major behaviour referrals are typically referred for Tier 3 interventions. In
addition, referrals to the Tier2/Tier 3 team can be made by teachers, parents/carers, other
agencies (Mental Health, Juvenile Justice, Families) and concerned students.
A comprehensive Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA) is usually conducted to determine
the precise function of the student’s behaviour. Significant adults in the student’s life are
grouped by the Tier 2/Tier3 team to conduct the assessment based on the most accurate
information possible. A representative from a relevant agency outside the school may be
invited on to this team.
Information about the student must be useful for designing a support plan to meet the
student’s needs, and includes their academic and behavioural history from school records;
the student’s developmental and social history; management of the student in the home;
student strengths; medical history; and an analysis of the student’s learning environment
including the curriculum and social environment of the classroom and the school.
A function-based behaviour support plan is then put in place which includes environmental
modifications to reduce likelihood of the problem behaviour; teaching the student
acceptable replacement behaviours they can use to get their needs met instead of using the
problem behaviour; teaching the student general social skills that will improve their quality
of life; introducing the student to new and age-appropriate social and leisure activities; ways
to effectively reward the student for “getting it right;” designing effective and non-punitive
consequences for inappropriate behaviour that will teach the student new ways to behave;
and designing a crisis-management plan.
Summary
The three tiers of SWPBS interventions provide a continuum of support for all students.
It is important that students requiring Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions have received and are
continuing to receive the same level of Tier 1 support as other students. Looking at the triangle,
try to imagine the green area running all the way to the top of the triangle, with the yellow and
red areas overlaid.
Shortcuts to Tier 2 and Tier 3 are ineffective. If there are more than 15% of students receiving
Tier 2 support then more attention has to be paid to Tier 1. Increasing Tier 2 interventions will
not solve the problem, because without active prevention at Tier 1 new students requiring Tier 2
will increase to a point that will exhaust school resources.
If referral to Tier 2 and Tier 3 is urgent and the student has not received Tier 1 interventions
then make sure these are combined or woven into the Tier 2 and Tier 3 support strategies for
the student.