Achieving positive behaviour Policy Statement Our setting believes that children flourish best when their personal, social and emotional needs are met and where there are clear and developmentally appropriate expectations for their behaviour Children need to learn to consider the views and feelings, needs and rights of others and the impact that their behaviour has on people, places and objects. This is a developmental task that requires support, encouragement, teaching and setting the correct example. The principles that underpin how we achieve positive and considerate behaviour exist within the programme for promoting personal, social and emotional development Procedures The Manager has overall responsibility for our programme for supporting personal, social and emotional development, including issues concerning behaviour The Manager Must: • Keep herself up-to-date with legislation, research and thinking on promoting positive behaviour and on handling children’s behaviour where it may require additional support • Access relevant sources of expertise on promoting positive behaviour within the programme for supporting personal, social and emotional development; and to check that all staff have relevant training on promoting positive behaviour • We recognise that codes for interacting with other people vary between cultures and require staff to be aware of, and respect, those used by members of the setting • We require all staff, volunteers and students to provide a positive model of behaviour by treating children, parents and one another with friendliness, care and courtesy • We familiarise new staff and volunteers with the setting’s behaviour policy and its guidelines for behaviour • We expect all members of our Nursery to keep the guidelines, requiring these to be applied consistently • We work in partnership with children’s parents. Parents are regularly informed about their child’s behaviour by their key person. We work with parents to address recurring inconsiderate behaviour, using our observation records to help us to understand the cause and to decide jointly how to respond appropriately Strategies with Children Who Engage in Inconsiderate Behaviour • We require all staff, volunteers and students to use positive strategies for handling any inconsiderate behaviour by helping children find solutions in ways which are appropriate for the children’s ages and stages of development. Such solutions might include acknowledgement of feelings, explanations as to what was not acceptable, and supporting children to gain control of their feelings so that they can learn a more appropriate response • We ensure that there are enough popular toys and resources and sufficient activities available so that children are meaningfully occupied without the need for unnecessary conflict over sharing and waiting for turns • We acknowledge considerate behaviour such as kindness and willingness to share • We support each child in developing self-esteem, confidence and feelings of competence • We support each child in developing a sense of belonging in our groups, so that they feel valued and welcome • We avoid creating situations in which children receive adult attention only in return for inconsiderate behaviour • When children behave in inconsiderate ways, we help them to understand the outcomes of their action and support them in learning how to cope more appropriately. • We never use physical punishment and children are never threatened with this • We have a ‘time out’ for children to consider their actions and apologise for these • We use physical restraint, such as holding, only to prevent physical injury to children or adults and/or serious damage to property • Details of such an event (what happened, what action was taken and by whom, and the names of witnesses) are brought to the attention of our Nursery Manager and are recorded in the child’s personal file. The child’s parent is informed on the same day • In cases of serious misbehaviour, such as racial or other abuse, we make clear immediately the unacceptability of the behaviour and attitudes, by means of explanations rather than personal blame • We do not shout in a threatening way to respond to children’s inconsiderate behaviour Children under Three Years When children under three behave in inconsiderate ways we recognise that strategies supporting them will need to be developmentally appropriate and differ from those of older children. We recognise that very young children are unable to regulate their own emotions, such as fear, anger or distress, and require sensitive adults to help them do this Common inconsiderate or hurtful behaviour of young children include tantrums, biting or fighting. Staff are calm, patient, offering comfort to intense emotions, helping children to manage their feelings and talk about them to help resolve issues and promote understanding If tantrums, biting or fighting are frequent, we try to find out the underlying cause such as a change or upheaval at home, or frequent change of carers Sometimes a child has not settled in well and the behaviour may be the result of ‘separation anxiety’, we focus on ensuring a child’s attachment figure in the setting, their key person, is building a strong relationship to provide security to the child Rough and Tumble Play and Fantasy Aggression Young children often engage in play that has aggressive themes such as superhero and weapon play, some children appear pre- occupied with these themes, but their behaviour is not necessarily a precursor to hurtful behaviour or bullying, although it may be inconsiderate at times and may need addressing using the above strategies • We recognise that teasing and rough and tumble play are normal for young children and acceptable within limits. We regard these kinds of play as pro-social and not as problematic or aggressive • We will develop strategies to contain play that is agreed with the children, and understood by them, with acceptable behavioural boundaries to ensure children are not hurt • We recognise that fantasy play also contains many violently dramatic strategies blowing up, shooting etc., and that themes often refer to ‘goodies and baddies’ and as such offer opportunities for us to explore concepts of right and wrong • We are able to tune into the content of the play, perhaps to suggest alternative strategies for heroes and heroines, making the most of ‘teachable moments’ to encourage empathy and lateral thinking to explore alternative scenarios and strategies for conflict resolution Hurtful behaviour We take hurtful behaviour very seriously and most children under the age of five will at some stage hurt or say something hurtful to another child if their emotions are high at the time, but it is not helpful to label this behaviour as bullying. For children under five, hurtful behaviour is momentary, spontaneous and often without understanding of the feelings of the person whom they hurt. We recognise that young children behave in hurtful ways towards others because they have not yet developed the means to manage intense feelings that sometimes overwhelm them • We will help them manage these feelings as they do not have the cognitive means to do this for themselves • We offer support, calming the child who is angry as well as the one who has been hurt by the behaviour. By helping the child to return to a normal state we are helping the brain to develop the physiological response system that will help the child to be able to manage his or her own feelings • We respond to pre-verbal children to calm them through holding and cuddling • Verbal children will also respond to cuddling to calm them down, but we offer them an explanation and discuss the incident with them to their level of understanding • We help children learn to emphathise with others, understanding that they have feelings too and that their actions impact on others feelings • We help young children develop pro-social behaviour such as resolving conflict over who has a toy • We are aware that the same problem may happen over and over before skills such as sharing and turn-taking develop. Children need repeated experiences with problem solving, supported by patient adults and clear boundaries • We support social skills through modelling behaviour, through activities, drama and stories. We build self-esteem and confidence in children, recognising their emotional needs through close and committed relationships with them • We help a child to understand the effect that their hurtful behaviour has had on another child; we encourage children to say sorry • When hurtful behaviour becomes problematic, we work with parents to identify the cause and find a solution together. The main reasons for very young children to engage in excessive hurtful behaviour are • They do not feel securely attached to someone who can interpret and meet their needs this may be in the home and it may also be in the setting • Their parent, or carer, does not have skills in responding appropriately, and consequently negative patterns are developing where hurtful behaviour is the only response the child has to express feelings of anger • The child may have insufficient language, or mastery of English, to express themselves and may feel frustrated • The child is exposed to levels of aggressive behaviour at home and may be at risk emotionally or may be experiencing child abuse • The child has a developmental condition that affects how they behave Where this does not work we would make referrals to a Behaviour Support Team If necessary/inclusion officer. It may be necessary to temporarily exclude a child from our setting until strategies are in place if dangerous behaviour is displayed or other children/staff are being physical hurt

Policy correct as of 01/04/2016