[Text on screen reads, ‘We recognise the Ongoing Custodians of the land and waterways where we work and live. We pay respect to Elders past and present as ongoing teachers of knowledge, songlines and stories. We strive to ensure every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learner in NSW achieve their potential through education.’]

Phoebe Nichols – Assistant Principal, Blue Haven Public School

At Blue Haven Public School, RRE wasn't something that we added on because it responded directly to the needs of our students and community. We actually realised that RRE aligned with what we were already doing, like every day, as best practice. Within our School Excellence Plan, we've embedded it within Strategic Direction 2, Equity and empowerment.

[Screen shows a teacher presenting a slide about assertive, aggressive and passive voice communication styles and a PDHPE classroom norms poster.]

Dale Edwards – Principal, Blue Haven Public School

School leadership is absolutely vital in the success of any initiative. In RRE, it's been a really key player. What we need to do as leaders is we need to show the importance of things and convey that message. Getting in together and looking at the data and the evidence with your teachers, with your teams, and collaborating really closely.

One of the things that we've done really well in this space is we've had a core team that have been able to lead this. There are many, many layers to making sure that it's effectively implemented and is going to continue. Should any of us step out of the school, we know that it's going to continue because those structures that we've put in place are there and they're utilised all the time.

[Screen shows leaders collaborating and school priority posters.]

Luke Fowler – Deputy Principal, Blue Haven Public School

Our behaviour strategy is really tight. It is a multilayered approach, one that is responding to behaviour, and one that is proactively teaching behaviour. What RRE has done in that space, it has come in and wrapped around our behaviour and wellbeing strategy, and it now forms, I suppose, the blanket that keeps behaviour and wellbeing safe here at school.

It guides us in our decision-making strategically. It supports teachers to be consistent and persistent with our language in the classroom and on the playground.

[Screen shows teachers interacting with students.]

Dale

And to build on that, I think there is a component now where kids are more confident to call that out with each other. That's the really beautiful space, in that it no longer just sits with us. They own it as well.

[Screen shows teachers interacting with students.]

Luke

I think that's been really exciting for us to see that, wow, our children get this and are advocating for this right across the school, but are also advocating for it in community.

Phoebe

I think our consistency has come from being really, really strategic. We've then invested in high-impact professional learning and a lot of collaboration within that core RRE team and the extended RRE team, bringing on board extra teachers.

Our initiatives that we've implemented are things like our Respect Rangers, as well as our strategic staffing of additional roles. So we've created an Anti-Bullying Contact Officer, or an ABCO, similar to an Anti-Racism Contact Officer, or an ARCO, here at school.

[Screen shows leaders collaborating and interacting with each other.]

Mel Graef – Assistant Principal, Blue Haven Public School

RRE has made a noticeable difference with students. We went through all of the first set of lessons, but the one that stood out the most was the gender stereotyping, where they had these preconceived notions of colours and activities and sports were just gender specific and it was really beautiful that by the end of the lesson, they were like, ‘Yeah, boys can do gymnastics and girls can play football, and the colours aren't just for certain genders.’

We now know that it's not a standalone program, and we integrate RRE into lots of different lessons, through Mathematics, through our questioning, through texts that we choose in English that have a gender lens to it, through sporting activities where we're encouraging children to try something different and something new, through to, especially in Kindergarten, in developmental play.

So, we make sure that we have that interwoven into our daily practice, it's not just in our RRE lessons.

[Screen shows teachers interacting with students.]

Jordyn Smith – Learning and Support Teacher, Blue Haven Public School

The changes that I've noticed in student behaviour and peer relationship is definitely because of our initiatives. We implemented our classroom Respect Rangers and playground Respect Rangers, and I think having both roles plays a huge part in the effectiveness around behaviour and peer connections.

Our playground Respect Rangers are looking out for kindness, respect, people that are including others, and they are also leading social skill small games, helping those interactions between any age group between K to 6.

[Screen shows slides with Respect Rangers information, students interacting with activities on the smartboard and whiteboard and playground Respect Rangers initiating games with students across K–6.]

Brooklyn – student, Blue Haven Public School

We've learned how to set boundaries, like personal space and like a personal bubble, and speaking clear and kind, like saying ‘Stop’ in a strong but not aggressive voice. And it made us more confident to speak up respectfully.

Adelaide – student, Blue Haven Public School

The Respect Rangers have made a difference by teaching PBL lessons in class. And the Respect Rangers that have been doing break activities make the playground feel more inclusive because there are more things to do.

Zachary – student, Blue Haven Public School

I think there's things that we should talk about in class.

We should talk about online gaming because that's where most people are talking to other people, and usually it's people that they don't know, so they should learn to be more respectful. I'd also like to learn more about gender stereotypes, so we don't accidentally enforce it or use it.

Laila – student, Blue Haven Public School

RRE isn't just about being kind. It's about making everybody feel respected, understood, and being able to know who their trusted adults are for when they need help.

Phoebe

I think that's been most powerful for me, is seeing my own students in the classroom sort of have those real light bulb ‘aha’ moments of going, ‘Oh, OK, so what I thought was normal perhaps isn't within those parameters.’ And being able to educate them on what is abuse, what's boundaries, what is consent and what everyone has a right to, in particular.

[Screen shows a teacher interacting with students in the classroom.]

Luke

RRE is right for us and the work that needed to be done in, I guess, closing a gap and showing staff, students and families that respect is a non-negotiable. RRE really gave us a strong metalanguage. So thinking of a tree, the trunk is RRE now for us. The roots is our School Excellence Plan and the ground we are on here at Blue Haven Public School. And the branches are our staff, are our SLSOs, are our team here at school, and the leaves are our students and families. And together we unify to go, this is what matters most. This is why it matters. And each part of that tree is an important part of the Blue Haven Public School ecosystem, and RRE is the thing that holds it all together.

[End of transcript]