The aims of the WAGS programs

- Habits and Behaviours of Good Leaders
- Focusing on the positive
- Giving others what they need in order to learn
- Releasing pressure in order to allow learning
- Understanding Others (Empathy)
- Reading personality cues
- Non-verbal communication
- Valuing difference
- The Nature of Motivation
- Setting goals based on knowing what you need
- Deciphering what motivates different personality types
- The power of persuasion over force
- Emotional Toolkit
- Self-regulation
- Releasing pent-up feelings and dealing with grief
- Creating safe spaces to express emotions
- Untangling behaviours from feelings, in self and others (‘Why do I act the way I do?’)
How WAGS achieves its aims
- ‘Active’ Experiential learning
- Immediate feedback to social cues
- Constant process of reflection, discussion, practice & evaluation
- Flexible and non-confrontational learning spaces
- Participants have active control over their engagement with activities and are encouraged to interpret frameworks creatively
- Sessions take place on school grounds to normalise and familiarise disengaged students with their learning environment
- Unique and effective ‘engagement hook’
- Dogs can be included and utilised in a range of different activities and scenarios
- Participants enter agreements rather than follow rules