ABSTRACT
The operational Learning & Behaviour Unit (L&BU) services, some consisting of merely three staff, are spread across the South Australian metropolitan area, with two regional/country centres. In Australia, too, 'alternative' has been adopted in at least one study to describe a range of responses to violence and anti-social behaviour at school. Legislation, such as the Australian Disability Discrimination Act and the Disabilities Standards for Education, compels attention to the educational needs of a wide range of students who display challenging behaviours. Although some of the L&BU services are designated short-term, they differ significantly from ephemeral short-term or intermittent 'pull-out' programmes and minimise the contagion risks associated with combining students with challenging behaviours. The multi-service L&BU achieves broad operational consistency through its overarching purpose of restorative education. In general, the Unit manages student violence by diagnostically profiling key developmental domains and designing personalised wellbeing programmes, delivered in tandem with appropriately calibrated, accessible, and supported academic programmes.
