26th February 2021
Dear Parents/Caregivers
Holy Rosary has had the opportunity to have our staff trained in the Berry Street Education Model, which is a highly successful training program implemented in many schools across Australia. The training teaches staff how to build emotional resilience in our students which quickly translates into stronger academic achievement, less incidents of bullying and student conflict, and increased emotional regulation.
It is strongly informed by research done by the University of Melbourne. More information about the program is below, and can be found at this link : https://learning.berrystreet.org.au/focus-areas/berry-street-education-model
To enable all our staff to be trained, Holy Rosary will finish 2 days early this term while all our staff participate in 2 days online training with the Berry Street team.
This means that Term 1 will now finish for students on TUESDAY 30th March.
I apologise for the change in dates for the term, however due to late changes and Covid we were unable to procure these training dates until now, and this is an important professional opportunity for our school staff to be involved in for the benefit of our students and our wider community.
Students in the Berry Street pilot program achieved more than two years academic growth in one year following implementation of the model (based on AusVELs data, evaluated by the University of Melbourne).
The Berry Street Education Model is a progressive training course. It enables teachers to both increase engagement with challenging students and improve all students’ self-regulation, growth and academic achievement, through the use of best practice behavioural and emotional management strategies.
Many schools have taken part in BSEM training to address common concerns:
- Mainstream teaching approaches and pedagogies were failing to meet the needs of significant numbers of students
- Students were confronting diverse and complex challenges
- Teachers were facing significant professional and personal challenges in dealing with the diversity of student needs.
BSEM application in schools achieved the following short-term outcomes for students:
- Improved academic growth and social/emotional wellbeing
- Greater ability to maintain relationships
- Increased school attendance
- Decreased incident reports and suspensions
- Increased teacher knowledge and capacity to work with them.
Berry Street education model application in schools achieved the following long‑term outcomes for students:
- Improved self-esteem and capacity for healthy relationships
- Less anti-social behaviours for future success
- Improved high school completion and participation in post‑school training, education and employment.
We look forward to implementing the strategies of the Berry Street education model with our students to assist them achieving success at school and into the future, and are excited that this opportunity is being brought to a Kimberley school.
If you have any questions or concerns about the training or the change in term dates, please feel free to contact me at school.
Kind regards,
Yvette Clifton