Behaviour management
Providers must not give corporal punishment to a child for whom they provide early years provision and, so far as it is reasonably practicable, shall ensure that corporal punishment is not given to any such child by: any person who cares for, or who is in regular contact with, children; any person living or working on the premises.
An early years provider who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with this requirement, commits an offence.
A person shall not be taken to have given corporal punishment in breach of the above if the action was taken for reasons that include averting an immediate danger of personal injury to, or an immediate danger of death of, any person (including the child).
Providers must not threaten corporal punishment, nor use or threaten any form of
punishment which could have an adverse impact on the child’s well-
Providers must have an effective behaviour management policy which is adhered to by all members of staff.
Statutory guidance
to which providers should have regard
Physical intervention should only be used to manage a child’s behaviour if it is necessary to prevent personal injury to the child, other children or an adult, to prevent serious damage to property, or in what would reasonably be regarded as exceptional circumstances.
Any occasion where physical intervention is used to manage a child’s behaviour should be recorded and parents should be informed about it on the same day.
Except in childminding settings, a named practitioner should be responsible for behaviour management issues. They should be supported in acquiring the skills to provide guidance to other staff and to access expert advice if ordinary methods are not effective with a particular child.
BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT
Children’s behaviour must be managed effectively and in a manner appropriate for their stage of development and particular individual needs.
In practice
Childminders need to set ‘house rules’ and realistic boundaries for the children
in their care. They need to think about how they are going to communicate these to
both the children and the parents. If children are unable to read then a list of
‘dos and don’ts’ is going to mean little to them. Consider developing a pictorial
poster of your rules (see Downloads below for a sample)
Promoting positive behaviour
can be done through a variety of means, good role models, rewards or certificates.
There are many great free downloads of reward and behaviour charts and certificates:
www.supernanny.co.uk/Reward-
It is very important to consider why a child might misbehave and see if you can either eliminate the reason, or provide the child with additional support to overcome the problem. For example, a child whose physical needs are not being met may well misbehave.
Providing additional healthy snacks or an afternoon nap may quickly resolve the issue. Children are very sensitive to others moods and whilst they may be too young to understand what is happening around them they pick up on the emotions of their parents and other adults. This can also impact on their behaviour.
Download our list of reasons a child might misbehave.
There are various sample certificates and
a good behaviour chart
available to download from our Downloads Page
