Achieving Positive Behaviour

Everyone should know what is expected of them and children should be free to develop their play and learning without fear of being hurt or hindered by anyone else. We aim to work towards a situation in which children can develop self-discipline and self-esteem in an atmosphere of mutual respect and encouragement. 

 

In order to achieve this:

  1. Rules governing the conduct of the group and the behaviour of the children will be discussed and agreed within our Pre-school and explained to all newcomers, both children and adults.

  2. All adults in our Pre-school will ensure that the rules are applied consistently, so that children have the security of knowing what to expect and can build up appropriate behaviour.

  3. All adults will aim to provide a positive model for the children with regard to friendliness, care and courtesy.

  4. Adults in our Pre-school will praise and endorse desirable behaviour such as kindness and willingness to share. They will try to redirect with an activity so as not to escalate unacceptable behaviour.

  5. We will take positive steps to avoid a situation in which children receive adult attention only in return for undesirable behaviour.

Any unacceptable behaviour will be dealt with only after considering the child's age, stage of development and level of understanding.

  1. Physical punishment, such as smacking or shaking, will be neither used nor threatened.

  2. Techniques intended to single out and humiliate individual children (e.g., the "naughty chair”) will not be used.

  3. Children who need support will be given one-to-one adult support in seeing what was wrong and help in working towards a better pattern of behaviour. Where appropriate, this might be achieved by a period of "time out" with an adult.

  4. In cases of serious misbehaviour, such as racial or other abuse, the unacceptability of the behaviour and attitudes will be made clear immediately, but by means of explanations, rather than personal blame.

  5. In any case of misbehaviour, it will always be made clear to the child or children in question that it is the behaviour and not the child that is unwelcome.

  6. Adults will not shout, or raise their voices in a threatening way.

 

Adults in our Pre-school will make themselves aware of, and respect, a range of cultural expectations regarding interactions between people.

 Any behaviour problems will be handled in a developmentally appropriate fashion, respecting individual children's level of understanding and maturity.

Recurring problems will be tackled by the Pre-school staff, in partnership with the child's parents, using objective observation records to establish an understanding of the cause.

 

Adults will be aware that some kinds of behaviour may arise from a child's individual needs.

The staff will record any serious misbehaviour in the Incident Book, and the parents will be informed.

The pre-school will keep up to date on the latest practices on behaviour management by attending appropriate training.

 

This policy is known, agreed and implemented by all staff.

 This policy is known and made available to parents.

 This policy was reviewed February 2011.