Toongabbie East Public School

Achieve with Pride

Telephone02 9631 3996

Emailtoongabest-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Student health and safety

We are committed to ensuring a safe and happy environment for your child.

We support your child’s health and safety through a range of strategies including:

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.

Toongabbie East encourages a healthy lifestyle for the children in our care. We have two programs in place to encourage healthy eating.

Crunch and sip

Crunch and sip occurs every day at 10am. Students can take a break and eat a piece of fruit or vegetable (for example carrot sticks) and have a little drink of water, in class, then resume work.

Crunch and Sip operates in the infants classroom.

No fat

'No fat' stands for natural only, fruit any time.

Students in the primary classroom can at most times of the day eat a piece of fruit or vegetable while working, without taking a separate break. This differs from crunch and sip as when children get older they are more likely to grab something to eat while involved in doing something else.

Our plan is to introduce the idea that you can eat something healthy at these times. Only key times such as testing or library are exempt from the no fat program.

For more information, please view the healthy eating program policies (DOC 77KB).

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.

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.

The CALMS Behaviour Support Approach fosters students’ learning and development through promoting their cognitive, emotional, social, physical and spiritual wellbeing. This approach provides students with the opportunity to learn to manage their thoughts, feelings and behaviours so they can manage the complexities of a school environment.

The Behaviour Support System at Toongabbie East Public School provides students with

  • a calm, safe, predictable environment
  • consistency of expectations and language.

CALMS clearly outlines the School Expectations for students and staff. School staff use strategies and practices to teach positive behaviour. CALMS outlines strategies and practices to recognise and reinforce student effort and achievement. A core focus of the CALMS approach is supporting students to identify their emotions, and developing strategies and practices to support them with managing their difficult emotions (Using Sensory Approaches in the Classroom, Taking Space). The CALMS approach supports safety with steps clearly outlined to manage and support escalating behaviours (Optimal Safety Procedures). Students are supported to reflect on their behaviour and use of strategies to regulate their emotions and behaviour.

The CALMS Behaviour Support Approach is based on trauma informed principles, attachment theory and mindfulness principles. Trauma informed principles are focused on safety, connection and emotion control as outlined below:

  • Safety: creating a place that offers physical safety as well as emotional safety
  • Connection: Forming a trust-based relationship with key adults who can provide support and be a resource to help the child organise his feelings, calm, soothe and comfort himself.
  • Emotion control: teaching and supporting children to learn effective ways of managing their emotions and responses

Our school core expectations and goals are:

  • Behave safely: I am calm
  • I Cooperate
  • I am assertive
  • I am a learner
  • I am mindful

There are three forms of rewards

  • Kai Cash - Shop money
  • Merit Certificates - presented in the presence of parents & peers at Assembly
  • Rewards time - where staff actively engage in shared play activities with students. As negotiated in each class