Written by Alicia Coheri, Amba Press.
I met Kelly Oldfield a few years ago at the National Education Summit here in Melbourne. She was on the floor talking with educators about behaviour support, the way she does, with that mix of warmth and straight talking honesty that makes people stop and actually listen. I remember thinking, this woman needs to write a book.
So I told her. And then I saw her again the following year, at the same event, and I told her again. This became a bit of a running joke between us. Every year I would find her at the Summit and every year I would say some version of, so, have you started that book yet? Most years she just laughed and changed the subject.
Early this year, she finally said yes. What followed was months of writing, drawing on years of hands on work across early years, schools and OSHC settings, and the result is Behaviour Is Not the Whole Story: A practical guide to behaviour support across education and care.
It is exactly the book I hoped she would write. When challenging behaviour shows up in a classroom, an early years room or a care setting, it tends to grab all the attention. But what you can see on the surface is rarely the whole picture. Kelly’s book asks readers to look wider, at regulation, communication, environment, adult responses and the systems sitting underneath it all.
This is not a book of quick fixes. It is full of practical tools, reflection prompts, real world scenarios and ready to use frameworks, but the real value is in the shift it asks educators and leaders to make. Instead of reacting to behaviour in isolation, Kelly makes the case for strengthening the adults, environments and systems around young people, because that is where lasting change actually comes from.
As an educational publisher, I get to work with a lot of people doing important work in this space. Every so often a book comes along that I know is going to genuinely shift how people think and practice, not just add another title to the shelf. This is one of those books.
Behaviour Is Not the Whole Story launches in Perth next month, and I am proud to also be launching it here in Melbourne at the National Education Summit, at the Amba Press Book Nook. If you work with children or young people in any capacity, I would encourage you to come along, meet Kelly, and pick up a copy.
Congratulations Kelly. I am so glad I never stopped asking.
Meet Kelly at the Book Nook on Friday, 4 September 2026 at 1pm! Purchase a copy of her book on the day, or bring along your own copy to have it personally signed https://nationaleducationsummit.com.au/book-nook