Guidelines for developing a
Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students
based on The Code of School Behaviour
These guidelines assist schools to develop their Responsible Behaviour Plan for
Students (Plan). A template is provided to support consistency in Plan
development and implementation throughout Queensland state schools.
A sample Plan is also provided as an example of what could be included under
each template heading. Schools are encouraged to develop their own Plan in
response to the unique features of their school communities.
Please note that template section headings are mandatory and must appear in
the Plan as indicated.
The Plan is developed in consultation with the school community.
Communication of Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students
It is important that reasonable steps are taken to communicate the content of the
Plan to staff, students and their families. A copy of the Plan is made available to
parents and students upon enrolment. It is recommended that the Plan is
available online through the school’s website and upon request through the
school administration.
The Plan should be available for translation, or available as a translated
document to accommodate the diverse language needs within your school
community.
Schools are encouraged to offer short information sessions for families once the
Plan has been finalised. These sessions provide an opportunity for families to
engage with the Plan through face-to-face discussion and are also intended to
allow families with lower levels of literacy access to the information.
Guidelines for Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students
1. Purpose
In this section schools clearly outline the purpose of the Plan, including their
commitment to provision of a safe, supportive, and disciplined learning
environment.
2. Consultation and data review
This section briefly details the consultation processes undertaken by the school,
including dates of consultation activities and a timeline for review of the Plan.
Broad consultation with the school community (e.g. students, families and staff) is
important in the development of each school’s Responsible Behaviour Plan for
Students. A range of data sets should be analysed to inform the development of
the plan and a summary of the data that has informed the Plan is detailed in this
section.
3. Learning and Behaviour statement
Schools outline their position on student learning and behaviour in this section of
their Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students. This should refer to and be
grounded in a set of clearly articulated behavioural expectations, school rules or
values. To complete this section, schools are encouraged to:
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consider the values, principles and expected standards in The Code of
School Behaviour and how these are reflected in their rules, expectations and
values;
consider the principles of the Statement of expectations for a disciplined
school environment policy;
describe their beliefs about student learning and behaviour, referring explicitly
to their rules, expectations or values; and
document their three to five brief, positively-stated school rules, behavioural
expectations or values.
4. Processes for facilitating standards of positive behaviour and
responding to unacceptable behaviour
In this section, schools outline their approach to promoting and recognising
positive behaviour as well as processes for managing behaviour that is not
consistent with the school’s expectations. The approach used should be
consistent with the Statement of expectations for a disciplined school
environment policy, the National Safe Schools Framework and existing evidence
of effectiveness. A whole school approach shapes, supports and recognises
appropriate behaviours in all students.
Using a three-tiered approach to facilitating standards of positive behaviour and
responding to unacceptable behaviour, schools are able to outline whole school
provision of universal, targeted, and intensive supports.
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Universal
In a supportive and well-disciplined school, approximately 80% to 90% of
students require little, if any, additional support to follow the school rules and
demonstrate appropriate social behaviours. Universal levels of support are
provided to all students.
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Targeted
In a supportive and well-disciplined school, approximately 10 to 15% of
students may occasionally need additional targeted support, specific
adjustments or program intervention. Targeted support is typically delivered
in small groups to the identified population.
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Intensive
In a supportive and well-disciplined school approximately 2 to 5% of students
may need more intensive support and/or flexible learning options to assist
them to continue their learning. These are typically individualised
interventions for students with highly complex and challenging behaviours.
Functional Behaviour Assessments is gnerally undertaken to assist with the
development of intensive support options.
Universal, targeted and intensive behaviour support includes:
 quality learning and teaching practices;
 a balanced, relevant and engaging curriculum;
 supportive and collaboratively developed procedures;
 the implementation of evidence-based programs;
 regular monitoring and review of school procedures and programs;
 professional development for all members of the school community consistent
with the school’s evidence-based approach to promoting positive behaviour;
 adoption of practices that are non-violent, non-coercive and nondiscriminatory; and
 a continuum of whole school positive preventative action for all students.
