Cuan Bhríde Childcare Centre

Supporting Behaviour Policy

Policy

Cuan Bhríde Childcare Centre’s aim is to support and guide all children to manage their own behaviour and learn to resolve conflicts that arise. Children attending the service are here for new learning experiences which may test their own coping strategies. All staff will support the children to regulate their behaviour and will have a number of strategies to deal with both positive and challenging behavior.

Procedure

1. The learning curriculum is designed with the age and developmental stage of the child in mind. Each child will be assigned a Key Person who will be responsible for building up a special relationship with them and their family. This helps with getting to know what the child enjoys and some of the situations they find difficult

2. Early Years Teachers will be the role model of positive behaviour and how they play, speak and interact with the children is a key part of their role.

3. Role modelling includes: explaining feelings, using a calm tone of voice, giving choice to the children, using language to help children understand positive decisions, getting down to the child’s eye level.

4. Any rules will be kept clear, simple and age appropriate.

5. Staff will always comfort an upset child.

6. Play activities will be used to play out challenging situation so children get the opportunity to practice positive behaviour strategies.

7. Books and storytelling is used to talk about feelings and what we can all do when we are angry, upset or frustrated.

8. A range of activities will be available to the group of children which offer a lot of choice to all in order to keep the children active in play.

9. Children will have ample time to explore outdoors, giving them lots of opportunity to run and feel free.

10. Children will not have to sit for long periods of time allowing them to have a choice and to move from an activity which does not interest them.

11. The children will come up with a list of boundaries they think are important, helping them take ownership of their behaviour.

12. The play environments will be laid out into specific play spaces which supports children’s natural curiosity encouraging them to become engrossed in their play and develop their own interests.

Anticipating Inappropriate Behaviour

Each child is assigned a Key Person who is responsible for getting to know the child and their family. This is important for gathering information and knowledge about the whole child. The Key Person carries out observations and play alongside the children getting to know their likes and dislikes. Through their role they are in a position to begin anticipating a child’s reaction and behaviour knowing what is likely to upset a child’s mood or behaviour.

Strategies for Supporting Children

1. It is recognised that all children’s behaviour has some meaning to the child however at times this behaviour may be difficult or pose a danger to the child or other children.

2. For minor behaviour issues e.g. children fighting over a toy, a six steps to conflict resolution approach will be used:

1. 1. Approach calmly – put yourself in the shoes of the child. All feelings are relevant and real in the moment. Approach the situation calmly and get down to the child’s eye level.

   2. Acknowledge feelings – describe how the child/ children are feeling, children often don’t have the language to explain how they feel leading to more frustration. Help the child by describing it for them “you both look very sad and upset”.

   3. Gather information – remain neutral by giving each child the opportunity to tell their side of the story. Children sometimes need lots of time to get the words out so take your time and remember the importance of the lessons learnt in these situations.

   4. Restate the problem – after listening to the children, simply describe what the problem is so both/ all can understand each sides of the story.

   5. Ask for ideas for solutions & choose one together (or for younger children give a solution) - give the children an opportunity to come up with solutions and keep working on it until you all agree on something. This can take a bit of time but it is giving the children lots of practice compromising with one another which is a vital skill they need.

   6. Be prepared to give follow up support – it is important the staff member follows through on the agreed solution. This helps place trust in the process and children will have confidence in the approach.

Managing Moderate Behaviour Issues

This type of behaviour can be recognised when inappropriate behaviour is becoming a more regular occurrence.

1. The staff team will discuss the reoccurring behaviour and put a plan in place.

2. Staff will observe the child to identify any triggers of the behaviour.

3. When the behaviour happens the steps above will be used with the child.

4. The matter will be discussed in detail with the child’s family.

Managing Challenging Behaviour Issues

1. If a child’s behaviour is considered dangerous to themselves or others an Early Years Teacher will carefully separate either the child or the other children from the area. This is in order to protect all using the service. The child will be given time to become calm and the Early Years Teacher will help guide them with their behaviour.

2. The Key Person will record the incident and discuss with the family.

3. If a child’s behaviour is ongoing or becomes severely challenging the Cuan Bhríde Childcare Centre will implement the following strategies:

1. 1. The staff team will carry out a meeting to discuss the behaviour and plan out going forward to help the child overcome the issues.

   2. The child’s Key Person will carry out a number of observations to try establish a trigger of the behaviour.

   3. All observations will be discussed with the family.

   4. A plan will be drawn up in collaboration with the staff team and family of the child.

   5. If necessary, the family will be supported to contact any relevant external professionals.

   6. If the behaviour is a child protection concern the Child Protection Policy will be implemented.

   7. All information gathered and discussed will be stored securely and all conversations are highly confidential.

   8. All meetings, plans and observations will be recorded and stored in the child’s record in a locked cabinet.

   9. The staff will always work in the best interest of the child using their best judgement in situation which can be demanding and stressful on all involved.

   10. Staff may discuss the Better Start Access & Inclusion Model (AIM) with the parents/guardians, if appropriate.

Practices Prohibited

1. 1. Corporal or physical punishment

   2. Any practices that are disrespectful, exploitive, intimidating, emotionally or physically harmful or neglectful.

   3. The use of bold chairs or time outs.

Updated 12 September 2018