BEHAVIOUR POLICY

Contents

  1. Our Approach
  2. Nursery Rules
  3. Staff Roles and Responsibilities
  4. Encouraging Positive Behaviour
  5. Managing Unacceptable Behaviour
  6. Anti-Bullying
  7. Parental Concerns

Our Approach

At The Crown Nursery we believe that children feel safe and secure when expectations for behaviour are clear and consistent. We also believe strongly in supporting children to understand their own behaviour and to develop a sense of how their responses effect not only their own sense of well-being but also that of others.

Children learn from their experiences with caring adults who act as good role models.  All staff consistently demonstrate to the children how to treat others with care and respect, whilst valuing individual personalities, choices, needs and desires.  We do not use rewards, sanctions or punishments to manage behaviour.  Research indicates that these systems have little or no impact on behaviour and can in fact have a negative impact as can be considered ‘unfair’ by children.  We predominately use encouragement and praise to positively reinforce good choices and to promote our agreed expectations.  

The staff member with overall responsibility for behaviour management is Charlotte Grubb.  All staff working with the children accept their responsibility for implementing the goals in this policy in the agreed way.

Nursery Rules

Our nursery rules are in place to ensure all children understand expectations and know how to keep themselves and others safe.  They are developed with the children to establish ownership and cooperation and are shared regularly throughout the day.  The rules are age appropriate and help children to care and respect each other and their environment.

Children who behave inappropriately are encouraged to explore and discuss their own behaviour.  The focus of discussion is always on the actual unacceptable behaviour, not on the whole child.  We make sure that the child who has been upset is comforted and the adult will confirm that the other child's behaviour is not acceptable.  An emphasis is placed on honesty and trust, and being brave enough to tell the truth and accept responsibility is praised.

The nursery rules are:

  • Be kind
  • Look and listen
  • Try our bestStaff Roles and Responsibilities

The named person for managing behaviour will:

  • Advise staff and support them to manage behaviour effectively
  • Keep up to date with legislation and research
  • Attend relevant external training and will ensure relevant information is disseminated to all staff. A record of staff training will be kept.
  • Make changes to policies and procedures in the nursery as appropriate
  • Ensure records of incidents are kept in order that patterns of behaviour can be monitored carefully
  • Access relevant sources of expertise if needed, communicating with outside agencies
  • Support staff to communicate with parents

 Encouraging Positive Behaviour

To support children with their behaviour all staff will:

  • Ensure they act as positive role models for children at all times
  • Communicate and reflect on our approach to managing behaviour in order to ensure a consistent approach is achieved to help children understand expectations for behaviour and to feel safe and secure
  • Recognise that all children are individuals and make every effort to adapt our response and practice to provide for their individual needs
  • Adopt a key person system to build a strong and positive relationship with children and their families
  • Share expectations for behaviour with all children consistently, including our ‘Nursery Rules’
  • Praise children regularly and acknowledge their positive actions and attitudes, therefore ensuring that children see that we value and respect them
  • Encourage self-regulation and support children to develop effective strategies for this. These strategies include; taking time out, walking away, counting to 10, taking deep breaths, listening to calm music, look at a book, watch something funny, listen to a story, have a drink or a fruit snack.
  • Recognise that some behaviours are normal in young children e.g. biting or aggressive responses, and encourage children to channel their feelings and to manage conflict in a positive way.
  • Help children develop a sense of empathy and consideration for each other, their surroundings and property
  • Promote non-violence and encourage children to deal with conflict effectively in a calm and peaceful manner
  • Provide activities and stories to help children learn about expected behaviours both in nursery and different environments
  • Encourage children to participate in a wide range of group activities to enable them to develop their social skills
  • Encourage parents and other visitors to be positive role models
  • Work in partnership with parents by communicating openly and supporting parents to challenge poor behaviour appropriately

 Managing Unacceptable Behaviour

 When children behave in an unacceptable way staff will:

  • Not raise their voices and will deal with behaviour incidents in a calm, timely and consistent way
  • Always make it clear to the child or children in question, that it is the behaviour and not the child that is unwelcome
  • Use distraction for early intervention to divert behavioural issues; children will be, wherever possible, re-directed to alternative activities.
  • Talk with the children to explore why behaviour was not acceptable in an way that is appropriate for the child’s level of understanding and maturity
  • Support children to develop non-aggressive strategies to enable them to express and manage their own feelings.  These strategies include; taking time out, walking away, counting to 10, taking deep breaths, listening to calm music, look at a book, watch something funny, listen to a story, have a drink or a fruit snack.
  • Support children to develop empathy and children will only be asked to apologise if they have developed strong empathy skills and have a good understanding of why saying sorry is appropriate
  • Provide short ‘time out’ session with a supportive adult to help children who have lost control to calm down and recover
  • Observe children daily to establish causes or patterns of particular behaviour.  When ‘triggers’ are identified, changes can be made to support the child to manage their own responses.
  • Inform parents if their child has behaved inappropriately or if their child has been upset.  If this behaviour continues, we may ask parents to meet with staff to discuss how to best support their child to overcome difficulties.  In some cases we may request additional advice and support from other professionals, such as an educational psychologist
  • Keep confidential records on any inappropriate behaviour. We inform parents and ask them to read and sign any incidents concerning their child
  • Develop an individual behaviour modification plan if a child’s behaviour is identified as a concern, particularly if a child’s behaviour involves aggressive actions towards other children and staff, for example hitting, kicking etc. Staff will work with parents to establish clear strategies and outcomes.  A risk assessment may be completed to ensure children’s and staff’s safety at all times.
  • Only use physical intervention for the purpose of averting immediate danger or personal injury.  This may include gentle restraining by appropriately trained staff if absolutely necessary. We keep a record of any occasions where physical intervention is used and inform parents.
  • Physical punishment such as smacking or shaking is forbidden

Anti-bullying

Bullying takes many forms. It can be physical, verbal or emotional, but it is always a repeated behaviour that makes other people feel uncomfortable or threatened.  We acknowledge that any form of bullying is unacceptable and it will be dealt with immediately. 

Parental Concerns

If any parent has a concern about their child, a member of staff will be available to discuss those concerns.  This discussion can take place at drop off or pick up with a key person, or if the discussion needs more time a meeting can be arranged.  It is only through communication and co-operation that we can ensure our children feel confident and secure in their environment, both at home and in the nursery.  All concerns will be treated in the strictest confidence.

By positively promoting good behaviour we hope to ensure that our children will grow and learn and develop a healthy attitude to their environment, so they are well prepared and happy to start school.