EllergreenNursery School and Childcare Centre Behaviour Management Policy

Behaviour Management Policy

Aim:
To establish an enabling learning environment that promotes positive behaviours and relationships, where children and adults treat each other with care and respect.
The developmental expectations for behaviour taken from the EYFS guidance are:
  • Children are usually soothed by warm and consistent responses from familiar adults.
  • They begin to adapt to care giving routines.
  • They respond to a small number of boundaries, with encouragement and support.
  • Children begin to learn that some things are theirs, some things are shared, and some things belong to other people.
  • They are aware that some actions can hurt or harm others.
  • They begin to accept the needs of others, with support.
  • Children show care and concern for others, for living things and the environment.
  • They show confidence and the ability to stand up for own rights.
  • They have awareness of the boundaries set and of behavioural expectations in the setting.
  • Children understand what is right, what is wrong, and why.
  • They consider the consequences of their words and actions.
Effective practice to encourage this development taken from the EYFS guidance:
Find out as much as you can from parents/carers about young babies before they join the setting, so that the routines you follow are familiar and comforting.
Demonstrate clear and consistent boundaries and reasonable yet challenging expectations.
Reduce incidents of frustration and conflict by keeping routines flexible so that young children can pursue their interests.
Help children to understand their rights to be kept safe by others, and encourage them to talk about ways to avoid harming or hurting others.
Share with parents/carers the rationale of boundaries and expectations to maintain a joint approach.
Demonstrate concern and respect for others, living thingsand the environment.
Be alert to injustices and let children see that they are addressed and resolved.
Ensure that children have opportunities to identify and discuss boundaries, so that they understand why they are there and what they are intended to achieve.
Help children’s understanding of what is right and wrong by explaining why it is wrong to hurt somebody, or why it is acceptable to take a second piece of fruit after everybody else has had some.
Involve children in identifying issues and finding solutions.
Requirements for our setting:
  • a safe and secure environment where all children and adults are valued,
  • positive behaviour management techniques and praise to underpin all our strategies in the early years,
  • all individuals to feel respected and included, regardless of gender, race, religion, ethnicity, background, family or social circumstances,
  • children to be free from judgements
  • an effective learning environment that stimulates, motivates and engages all children,
  • team members to be confident to pre-empt behaviour problems to limit their occurrence,
  • an understanding from practitioners that these are the first steps in very young children’s learning, and that they will make mistakes with learning behaviour, as with all other aspects of learning. We need to respond appropriately to their mistakes, allowing them a safe place to make them without humiliation
  • adequate supervision and interaction with children at all times to limit stressful situations,
  • good management and support to ensure practitioners are able to manage situations to the best of their ability,
  • adults to be effective role models - being kind, tolerant, gentle, patient, supportive and understanding.
To achieve these outcomes we need to:
  • give children positive, clear instructions,
  • speak in a calm manner, and not raise our voice
  • praise children, making praise explicit, ensuring children who are behaving appropriately receive the attention they deserve, using praise of others to motivate those who are having difficulty,
  • not label children,
  • be discreet and limit other children and adults over-hearing any interactions addressing behaviour,
  • engage and involve children positively in activities that they will readily enjoy to avoid confrontation and boredom,
  • provide a stimulating environment where children can make their own decisions and choices,
  • discuss concerns about any persistent behaviour problems with SENs link person / Behavior Management Co-ordinator, but never openly discuss concerns in front of the child or other children
When a child’s behaviour is causing concern, rather than assume the problems are within the child, we need to look at the whole setting and the adults within it. We need to focus on the learning environment and look at different ways in which this can be adapted to introduce, teach and reinforce skills. Adults play a crucial role in helping children to feel stimulated, recognised and emotionally secure.
Children learn about people, relationships and ways of being with each other from the adults around them – adults model social and emotional skills for the children by:
  • How they speak to each other, to individual children and to groups of children;
  • The way they treat each other when things go wrong;
  • Their body language;
  • Their facial expression.
Practitioners create the emotional ‘climate’ in the setting and influence and shape the personal, social and emotional development of the children in their care. Every child will have a unique life experience which shapes the way that they have grown and developed. Every child’s response to a situation will be unique to them as a result of their experiences and their own abilities and skills. Sometimes, these responses or behaviours seem inappropriate, however an understanding of how each child is unique and how they learn and develop gives practitioners the opportunity to use this knowledge to support and extend children’s personal, social and emotional development.
Key Person
The keyperson has particular responsibility for working with a small number of children and families, supporting effective communication. This is vital when dealing with areas of difficulty. Using the key person approach enables practitioners to meet the needs of each child in their care and respond sensitively to their feelings, ideas and behaviour.
Close working with between practitioners and parents is vital for the identification of children’s learning needs and to ensure a quick response to any areas of difficulty.
Whole Centre strategies for supporting children with challenging behaviour
Strategy 1. Give three verbal indications to the child that their behaviour is not acceptable - Firstly - quietly discuss it with the child, Secondly - remind them again and Thirdly - indicate through your tone of voice.
Strategy 2. Remove the child to another activity within the room - give the child a reason for doing so. Staff should give time to the situation and be at the child's eye level.
