Because before a student disengages, refuses school, shuts down, lashes out, withdraws, or disappears from learning, there is usually something happening underneath. Stress. Dysregulation. Distress. Disconnection. A lack of belonging. A growing sense that school no longer feels safe, manageable or meaningful.
And one of the clearest places this shows up is behaviour.
This is where the national conversation needs to get sharper.
Too often, behaviour is still being treated as something to manage, contain or correct before it is properly understood. But behaviour is often communication. It can be the first visible sign that something is not right. It can reflect overwhelm, unmet need, emotional load, relational rupture or a young person’s struggle to cope with pressures that adults have not yet fully seen.
The uncomfortable question for schools is this:
Are we truly lifting the lid on behaviour?
Or are we still responding to what is easiest to see, while missing what matters most?
Because if we are serious about addressing disengagement across Australia, we cannot keep having surface-level conversations about behaviour. We have to ask what sits beneath it. We have to ask whether our schools have the language, the confidence, the shared understanding and the systems to recognise these signals earlier. And we have to ask whether we are doing this well enough, consistently enough, and early enough — not in isolated classrooms, but across whole-school settings and at scale.
Hosted by Gemma McLean, and featuring Nikki Bonus, Andrew Pearn, Claudia Bou-melheim, Stephanie Giles, and Dr Rachel Baffsky this webinar brings together neuroscience, educator voice, practical school insight and re-engagement expertise to examine one of the most urgent issues in education right now: whether schools are truly equipped to understand the behaviour that sits on the path to disengagement.
This is not just a webinar about behaviour.
It is a webinar about what behaviour is trying to tell us before a child disconnects further.
Before attendance drops.
Before school refusal deepens.
Before a student slips through the cracks.
What this session will explore
why behaviour is often a communication of dysregulation, distress or disconnection
what may sit beneath the behaviours schools are working hardest to manage
how anxiety, overwhelm, emotional load and lack of belonging can show up through behaviour
why behaviour must be part of the national conversation about disengagement, attendance decline and school refusal
what it takes to move from reactive behaviour response to deeper, earlier and more relational practice
whether schools are building the shared language, visibility and whole-school response needed to do this well at scale
This session is for educators, school leaders and wellbeing teams who know that what is showing up in classrooms is often part of a much bigger story — and who want to be better equipped to recognise it, respond to it and stop the gap from widening.
Because if behaviour is one of the earliest warning signs that a young person is struggling, then schools cannot afford to keep responding at the surface. Not when disengagement is rising. Not when distress is growing. Not when so many students are telling us, in different ways, that something underneath is not okay.
Gems McLean is a passionate advocate for student wellbeing, equity, and the power of technology in education. As the VP Digital Sales at TTEC Digital, she is dedicated to ensuring no learner is left behind. Her journey has been anything but traditional. Despite being told she would never amount to anything and facing significant challenges in her school years—including an undiagnosed neurodivergence and growing up in a household affected by mental health struggles—she has built a career that proves otherwise. Without finishing high school or attending university, she has navigated a path that led her from the world of EdTech to Amazon Web Services and now at TTEC Digital. More than just a leader in edtech, she is a mentor, a champion for diversity and inclusion, and someone who deeply believes in the power of kindness and community. She sees people for who they are and strives to elevate, encourage, and empower them to recognise their own strengths. Her personal story fuels her mission: to ensure that no student slips through the cracks and that every young person is seen, supported, and given the opportunities they deserve. Her superpower? Using her lived experience to help others uncover theirs.
Stephanie Giles has been working in the area of Special Education and Learning Support for 15 years and holds a Bachelor of Education and Masters of Special Education. She is currently the Deputy Principal at Guildford West Public School, with her role focused primarily on wellbeing as well as on overseeing the school's Learning Support Team. This involves supporting students with social and emotional difficulties, mental health disorders, complex learning needs, diagnosed disabilities, learning difficulties and trauma. She has worked across special education and mainstream settings and is passionate about supporting student wellbeing and enhancing learning opportunities for all students in the areas of social and emotional learning.
Nikki Bonus is an Australian founder, educator, keynote speaker and wellbeing innovator who has spent more than two decades building purpose-driven work that helps people thrive. As the Founder and CEO of Life Skills GO, she is helping redefine how schools understand, measure and respond to student wellbeing — shifting education from outdated, reactive models to real-time, evidence-based support. Nikki brings over 20 years of personal and professional experience in the research, co-design, development and delivery of social-emotional literacy programs for students, schools and organisations. Through Life Skills GO, the EdTech SaaS platform she founded for K–12 education, she has dedicated her career to equipping schools with real-time student wellbeing data, metrics, insights and reports that enable earlier identification, more precise intervention, and stronger wellbeing and academic outcomes. At the heart of her work is a clear belief: no child should fall through the cracks because of the circumstances they were born into. Grounded in evidence, neuroscience and lived experience, Nikki's approach is built on the conviction that every child can thrive when they are met with the right environment, the right skills, the right support and the right tools at the right time.
I am an experienced leader with a background across curriculum, wellbeing and whole‑school improvement in multiple school settings. I am currently completing a Master of Educational Leadership, which continues to shape and strengthen my practice. Recently, I have led the development of a strategic Engagement Framework for students, staff, and parents, and co‑created a comprehensive Student Wellbeing Framework for our College. My work is centred on building consistent, relational systems that enhance belonging, emotional safety, and engagement across the whole school community.
Educator who has worked in both Government and Catholic education during the past 20 years, leading whole school improvement initiatives. Passionate about improving the wellbeing and learning outcomes of students and staff alike, by creating safe and supportive educational environments, that focus on the interconnection between Academia, Faith, Wellbeing and Extracurricular opportunities