Universal behaviour support
This section contains a brief description of the school’s universal (whole school)
proactive and preventative processes and strategies for:
 Facilitating the development of acceptable standards of behaviour, including:
o explicit and scheduled teaching of rules, behavioural expectations or
values;
o induction of new students and staff;
o school wide system of positive reinforcement;
o implementation of programs to address bullying and inappropriate online
behaviour; and
o providing opportunities for parents to be involved with activities that
promote and reinforce acceptable behaviour.
 Encouraging positive aspirations, relationships and values to develop,
including:
o establishing effective classroom management systems that encourage
acceptable behaviour; and
o procedures that provide students rapid access to assistance for learning
problems.
 Encouraging all students to take increasing responsibility for their own
behaviour and the consequences of their actions, including:
o recognition that students have individual needs when developing social
competencies and that not all students develop these competencies at the
same pace;
o making reasonable adjustments for students as required to facilitate the
development of social competencies;
o procedures that emphasise teaching students new skills to meet their
needs in the school environment; and
o procedures which recognise the importance of positive reinforcement in
the teaching and learning process.
Targeted behaviour support
In this section detail a description of school and classroom processes,
strategies, adjustments and programs that facilitate acceptable standards of
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behaviour and provide educational support in responding to students
demonstrating higher than average rates of problem behaviour.
This support is provided to students who have not responded to the universal
(whole-school) behaviour support processes and strategies employed by the
school. This may include:
 use of behavioural data to accurately identify students requiring targeted
support;
 school based referral process for teachers seeking assistance to support
students with targeted-level needs;
 team approach to supporting students on targeted support programs;
 use of data-based criteria for evaluation and exit from targeted support
program;
 making adjustments as required to address individual students’ needs;
and
 a range of research-validated program options for targeted support such
as for example:
o adult mentoring
o check in/check out
o targeted/small group social skilling
o “newcomer” programs for new students.
Intensive behaviour support
In this section intensive intervention procedures that respond to complex and
challenging behaviour and which support continued learning engagement are
described. This support is provided to students who have not responded to
the universal and targeted behaviour support processes and strategies
employed by the school. This may include:
 a school based referral process for teachers seeking assistance
 a team-based approach for providing intensive individualised support that
includes a high frequency of adjustments
 use of behaviour data for the accurate identification of students requiring
individualised support
 research validated procedures in place for the assessment and support of
students requiring intensive, individualised support (Functional Behaviour
Assessment)
 ensuring any individual plans that may involve physical restraint
(procedures outlined in Safe, Supportive and Disciplined School
Environment and Student Protection must be followed and communicated
to staff
 flexible and or alternative learning options
 regional behaviour support referrals.
5. Emergency responses or critical incidents
This section should specifically detail the responses the school community has
agreed are appropriate for emergency situations or critical incidents involving
severe problem behaviour. The major focus in this section of the Plan should be
on practical and realistic strategies that all staff can use, such as de-escalation
procedures.
Information included in this section will detail:
 a clear definition of an emergency situation or critical incident
 a clear definition of severe problem behaviour
 de-escalation procedures
 requisite training provided to specialist (i.e. advisory visiting teacher,
special education) and general staff on the use of any physical
intervention
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record keeping requirements (e.g. incident report, debriefing report, health
and safety incident record) for all emergency situations or critical incidents
involving physical intervention by an adult staff member
notification processes and record of contact with parent of student/s who
are involved in an emergency situation or critical incident involving severe
problem behaviour.
Outline the processes staff must follow, compliant with the procedures outlined in
Safe, Supportive and Disciplined School Environment and Student Protection
procedures when students are on individual plans that may involve physical
restraint.
Please note that these guidelines do not apply to the planned use of physical
intervention for students with severe self-injurious (e.g. headbanging) or selfharming (e.g. deliberate cutting of self) behaviours. The use of physical
intervention as a planned strategy for self-injurious or self-harming behaviours
can only be considered within an intensive behaviour support program for a
specific individual as outlined in the Safe, Supportive and Disciplined School
Environment procedure.
