Latest news with #Ingleburn
The Guardian
16-06-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
‘A promising, practical solution': Sydney's new schools-based therapy changes how teachers and parents deal with bullying
When children began at Ingleburn public school in south-west Sydney with disruptive behaviour, parents often laid blame with the teachers and their educating style. Then the school opened a world-first behavioural clinic that brought families into the school grounds – with 'dramatic results', according to the school's principal, Graeme Green. He says that after 25 years on the job seeing many programs with varying results, 'I've never seen such a calm, beautiful school operating'. 'I believe that every area should have a hub,' he says. Late in May, the federal government opened submissions for a review into bullying at Australian schools, noting its 'significant detrimental impacts' on student mental health and wellbeing, including attendance, engagement and learning outcomes. According to the Australian Council for Educational Research (Acer), Australia's disciplinary climate – how often disruptive behaviour means students miss out on learning opportunities – is significantly worse than the OECD average. Exposure to bullying is higher in Australian classrooms (which scored -0.2) than all comparison countries (average 0.04), except Latvia. The review aims to develop a nationally consistent response to the issue. But some schools are already implementing highly effective behaviour programs, which they say with funding could be replicated at a larger scale. The Ingleburn hub was developed by Eva Kimonis, a clinical psychologist and UNSW professor, to help manage aggressive and disruptive student behaviour using an enhanced version of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT). Students are referred via school-wide screening, teacher referral or their transition to school program. Instead of a therapist working in a room with a child, they coach parents from behind a one-way mirror using a in-ear device. Over 21 weeks, parents receive intensive training to implement strategies to address disruption. Teachers are also involved, embedding the strategies taught in the clinic into the classroom. The program's first trial worked with 69 prep and year 1 students in south-west Sydney, running across 17 schools, through two fixed on-site clinics. Kimonis says 91% of children who had shown disruptive, aggressive or destructive behaviour afterwards showed a return to typical behaviour levels. She recently received federal funding to scale up the program to more schools and regions over the next two years. 'Schools are telling us loud and clear: student behaviour is deteriorating, and teachers are struggling to cope,' Kimonis says. 'School PCIT offers a promising, practical solution to a growing crisis.' She says PCIT, which focuses on children aged two to seven, works as an 'innovative early intervention'. Green's clinic, the first to open in mid-2019, was built using the school's own funding. Since then, students from six local schools and kindergartens in the area have attended sessions on-site. 'When a child comes in with issues, we want to work with the parent,' Green says. 'Sometimes parents can think [a student's behaviour] might be the school's fault, but PCIT brings us all together. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'The biggest plus for me is the relationship with the community … a parent who might have been thinking 'what's the school doing?' is now working with us.' Melissa Anderson, a psychologist and PCIT clinician at Ingleburn, says PCIT is one of the most effective programs for managing emotional and behavioural problems in young children. Developed in the 1970s by American professor Sheila Eyberg, it did not emerge in Australia until the early 2000s. More than 20 clinics now operate nationwide. What Kimonis's approach has done differently – and for the first time – is deliver the program at school. 'With PCIT in a school setting, we can also involve the teachers and teach them some of these skills to use with the kids.' It's 'a whole-systems approach' that gives kids much-needed consistency, Anderson says. Káti Gapaillard, the CEO of Australian charity The Fathering Project, says aggressive behaviour often starts before school – before children have the tools to regulate their emotions. The charity's research has found children whose fathers use consistent, warm parenting styles show fewer emotional and behavioural problems. Supporting fathers from the early days of parenting, Gapaillard says, '[creates] ripple effects that reduce bullying and improve wellbeing across whole communities'. Research suggests bullying arises from the complexity of children's relationships, including within the school, but families play an especially important role. So too do personal characteristics – including gender. While physical bullying is more common among boys, girls are more likely to experience cyberbullying. Cliche or not, the saying 'It takes a village to raise a child' rings true for educators. The president and executive director of the Australian Secondary Principals' Association (Aspa), Andy Mison, has been urging governments to better engage teachers and principals in policy design – and for a broader community approach. 'Schools want to improve,' Mison says, 'and we want to do the best job we can, but we can't do it alone.' On Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, the 'village' has come together to fund evidence-based programs in nine local schools with low rankings on the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage. The cluster of schools has been supported by the Mornington Peninsula Foundation for around a decade to train teachers in evidence-based instruction and intervention, including phonics – years before it was rolled out in curriculums. This year, participating school Western Port Secondary College (WPSC) started using Dr Tim McDonald's Classroom Mastery program to inform classroom behaviour management. The intervention, funded by more than 200 individuals, families and trusts, focuses on scripted routines and predictability in the classroom to reduce students' cognitive load so they are more free to learn. For instance, the bell is a signal for the teacher, not students. They wait to be told to stand behind their chair, tidy their area and check there's no rubbish on the floor, and put their chairs up before being dismissed row by row. If the routines aren't working and the class is misbehaving, they are taken outside, have the purpose of the teacher's script explained to them, and start again – sometimes multiple times. WPSC's principal, Chris Quinn, says during the program's short timeframe, disruptions have drastically reduced. 'When the teacher owns their space and owns the entry, there's an increase in learning time. And that's what we've seen,' he says. Students, especially senior students, initially saw the program as 'babyish', he says. 'But they've actually found that it's really benefited them, because they just know exactly what's going to happen.' For Quinn, behaviour management is fundamentally about politeness. 'Behaviour is something that's not innate, it's learned,' he says. 'If we want young people to learn something, then we've got to model it. When exiting the classroom, we see students and teachers thanking each other at the door … rather than putting on a PowerPoint lesson on respect, which can often go in one ear and out the other … it's actually the lived experience of what it looks like.'