Strategy 3. Provide 'time-out' for the child in their own room. A member of staff should sit with the child but with no verbal communictaion i.e. 1 - 3 minutes (depending on the child) for the child to reflect on their behaviour or to give the child time to regain control of his/her emotions. After the ‘time-out’ period briefly discuss why the child was in ‘time-out’ and then positively ask the child what they would like to do next to have fun.
Certain types of challenging behaviour may require strategy 3, missing strategies 1 and 2.
Strategy 4. If the child continues to use challenging behaviour – link with SENs Co-ordinator for support. Staff will work closely with parents/carers. Parents/Carers will be informed of their child’s behaviour in the setting. Staff will compile detailed observations of the child and try to pin point if there is a pattern in behaviour and trigger points in the daily routine. Outside Agencies may also be consulted with the permission from the parents/carers for individualised behaviour support.
Procedure if a child’s behaviour is causing concern:
  1. The Keyperson/SENCO and/or parent/carer identify a behaviour concern and staff will implement a graduated response through observing the child closely, planning appropriate experiences to support the children, review progress after a designated time and then take further action if necessary.
  2. If no improvement, inform parents/carers and work together using strategies to reduce incidents of unwanted behaviour
  3. With input from SENs Co-ordinator, initiate strategies to minimise unwanted behaviour
  4. If no improvement in child’s behaviour, with parent’s/carers’ permission, other professional help will be sought (possibly Health Visitor, Community Paeditrician, Speech and Language Service, Educational Psychologist).
Strategies to manage identified behavioural difficulties:
a)Choose only one difficulty
b)Identify the difficulty + frequency, and monitor it.
c)Identify any particular time that the behaviour happens – when the child is tired, when s/he comes into nursery, in large group situations etc. Behaviours may be able to be diverted if we are aware of when/why they are happening.
d)Reinforce the behaviour that is wanted, rather than highlighting the unwanted behaviour.
e)Praise the child for wanted behaviours.
f)Explain to the child that it is the behaviour that is unacceptable, not the child.
g)Reassess whether the incidents of behaviour have increased or decreased and whether further intervention is required.
Statutory Guidance from EYFS regarding Managing behaviour and physical restaint
‘Providers must take all reasonable steps to ensure that corporal punishment is not given by any person who cares for or is in regular contact with a child…A person will not be taken to have used corporal punishment where physical intervention was taken for the purposes of averting immediate danger of personal injury to any person (including the child) or to manage a child’s behaviour if absolutely necessary’.
Physical intervention is where practitioners use reasonable force to prevent children from injuring themselves or others or damaging property.Any occasion where physical intervention is used to manage a child’s behaviour should be recorded on a Behaviour Incident form and parents should be informed about it on the same day.
Biting
Children bite for various reasons – small children naturally use their mouths as a means of exploration, they may bite because they are experiencing teething pain, some lack other skills to cope with situations, some children use it as a way of saying ‘No’ when they do not have the language to do so, and some use it as a defence mechanism. Some children may bite because they feel threatened by situations such as a new baby or a new partner in mum’s life, the death of a family member or a mother returning to work.
Biting is a normal stage of development in young children and is usually a temporary condition. That is most common between 12 and 24 months.
When biting occurs
  • The biter is told that it is unacceptable (tailored to his/her age and understanding) and distracted/redirected to another activity
  • As with other behaviours, explain to the child that it is the behaviour, not the child that is unacceptable
  • Whatever the reason for the biting, the bond between child and practitioner should be as warm and reassuring as possible
  • Look at the context of each biting incident for pattern, in order to prevent further biting
  • Take the time to look for patterns in the biter's environment and emotional state at each episode. Does the child always bite the same individual? Is the biter simply exhausted, or hungry? Be ready to intervene immediately, but carefully. Teaching children age-appropriate ways to control themselves encourages the development of confidence and self-esteem. We can guide children towards self-control and away from biting.
  • If a pattern emerges, inform the parent/s, and work together to help the child through this period. Work as a team – practitioners and parents may identify possible reasons for a child's biting and respond accordingly. While practitioners may be more familiar with positive behaviour techniques, parents are experts on their own children's behaviour.
  • When informing the parent of the bitten child, the confidentiality of other children involved will be maintained
  • Explain to parents that they should not ‘bite back’ a child for biting.
  • If a pattern emerges, follow the same steps as above in ‘Procedure if a child’s behaviour is causing concern’
  • For those practitioners working with older children who bite, it is important to assess and perhaps work intensively on the helping the child to express his/her wants and needs if they cannot verbalise, rather than focus alone on the biting, as often they bite due to frustration at not being able to express themselves.
  • The bitten child will be comforted and First Aid administered as required.
Persistent unwanted behaviour towards another child or group of children
When this happens we need to intervene to stop the child harming the other child or children. Practitioners reassure/comfort the child who has been distressed and we then explain to the child (age appropriately) why his/her behaviour is inappropriate – s/he will hurt the other child/make them sad etc. As soon as possible afterwards praise the child when s/he displays wanted behaviour. We do not label any child who causes distress to another child.
If the unwanted behaviour still persists, we would need to discuss with parents their child’s unwanted behaviour, and work together to plan strategies to develop the behaviour.
During group sessions, use stories and activities to reinforce right and wrong, and also use Persona Dolls to talk about feelings, differences etc.
EllergreenNursery School and Childcare Centre Behaviour Incident Form
Child’s name
Date/Time of incident
Location of incident
What triggered incident?
Nature of incident
Others involved
Witnesses
How situation was handled
Any form of restraint used?
Any consequences?
Was the method used effective?
Would you try anything different next time?
Signature Staff Member
Signature Manager

To be reviewed 10/2018Page 1