6. Consequences for unacceptable behaviour
This section is used to describe the school’s system of consequences for
unacceptable behaviour. The focus of the Plan is on proactive and preventative
whole school approaches, of which the consequences system forms a logical
part. This section should make explicit reference to the 3–5 school rules,
behavioural expectations, or values.
The description of consequences must include clear guidelines for staff and
students on:
 preventing and responding to all forms of bullying behaviour (including
cyberbullying)
 appropriate use of personal technology devices such as mobile phones
inside and outside of school hours (e.g. the use of social networking sites
outside of school hours that impacts on the good order and management
of the school)
 school responses to the distribution of inappropriate messages or
images, particularly where school staff or students are identified, or the
school is in some way implicated
 weapons including knives and any other item that could be considered a
weapon being taken to school by students
 the temporary removal of student property by school staff consistent with
the Temporary Removal of Student Property by School Staff procedure
 a range of disciplinary strategies (for example, detention, community
service interventions, discipline improvement plans).
The description of the consequences system should include:
 consequences that are logically tied to the problem behaviour
 a focus on the use of consequences to teach students appropriate ways
to meet their needs
 division of problem behaviours into minor and major, with corresponding
clearly defined minor and major consequences
 use of behavioural data to evaluate the effectiveness
 consistency of their administration by staff
 evidence that all staff have collaborated in designing the system and that
they are in broad agreement with its deployment
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agreed procedures which involve the placement of students away from
the classroom, ie detention and time out, which are consistent with the
provisions of the Safe, Supportive and Disciplined School Environment
procedure.
Applying a School Disciplinary Absence, suspension or exclusion, is very serious
and these consequences are applied as a last resort for serious behaviours. A
range of other appropriate school based sanctions should be considered to
address inappropriate student behaviours before applying a suspension or
exclusion.
School Disciplinary Absences should only be used after the unique
circumstances of the situation and all other responses have been considered.
Certain types of behaviour are serious enough to warrant a serious consequence
such as a proposal or recommendation for exclusion. For example, students
involved in selling or supplying drugs, violent assaults or use of weapons could
expect to be proposed or recommended for exclusion.
7. Network of student support
A collaborative approach to behaviour support necessitates the involvement of
school administrators, staff, students, parents, members of the wider community
and personnel from other agencies. This section should outline the network of
personnel (school and external) that provide support for students at the school.
This can include online and other forms of ICT support for online issues.
8. Consideration of individual circumstances
In this section an outline of processes aimed to ensure that educational outcomes
for the diverse needs of students are maximised will be documented. Responses
to inappropriate behaviour must consider the particular situation and context, the
individual circumstances and actions of the student and the needs and rights of
school community members.
9. Related legislation
 Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992
 Commonwealth Disability Standards for Education 2005
 Education (General Provisions) Act 2006
 Education (General Provisions) Regulation 2006
 Criminal Code Act 1899
 Anti-Discrimination Act 1991
 Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000
 Judicial Review Act 1991
 Workplace Health and Safety Act 2011
 Workplace Health and Safety Regulation 2011
 Right to Information Act 2009
 Information Privacy (IP) Act 2009
10. Related policies and procedures
 Statement of expectations for a disciplined school environment policy
 Safe, Supportive and Disciplined School Environment
 Inclusive Education
 Enrolment in State Primary, Secondary and Special Schools
 Student Dress Code
 Student Protection
 Hostile People on School Premises, Wilful Disturbance and Trespass
 Police and Child Safety Officer Interviews with Students, and Police
Searches at State Educational Institutions
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Acceptable Use of the Department's Information, Communication and
Technology (ICT) Network and Systems
Managing Electronic Identities and Identity Management
Appropriate Use of Mobile Telephones and other Electronic Equipment by
Students
Temporary Removal of Student Property by School Staff
11. Some related resources
Schools should list any related resources they have identified. This could include:
 National Safe Schools Framework
 Working Together resources for schools
 Cybersafety and schools resources
 Bullying. No way!
 Take a Stand Together
 Safe Schools Hub
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