Our Story

Reboot arose in response to need

Evolving over 15 years in classrooms, homes and clinics throughout Australia, Reboot has been extensively trialled and tested. It is a highly practical neuroscience-based, trauma-transformative framework incorporating positive and developmental psychology, mindfulness and the science of behavioural change.

As we all share a common neuroarchitecture and daily set of needs, Reboot’s Whole-brain Framework and core tools address both well-being and learning engagement across all ages, from early childhood to staff development.

Reboot’s practical tools create positive behaviour change, calmer and more engaged schools and homes and happier young people. Reboot provides over 90 practical strategies, and over 700 support resources including student lessons, classroom templates, parenting and therapeutic strategies, word walls, lanyard cards, stickers, workbooks etc.

Reboot is designed to be localised to the unique circumstances of your community and children, and can be used school/organisation-wide, in classrooms and homes, for individual support, restorative justice and mediation, therapeutic interactions, intensive group work and parenting/out-of-home care.

Our Approach

Over the past 15 years of implementation with tens of 1000s of individuals, educators, parents, and hundreds of schools and organisations, we have discovered that empowering young people rests on 3 key pillars:

Reboot tools can be used with individual children, in homes, classrooms, whole schools or organisations.

Our Research Base

While each person is unique, as human beings we all share a common set of needs defined by our evolutionary history and the need to develop key life skills. When our developmental and daily needs are met, we feel whole and can effectively manage challenges, grow and learn. Reboot’s 7-Step Whole Brain Framework is adapted from Bruce Perry’s neuro-sequential model of therapeutics and the neuroscience work of Dan Siegel, Bessel van der Kolk, Allan Schore, Louise Cozolino, David Rock, Lisa Barrett, David Sousa, Joseph LeDeoux and others. While the brain is infinitely complex and integrated vertically and horizontally, Reboot uses the simplified neuro-metaphor of the 3 Brains to explain the causal-level brain-body state behind our thinking and behaviours and the special needs of young people impacted by trauma or diagnosed with special needs.

In healthy, secure relationships infants and children develop critical skills of health relationships formation and maintenance, self-regulation and self-management, problem-solving, and learning-to-learn skills. Reboot’s 21 Core Tools depict the processes and coaching support involved in the development of these learning and life skills and the soft skills recognised as essential for future success. These tools are drawn from the work of Albert Bandura, Roy Beumeister, John Bowlby, Louise Bomber, Brene Brown, Guy Claxton, Angela Duckworth, Charles Duhigg, Carolyn Dweck, Viktor Frankl, Barbara Fredrickson, Ross Greene, John Hattie, Robert Kegan, Lisa Lahey, Ken Robinson, Martin Seligman and others

Trialled and Tested

Reboot tools have been extensively trialled, modified and re-trialled across a range of communities. Reboot is currently a practice-based framework, based on evidence-based strategies and extensive neuroscience and trauma research. Reboot’s simplicity enables parents, educators, support services and other caregivers to use similar language and visual resources to support children and young people to develop critical skills and understanding. When taught and implemented consistently and in a developmentally appropriate way, Reboot has been shown to:

Create a shared language, understanding and expectations among adults and young people
Improve understanding and capacity to self-regulate (emotions and behaviour)
Improve problem solving skills and solutions-orientation
Reduce in minor and major incidents at school
Improve learning engagement
Increase adult knowledge and capacity to work with disengaged/defiant, trauma-impacted or struggling students
Increase school attendance
Decrease incident reports and suspensions
Increase staff clarity and compassion satisfaction (workplace satisfaction)
Improve staff collegiality and peer support

Our Rebooters are...

Self Aware and Self Responsible

Reboot tools help build self-awareness, emotional literacy and provide a bank of self-regulation strategies to manage emotions and stress and enable us to respond effectively to challenges. Using the 5 Faces and 3 Brains, Reboot links the body, feelings and emotions with the power of our minds through an understanding of our universal physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs and healthy ways to address them. Reboot encourages all to be grounded and centred and assume self-responsibility by “Starting with I” and owning our Power in all situations.

Compassionately Connected

Reboot encourages Power With or ‘win-win’ relationships built on empathy, social understanding, kindness, cooperation, gratitude and healthy boundaries. Our tools support people to form, maintain and repair relationships, firstly with themselves and then beyond. We encourage classrooms/families to work together in healthy webs with each person acknowledging their intrinsic self-worth and impact as a web creator and web keeper.

Strong and Joyful

In the midst of chaos, demands and uncertainty Rebooters remain calm, clear and strong. Rather than being thrown by the many influences and distractions in the world around them, they know and protect themselves and remain focused on what has meaning and purpose to them. Rebooters are also aware of their values, talents and interests and the specific self-management strategies they need to be happy and strong.

Tenacious Learners

Tenacious learners are passionate, excitable, curious and determined to understand and do! Reboot supports a learning apprenticeship by building meta-cognition and learning-how-to-learn skills. With a foundation of self-regulation, learning how-to-learn and problem-solving skills, Rebooters have the tools to face challenges with resilience and adapt as life-long learners. They are responsive to feedback and critique and seek input to better reflect on where they are at, what they need and where they want to go in the learning journey. When facing unpredictability and uncertainty, these skills help us all to keep our head up and explore the situation for what it is and not what we fear it might be. Reboot encourages us to seek answers using The Learning Pathway, Quadrants of Engagement and SERFing and build webs of resilience around ourselves to support one another to be strong and grounded in a rapidly changing world.

Innovative Agents of Change

Challenges are inevitable in life and present an opportunity for creativity and growth. And every one of us is a potential Agent of Change! Reboot provides a clear problem solving and decision-making tool, the Positive Change Highway that encourages all to seek Solutions to Speedbumps, using their Strategies to embrace opportunities and trial possible solutions. With repetition problem-solving builds courage and the confidence to take greater risks to learn and value the impact of their contributions. Reboot encourages agency, tenacity, curiosity, healthy help seeking behaviours and collaboration.

Courageous Contributors

Our world needs positive change and solutions across a range of fields. Reboot’s tools encourage each person to identify My Why? and follow their passion to make a meaningful contribution using their strong problem-solving and learning skills. Confident and capable in their self-expression, clear on where they stand and actively engaged in their learning, Reboot encourages all learners to express their talents and passions as a unique contribution to the worlds that they live in.

Meaningful Communicators

Great communication isn’t flashy or just filing dead air. Rebooters understand the power of meaningful, clear and well-expressed ideas, whether it be spoken, visual, digital or written in form. They have the confidence and self-belief to stand their ground and articulately formulate their message through a range of modes. Employing kindness and empathy they can then listen, reflect and respond in ways that contribute great value.

Our story