Behaviour Management  in Three Bears Nursery

Children and adults flourish best in an ordered environment in which everyone knows what is expected of them and children are 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.

The Nursery should strive to achieve this by:

·       Rules governing the conduct of the group and the behaviour of the children will be discussed and agreed at the nursery and explained to all newcomers, both children and adults.

·       All adults at the nursery will ensure that the rules are applied consistently, so that children have the security of knowing what to expect and can build up useful habits of behaviour.

·       All adults will try to provide a positive role model for the children with regard to friendliness, care and courtesy.

·       Adults in the nursery will praise and endorse desirable behaviour such as kindness and willingness to share.

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

When children behave in unacceptable ways:

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

·       Children will never be sent out of the room by themselves.

·       Techniques intended to single out and humiliate individual children such as the “naughty chair” will not be used.

·       Children who misbehave will be given one-to-one adult support in seeing what was wrong and working towards a better pattern.

·       Where appropriate this might be achieved by a period of “time out” with an adult.

·       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.

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

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

·       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 whole 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 special needs.

·       Occasionally when unacceptable behaviour has occurred, staff may need to take action for the child’s own safety, or that of others.

·       Staff should try to involve parents to promote and reinforce positive behaviour.

·       A reward system may help, e.g. using stickers.

·       With a particularly difficult child it may be useful to concentrate on the positive and use praise to reinforce good behaviour.

·       Keep parents informed when a child has been good and build on this positive image with child and parent.

The Nursery should ensure that staff and parents are fully aware of the Behaviour Management Policy.  This is best done through the Nursery Guide and at Parents’ Meetings.