PBL and Team Teach for Behaviour Support

Please note: this content was produced for schools and other educational settings in Australia and New Zealand.

Through our Team Teach training, we know that supporting students effectively is about far more than just behaviour management.

It’s about creating safe, supportive environments where all students, especially those with additional or complex needs, can thrive.

Many schools already employ a Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) / Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) approach, and Team Teach can work seamlessly alongside these to help meet the needs of all learners.

The synergy between Team Teach and PBL

PBL (also known internationally as School-Wide Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports, or SW-PBIS) is a whole-school framework designed to improve learning outcomes through proactive, evidence-based strategies.

Team Teach complements this by equipping staff with practical de-escalation and intervention skills, ensuring that responses to behaviour are always measured, appropriate, and individualised, and focused on building and maintaining strong relationships with students.

Both approaches share key values:

• • Understanding behaviour as communication rather than something to be ‘controlled’ or ‘fixed’

• • A focus on reducing restraint and restrictive practices by promoting positive, preventative strategies.

• • A commitment to safety, dignity, and respect for both students and staff.

• • Ensuring environments are engaging, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of all students.

Avoiding the enforcement of societal norms

One of the most critical aspects of implementing Team Teach effectively with a PBL approach is recognising that our goal is not to force students to adhere to societal norms that may not align with their individual needs.

Instead, we can create environments that respect and embrace neurodiversity, ensuring that our interventions support, rather than suppress, differences. This means continually reflecting on whether our expectations are fair, inclusive, and based on genuine student needs.