Abbotsford Public School

An innovative and inclusive learning space

Telephone02 9713 6220

Emailabbotsford-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.

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 (PBL) – 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 PBL program at Abbotsford PS is a whole school focus, consolidating our playground expectations and procedures with explicit fortnightly lessons to teach and reinforce expected behaviours as well as ensure consistent management of inappropriate behaviour. The PBL team regularly seeks staff, student and parent feedback through surveys and meetings.

'Godwit Gold' plays a major part in our playground behaviour reward system. Student voice is valued as winning classes choose playground bell songs for the following week. Students are actively involved in defining and collating our school playground game rules and student leaders run the weekly assembly PBL announcements.

The school consistently collects and analyses playground behaviour data; determining our fortnightly playground focus, formation of explicit lesson sequences and putting in place interventions at an individual, group and stage level when needed. This systematic collation of data provides positive feedback to staff and students.

The 'Yarn Tree' space is a retreat for students who find the playground overwhelming. This is a quiet games area where School Learning Support Officers (SLSOs) assist students in initiating and developing friendships through play-based activities and games. A facilitator handbook is used to ensure the program is sustainable over time and addresses the social and sensory needs of students, particularly those with additional needs.

Gymea the Godwit
Godwit Gold
Yarn Tree 1
Yarn Tree

Student Leadership positions

Student Leadership positions include:

  • Student Representative Council (2 representatives elected from each K-6 class in February each year)
  • School Captains (2) and Vice Captains (2), Student Leaders (8) and Sports House Captains (8) who are all elected by students in a two-step voting process conducted each November for the following year.

School Captains Photo

The Student Representative Council (SRC) meet once a week on a Tuesday afternoon with Ms Noble to discuss, plan, implement and evaluate school initiatives and events.

School Captains and Vice Captains perform a range of important duties including leading major assemblies and open days, liaising with local community groups and conducting school tours.

Student Leaders are appointed as Community, Technology, Welfare and Environment Leaders and work in pairs for one term in each of the four roles carrying out weekly duties.

Sports House Captains (two per house: Emus, Kookaburras, Lyrebirds and Magpies) are elected by sports house members and perform a range of duties including leading sports house meetings ahead of swimming, cross country and athletics carnivals, collecting house points at the end of the week and organising sports equipment used at lunchtimes in the playground.

Student recognition

The recognition of students is an important aspect of the school's work.

Achievement Awards (3 per class) are presented each week to each class.

Presentation Day (in December each year) is an occasion where the achievement of students is recognised.

The above formal recognition measures are complemented by positive recognition from teachers on a daily basis.

Confident and Resilient Award
Creative and Agile Award
Engaged and Motivated Award

Related content

Abbotsford Public School

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We choose to recognise the Wangal People of the Eora Nation as the true owners of the land on which we stand: of the sky above and of the water that surrounds us. We thank the Elders, both of the past and the present, who are the traditional custodians of this country and we promise to care for the land and respect it as they have done. As we play and learn together, we extend that respect to all Aboriginal people here today.

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