EYFS Behaviour Policy

Authorised by / Governing Body
Date of authorisation / January 2017 FZ
Review date / January 2018
Equality Impact Assessed / Model Policies EIA by Salford LA

MesneLea Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Behaviour Policy

Statement of Intent

Within our setting it is our belief that all children have the right to learn and develop in a safe and secure environment where there are clear, consistent and developmentally appropriate expectations of their behaviour. In order for practitioners to remain consistent with the four overarching principles of EYFS - a unique child, positive relationships, enabling environments, learning and development. There need to be values and codes of behaviour which are formulated by and agreed upon by all members of staff

Aims

  • We aim to promote positive behaviour throughout the setting and encourage everyone to understand and respect the rights of others.
  • We strive to create a learning environment where every child can fulfil their potential as a direct result of clear and consistent boundaries.
  • We aim to promote self respect and self esteem
  • We aim to encourage social skills such as negotiating, taking turns and listening to others
  • We aim to guide the behaviour of the young children in our care in a way that is appropriate to their relevant age and stage.

Methods

  • Staff, volunteers and students will provide a positive model of behaviour by treating children, parents and one another with friendliness, care and courtesy
  • New staff will be inducted using the setting's behaviour policy and guidelines by a senior colleague
  • Staff will model and seek to highlight positive behaviour rather than negative behaviour. Positive behaviour will be rewarded by a system which incorporates the use of verbal praise , stickers, certificates etc.
  • A system of sanctions that has been agreed by all members of staff who are committed to following such procedures.
  • Practitioners will work in partnership with parents. Parents must feel able to discuss their child’s behaviour with members of staff. Staff members may also choose to raise concerns about behaviour with a parent but must do so in a professional and sensitive manner and always with the best interests of the child in mind
  • Staff must ensure that the provision is organised in a way which facilitates opportunities to take turns and negotiate and that ensures that children are engaged in meaningful activities which maximise learning opportunities and discourages negative behaviour.
  • Children will be made aware that there are direct consequences to their actions through the system of rewards and sanctions
  • Incidents of negative behaviour are logged by members of staff so that there is a permanent record of behaviour in the setting

Agreed Rules and Sanctions when dealing with negative behaviour in our Early Years setting

A universalset of rules which are agreed by all staff and adhere to the requirements of the school policy are to be displayed in every classroom. These are

  • We use kind hands
  • We use kind mouths
  • We use kind feet

These rules are to be referred to by all staff when discussing behaviour with children and parents.

The Behaviour system (sun, rain cloud etc is displayed in every classroom and followed in a systematic way by all members of staff)

Positive Strategies when dealing with negative behaviour

  • The adult should always react with a calm, measured approach to the situation
  • Strategies when dealing with such behaviour include, negotiation, diversion and distraction
  • Time out should always be a short, supervised session where the child has the ability to calm themselves, pause and reflect on their behaviour. They should then be given the opportunity to discuss their behaviour in a calm way with a member of staff.
  • Children should be encouraged to understand that there are consequences to actions both for themselves and others
  • The adult should never use physical punishment (smacking, shaking etc) to reprimand a child.
  • The adult should never use intimidating behaviour or that which is likely to humiliate a child.
  • Persistent negative behaviour will be recorded in an incident book and discussed with parents as will serious incidents which involve physical or verbal abuse to another child or a member of staff.
  • Any physical negative behaviour which involves a child biting, kicking punching, slapping another child will be sent directly to the Head Teacher or senior colleague who will inform parents or carers.

Persistent negative behaviour

When negative behaviour becomes persistent our setting has a number of strategies to deal with such behaviours

  • We consult and discuss the child’s behaviour with the parent/carer to ensure that we have all the relevant information about the child’s personal circumstances/home life and to produce an agreed strategy for dealing with the behaviour
  • If considered necessary we consult with the Head Teacher and school SENCo
  • If considered appropriate we will consult with the Early Years Area SENCo in order to ascertain the most appropriate intervention strategies for the child
  • An Individual Behaviour Plan may be produced in direct consultation with the parents

Please see separate Positive Handling Policy