The BFL team in Thomond Community college works in conjunction with the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) Support Service aims to support and promote positive behaviour and academic learning in school, specifically among Junior Cycle students. We aim to:
- Improve retention and attendance
- Reduce the number of exclusions/behaviour cards
- Improve and promote positive behaviour at whole-school level
- Offer individual and small group support to students who have difficulty managing their behaviour
- Create individualised student behaviour plans to ensure that students’ behavioural and emotional needs are met
- Liaise with school management, Student Support Team, Guidance Councillors, SEN Teachers and parents to ensure those students’ needs are met
A Behaviour for Learning Programme (BfL) comprises of supports for students at three distinct different levels in Thomond Community School. Students are chosen for the BFL programme by our two BFL teachers who lease with Management and Year Heads. Teaching staff in the school also help the selection process by completing specific surveys. Data is gathered and analysed by our BFL team to ensure the most vulnerable students’ needs are met. Parents/guardians are extremely important in the process and keep in communication with our BFL teachers. We also have a positive behavioural team that meets weekly to create and deliver different initiatives to promote positive behaviour in Thomond Community College.
Level 1: School-wide systems and practices that promote positive behaviour. ALL students in the school benefit from these supports.
Level 2: Group interventions for students with at-risk behaviours. SOME students access these supports
Level 3: Individualised interventions for high- risk students. At present fourteen students receive support at this level in our school
The BfL programme is an intensive individualised intervention at Level 3 support. Typically, this level of support is offered to the small number of students who, notwithstanding school-wide behaviour support (Level 1 support) and targeted interventions (Level 2 support), continue to experience difficulty. These students have unique and various needs that call for an intensive, individualised intervention.
A BfL programme team has responsibility for the development of an academic, behavioural, social and emotional and well-being curriculum to meet the needs of targeted students. The fundamental aim of the BfL programme is to enable students to fulfil their potential and achieve success at school.
The Thomond Community College BFL team
- Teri Coffey
- Aisling O’Neil
- Gareth O’Hanlon