Behaviour
Management policy
Aim of policy
To
clearly show how we manage behaviour of the children in our care. This policy aims to meet the requirements of OFSTED, Every Child
Matters (2003) Early Years Foundation Stage (2012) and the Childcare Act 2006
with regard to behaviour management. It
will promote, encourage, reinforce and reward positive behaviour, enabling
children to develop a sense of appropriate behaviour and a positive self-image.
Points to consider
Each
child is different and will respond to different methods of behaviour
management. The child’s key person can support other practitioners in managing behaviour
by giving them information about the child.
Castle Daycare and Preschool
aims to achieve this by:
- Never physically punishing a child.
- Having a consistent approach to behaviour management and develop effective strategies
using positive methods appropriate to the individual child.
- Promoting good
behaviour at all times through praise and positive reinforcement.
- Practitioner’s
role modelling good behaviour and language.
- Ensuing that all staff, students and anyone
else working with the children is aware of how good behaviour is promoted
and negative behaviour is addressed.
- Helping the children to understand the
consequences of negative behaviour.
- Helping children to challenge bullying,
harassment and name calling.
- Encouraging the children to be responsible
through activities such as tidying up and creating their own rules.
- Reassuring children that they are valued
even if their behaviour is sometimes unacceptable.
- Providing interesting, stimulating and fun
activities, children who are not engaged in activities can become bored
and misbehave.
- Providing adequate care routines. Children
who are hungry or tired can misbehave.
Inappropriate behaviour almost invariably occurs
when a child’s fundamental needs are frustrated. The staff should always consider what the
child’s needs are and how they can best be met in the Nursery.
Nursery staff will act as appropriate role models
and should encourage the development of a positive self-image in the
child.
In order to function acceptably, children need to
feel valued and accepted in a group – to feel secure with the adults caring for
them and with the routine of the nursery.
Our
staff will
work with the children to agree acceptable boundaries. Young children are still very egocentric and
much of what society deems desirable, e.g. politeness, honesty, consideration
for others, will be recognised and understood through expert role modelling.
We need children to understand what is required of
them and why. Staff at our nurseries
need to give consistent messages and guidelines for acceptable behaviour.
Positive methods are more effective than negative ones in
shaping the behaviour of children.
Rewards and distractions are preferable to punishment. Children need to know that despite their
inappropriate behaviour we still ‘love’ them.
It is the behaviour we dislike, not the child. Nursery staff should praise a child whenever
they can. They should give individual
time and attention to the child.
Staff should encourage children to talk over a problem,
anticipate and remove potential problems or re-direct them. Staff should value the tangible contributions
that the child offers, including drawings and pictures brought from home. Each child should be given the opportunity to
‘shine’ at a particular activity or skill.
Children should know that staff like their family. Staff should develop partnerships with
parents and ensure that parents are fully informed about support and the
policies and strategies used for managing unacceptable behaviour.
Nursery staff should be consistent in their treatment of
children; there should be fairness in access to toys, etc. The same treatment should apply for both the
individual and the group. The rewards
given should be consistent – in praise for actions, favours and privileges. Staff should remember to reward children when
they are good.
The staff should be aware of making emotional moral
judgements. We believe if a child is
labelled; there is a danger of negative expectation.
Account must be taken in each case of the age and stage of
the child’s development and staff should modify their expectations in light of
the child’s level of maturity and ability.
Goals should be specified precisely in language everyone, including the
child, can understand. They should be
broken down into small steps, starting with what the child can be relied upon
to achieve and building up slowly.
If sanctions are carried out, they should be appropriate –
they should also be given at the time of the inappropriate behaviour, be
relevant and fair. Never issue a warning
or condition that is unrealistic – be prepared to carry it through.
Methods of dealing with unacceptable behaviour
Distraction
To avoid potential unacceptable behaviour – divert the
child’s attention. Offer the child
something more attractive and positive to do – if possible, let them ‘help’ you
to do something. This may be
particularly useful with young children who do not understand verbal reasoning.
Individual attention
Physically removing the child from the situation can stop
undesirable behaviour by giving the child time to stop and think away from the
problem, object or situation. If a child
needs to be removed from a group activity, the time spent outside the group
gives them a chance to see what they are missing. Such time out should be brief but
immediate. The child should not be
removed from the room unless this sanction has not worked.
Reprimand initially should be a private affair between the
member of staff and child. In the
nursery, staff members need to have established the meaning of talking to the
child ‘in a stern voice’ – this is not
shouting.
Staff should remember that there is a need to ‘build a warm
bridge’ again as soon as possible – conflicts should never linger.
Removing the object
This can work in the same way as taking the child away but an
alternative activity should be offered.
Physical restraint
This can help with tantrums where a child is in danger of
hurting themselves. If physical
intervention is seen as appropriate, ensure that the intervention is achieved
with minimum force and for minimum time.
(As per safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare as part of the statutory
framework for The Early Years Foundation Stage). Any time physical restraint is
used, an incident form must be completed.
Biting behaviour must be recorded in the Incident Book but
staff should not disclose the name of the biter when talking to the parents of
the bitten child. See the biting policy
In this setting the Behaviour Management officer is
Caroline Laidlaw
Any child presenting difficult behaviour on a regular basis should
become the subject for close observation.
Staff should identify:
·
The nature of the behaviour
·
Factors or circumstances which trigger it
·
Timing – when and for how long
·
People involved
·
How does it end
The observations need to be written and examined for
identifiable patterns and then decisions made about future handling. Such written observations can provide
objective evidence in discussion with parents and other professionals.
An incident book should be kept in the nursery to record
incidences of severe inappropriate behaviour, i.e. behaviour that causes injury
to another child.
Staff should share their anxieties with others and remember
that they are only human and may need time out too. It is not a sign of personal failure to ask
for help and advice; it is a sign of maturity, intelligence and understanding.
Staff should always take time to stand back from situations
and observe.
Never physically punish a child. A common sense guideline is that staff should
only physically remove a child from a situation if they are at physical risk of
endangering themselves or the safety of others.
SMACKING,
BITING OR SHAKING OF CHILDREN IN THE NURSERY IS FORBIDDEN
Remember that corporal punishment (smacking, biting, and
shaking) is illegal, as is depriving a child of food or drink or forcing a
child to consume it.
In addition, staff must not use practices that humiliate or
frighten children such as poking fun, sarcasm, shouting, using derogatory
language, verbal or physical threats or taunts.
Violence or abuse of a child by a staff member will result in
instant suspension pending a full investigation which will lead to dismissal if
proved to be valid.
Any programme of behaviour management needs to be
continuously evaluated.
There are no hard and fast rules or answers to dealing with
problem behaviour – what may be an answer for one child’s individual needs may
not be suitable for another.
