Behaviour Management

We believe for children to feel secure in their surroundings they must be given realistic and achievable boundaries.  If a child is aware of what is expected of them in terms of behaviour, they are also aware of when they have achieved this or they have behaved inappropriately.  This allows a child to be confident, self-reliant, and take pleasure in achievement.  A child who has no boundaries, or inconsistent guidance tends to become very frustrated because they have no understanding of what is expected of them.

 

Under no circumstances will any child be exposed to punishment, pain, threats, or humiliation at St. Paulinus Pre-School.  We encourage our parents/carers to avoid using corporal punishment.  We endeavour to provide a positive environment where children will be able to gain confidence in themselves and their ability to make appropriate choices regarding their behaviour.  We recognise the need to set out reasonable and appropriate limits and boundaries.

 

We will be,

• Realistic                                

• Consistent in our praise and disapproval

• Fair

• Disapprove of the behaviour not the child

 

Children will be,

• Respected

• Valued

• Set realistic boundaries

 

As with all aspects of the care of our children, behaviour management must be carried out in partnership with parents and carers.  We will agree methods to manage children’s behaviour with parents/carers before the placement starts, and wherever possible we will try to meet parents/carers requests for the care of their child according to their values and practices.  We work closely with parents/carers to provide a consistent approach to behaviour management and actively provide support for families and children experiencing changes in circumstances that may affect the child’s behaviour, such as bereavement or divorce.  We will signpost parents, families, and carers to outside organisations for further help if needed.

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The most effective way to teach a child is through consistency, and explanation.  We explain to both our children and parents what our boundaries are, and how we encourage the children to behave within those boundaries, this allows the parent/carer to reinforce our approach, and explain why we set these boundaries, even if these boundaries are not adhered to at home.

Should a child find it difficult to meet our boundaries at Pre-School, the key worker and the manager meet with the parents/carers to agree strategies everyone can work to, to encourage the child to make appropriate choices regarding their behaviour.  This may involve seeking help and guidance from outside organisations.  We then inform the other staff members of the decisions that have been made to ensure a consistent approach.  We encourage our parents/carers not to use corporal punishment, and in our setting, we use positive re-enforcement as a behaviour management strategy.  However, should a child present a persistent danger to others or property we will ask the parents/carers to remove their child from our setting.

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Our staff regularly update their training regarding the current thinking of effective behaviour management, and the training is put into practice at our Pre-School.

 

Physical intervention is only ever used if a child is in danger of hurting themselves, others, or property, or to manage the child’s behaviour if absolutely necessary.  A record is kept of every occasion where physical intervention has been used, and the parents will be informed as soon as reasonably practicable.

 

The named practitioner responsible for our behaviour management at St. Paulinus Pre-School is the manager, in partnership with the key worker, and the parents/carers.

 

Last Review:- September 2025

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