Facility provides extra help

A new purpose-built education facility is assisting disengaged students from the Hedland area achieve stronger results both in and outside of the classroom.

The Pilbara Secondary Behaviour Centre, a stand-alone facility located on the grounds of Hedland Senior High School, officially opened last week but has been up and running for more than six months.

PSBC principal Katie Hosking said the centre helped students who weren’t necessarily ill-behaved but had fallen behind in mainstream classrooms.

With class sizes no larger than 15 children at any given time, the higher teacher-to-student ratio in the centre allows problems to be heeded more efficiently.

Ms Hosking said no PSBC student had a set timetable to return to mainstream schooling and each was assessed on an individual basis.

“Each student is on an individual education program as well as an individual behaviour program,” she said. “We slowly integrate them back in when they’re conformable, when they’re happy. It might be for a period of a month, a school term or longer depending on the needs of the student.”

In addition to assisting students within the perimeter of the PSBC, centre staff also conduct visits other Hedland schools to help regular teachers in dealing with behavioural issues.

Hedland SHS principal John Burke said students received a “better deal educationally” by being involved in the centre.

He said it was important to understand students in the centre were not ‘bad’ kids but just needed a helping hand.

Picture by Alex Massey: Pilbara Secondary Behaviour Centre students Karl Beswick and Aiden Perry with teacher Amy Wolf

“Its behaviour in general sense. At the end of the day it’s the same outcome that we would want for kids at any school, that is, they become positive contributors to the community in general,” Mr Burke sai