BEHAVIOUR POLICY
At St Mary’s
Nursery we have a positive approach to behavioural issues; we provide a
stimulating, friendly, caring and happy environment which enables the children
in our care to have a structured and active day, thus reducing the opportunity
for them to become unhappy, bored or disruptive.
Children need
to have set boundaries of behaviour for their own safety and the safety of
their peers. Within the nursery we aim
to set these boundaries in a way, which helps the child to develop a sense of
the significance of their own behaviour, both in their own environment and with
those around them. Restrictions on the
child's natural desire to explore and develop their own ideas and concepts are
kept to a minimum. Sanctions applied in
the case of unacceptable behaviour must take account of the age and stage of
development of the child, be relevant to the action or actions and be fair.
The designated
behavioural person will ensure that the parents/carers are fully informed about
and support the actions being taken to modify the child's unacceptable
behaviour.
Corporal punishment
(slapping, smacking or shaking) will never be acceptable practices and will not
be used. Man handling of a child is unacceptable, however it may be necessary
to use restraining action in an emergency to prevent personal injury or serious
damage to property.
Parents/carers
should feel free to discuss any concerns they may have with the Nursery
Manager. All matters will be treated in
the strictest confidence.
1
The Nursery
believes in promoting positive behaviour and are pro-active in the prevention
of bullying issues.
2
We aim to
encourage self-discipline, consideration for each other, our surroundings and
property.
3
By giving
labelled praise to children and acknowledging their positive actions and attitudes
we hope to ensure that children see that we value and respect them.
Examples of labelled praise:
“What lovely manners for holding
the door”
“That was really kind to share
with ………”
“That model you have made is
excellent”
“Good girl/boy for helping to tidy
up”
“Well done for putting your coat
on”
4
Children need
to develop non-aggressive strategies to enable them to stand up for themselves
so that adults and children listen to them.
They need to be given opportunities to release their feelings more
creatively.
5
Children need
their own time and space. It is not
always appropriate to expect a child to share and it is important to
acknowledge children's feelings and to help them understand how others might be
feeling.
6
Children must
be encouraged to recognise that bullying, fighting, hurting and racist comments
are not acceptable behaviour. “Safe from bullying and discrimination” is an aim
within the outcome Stay safe in the Every Child Matters framework. The outcome
‘Make A positive Contribution’ states that children and young people chose not
to bully or discriminate, staff at St Marys Nursery encourage children to
recognise that certain actions are right and that others are wrong.
7
Nursery rules
are concerned with safety and care and respect for each other. Children who behave inappropriately, by
physically abusing another child or adult or by verbal bullying, may be removed
from the group. The child who has been
upset will be comforted and the adult will confirm that the other child's
behaviour is not acceptable. It is
important to acknowledge that a child is feeling angry or upset and that it is
the behaviour we are rejecting, not the child.
8
How a
particular type of behaviour is handled will depend upon the child and the
circumstances. It may involve the child
being asked to talk and think about what he or she has done. It may be that the child will not be allowed
to make his or her own choice of activities for a limited period of time.
Procedures
1.
The child
will also be asked to see if the child/person who was ‘hurt’ is alright and to
demonstrate that they are sorry.
2.
These
strategies are followed within the differing age groups:
0
– 2 year olds
1.
Firm “Stop” + distraction
2.
Firm “Stop” + remove from situation to another area
3. Return to play .
2-
3 year olds
1.
Firm “Stop” with hand signal + explanation + distraction
2.
Firm “Stop”with hand signal + remove from area of play.
3.
Firm hands down if appropriate.
4.
Time out with staff-no verbal or eye contact 2 mins max.
5.
Encourage child to apologise to other child or staff.
6.Return to play, mention no more.
3 – 5 year olds
1.
Firm “Stop” with hand signal + explanation + distraction.
2.
Firm “Stop” with hand signal, remove from area of play.
3.
Firm “Hands down” where appropriate.
4.
Time out with staff-no verbal or eye contact 5 mins - max .
5. Encourage child to apologise to child or
staff.
6.
Return to play, mention no more.
*If above strategies fail, staff can
exclude child from activity.
3.
If the above
strategies are unsuccessful an individual behaviour plan will be implemented
with different strategies, in agreement with the parents.
4.
Parents will
be informed if their child is persistently unkind to others or if their child
has been upset. In all cases,
inappropriate behaviour will be dealt with in Nursery at the time. Parents may be asked to meet with staff to
discuss their child's behaviour, so that if there are any difficulties, we can
work together to ensure consistency between home and Nursery, In these cases an
“Individual behavioural plan” form will be completed and filed in the
behavioural file. An “Evaluation of behaviour plan” will be completed at an
agreed review date.
5.
Staff will
observe the child and complete an “Individual behavioural observation chart”
(if necessary) documenting any negative behaviour, staff will discuss the chart
on a daily basis with parents/carers. In some cases we may request additional
advice and support from other professionals such as the Educational Psychologist
or Child Guidance Counsellor.
6.
One or all of
these circumstances will result in exclusion from the setting:
·
The other
children or staff are constantly physical abused by the child.
·
The parents/carers
do not acknowledge there is a behavioural issue.
·
The
parents/carers do not support the behavioural strategies of St Marys Nursery.
·
The
parents/carers do not take advice from outside agencies to combat the issue.
By positively
promoting good behaviour, valuing co-operation and demonstrating a caring attitude
we hope to ensure that children will develop as responsible members of
society.
June 2018
