At our school we believe a it should be a 'Good Place to be'. Creating an environment in which learners are likely to be happy and able to satisfy their basic needs is our aim.
To maximise our capability for achieving desired learner outcomes, we believe we need to provide a learning environment that is likely to be needs-satisfying for all learners. Basic needs include both physical and psychological needs.
Basic needs
Physical
Psychological
- Love and belonging
- Personal power
- Freedom
- Fun and enjoyment
When providing a safe supportive environment for children, we not only ensure that the conditions for learners to address their physical needs are provided, we also consider the importance of the learners' being able to address their psychological needs.
All children need to feel safe and comfortable. All children also need a sense that they belong, need to feel worthwhile and valued, need to feel they are listened to and have some choice and of course need to enjoy life.
We know if we hear comments about school such as:
- 'No-one cares about you'
- 'They make you do things you don't want to do'
- 'No-one listens to you'
- 'It's boring. It's no fun'
that we need to reconsider just how needs-satisfying the classroom is for that learner.
Teachers are encouraged to regularly evaluate if their classroom environments are likely to be needs-satisfying for all the learners in their care.