Daily Mail
24-05-2025
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Major update after young dad Jayden Harwood went missing in Sydney's southwest
A man's body has been located following an extensive search of bushland in Sydney's southwest today. Father-of-two Jayden Harwood, 20, disappeared on March 1 while visiting family in Ingleburn, in Sydney 's south-west, with his girlfriend Jade Holmes and their baby. About 11.45am on Saturday police – with assistance from NSW State Emergency Service – were conducting a land search in bushland near the Ingleburn area as part of a search for the missing man. During the search the remains of a man suspected to be that of the 20-year-old were located, though the identity has not been confirmed. Detectives have established a crime scene and commenced Strike Force Devon to investigate the incident. Police said the remains will undergo a post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Heartbreaking find during search
Police have launched an investigation after a man's body was found in bushland in southwestern Sydney as part of a three-month search for a 20-year-old who went missing from Ingleburn. In March, police began investigating after Jayden Harwood, 20, went missing and launched a public appeal for information. His mother previously told Nine News that the father-of-two was last seen on Sackville Street on March 1 after staying at his girlfriend's parents' house. His mother, Alanai-Brie Wallace, said that in her family's final conversation with him, he said that he had been attacked and was trying to get back to his girlfriend's partners' home. 'I need my son back, I need my baby back,' Ms Wallace told Nine News earlier this month. 'I need to know what's happened, why he's not here.' On Saturday morning, police and SES found a man's body while searching bushland near Ingleburn. 'During the search the remains of a man suspected to be that of the 20-year-old were located,' NSW Police said in a statement. Police are yet to positively identify the man and are attempting to determine the cause of death. Police have launched Strike Force Devon to investigate the incident.
News.com.au
24-05-2025
- News.com.au
Heartbreaking find in search for missing Sydney dad
Police have launched an investigation after a man's body was found in bushland in southwestern Sydney as part of a three-month search for a 20-year-old who went missing from Ingleburn. In March, police began investigating after Jayden Harwood, 20, went missing and launched a public appeal for information. His mother previously told Nine News that the father-of-two was last seen on Sackville Street on March 1 after staying at his girlfriend's parents' house. His mother, Alanai-Brie Wallace, said that in her family's final conversation with him, he said that he had been attacked and was trying to get back to his girlfriend's partners' home. 'I need my son back, I need my baby back,' Ms Wallace told Nine News earlier this month. 'I need to know what's happened, why he's not here.' On Saturday morning, police and SES found a man's body while searching bushland near Ingleburn. 'During the search the remains of a man suspected to be that of the 20-year-old were located,' NSW Police said in a statement. Police are yet to positively identify the man and are attempting to determine the cause of death. Police have launched Strike Force Devon to investigate the incident.
Daily Mail
18-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Sinister twist emerges into the mysterious disappearance of a young dad who's been missing for two months - as his distraught family issues an emotional plea
The mum of a young man who vanished without a trace is desperate for answers amid fears he may have met foul play. Father-of-two Jayden Harwood, 20, disappeared after he went for a walk while visiting his girlfriend's family in Ingleburn, in Sydney 's south-west on March 1. Witnesses claim he was going door to door begging for help before borrowing a phone to make a chilling final phone call to his mum and stepdad to say he had been attacked and needed directions back to his girlfriend's family home. Almost 11 weeks on, there has been no sign of or contact from Mr Harwood since, despite extensive searches of surrounding streets and bushland. NSW Police re-issued a public appeal regarding Mr Harwood's disappearance last Thursday. It's understood detectives are now treating his disappearance as suspicious and have spoken to several 'persons of interest', Nine News reported. His mum Alana Wallace believes someone knows what happened to her son, who missed his daughter's first birthday on Sunday. 'I need my son back, I need my baby back,' she said as she fought back tears. Mr Harwood (pictured right with his girlfriend) was last seen in Ingleburn, in Sydney's south-west on March 1 while visiting his girlfriend's family 'I need to know what's happened, why he's not here.' Mr Harwood and his girlfriend had travelled from Newcastle to Sydney at the time of his disappearance. His bank accounts remain untouched and his phone is switched off. 'If you have anything big, small, short or tall, please, please come forward,' his mother urged. 'I just want my beautiful boy home.' Strangers in Sydney's south-west haven't given up the search and spend their weekends putting up posters and doorknocking. 'He's not just a missing person's poster to me,' local Brittany Wells said. 'He's a real person, he's got family that love him, children that love him, and he's wanted and needed.' Ms Wallace previously told Daily Mail Australia she had put up her car as a reward in a desperate bid to find her son. The concerned mum revealed how she received a disturbing phone call after her son went on a walk alone while visiting family with his girlfriend. 'It was a young man and his mum on the phone at first because Jayden had knocked on their door asking for help,' Ms Wallace told Daily Mail Australia. 'He was confused and he told us he had been assaulted and was hurt and didn't know how to get back to Jade's parents' house. 'That was the last contact ever made. He didn't say what exactly had happened or who had done it - he was really disoriented.' Mr Harwood is described as Caucasian, 165cm tall, medium build, with short brown hair. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with black logo across the chest, black shorts and dark coloured sneakers. The young father is known to frequent the Ingleburn, Newcastle and Toronto areas and gets around via public transport.
