When you first identify concerns regarding children's interactions within your setting, firstly, ask yourself the following:
Does your basic provision meet the needs of the child?
When considering children's behaviour, we must first look at ensuring that there is a quality basic provision for all.
The ethos of the provision is at the heart of the approach to supporting positive interactions, and this should be reflected in your provisions policy. Having a policy is not about having a document stored away, it should be seen and heard throughout the provision. All children should be supported with a therapeutic approach - meaning that positive feelings are of the utmost priority.
Having an agreed policy also ensures that the whole team can develop a coordinated and positive approach to supporting positive interactions.
The strategies to support children with valued behaviour (for lifelong learning) are essentially embedded within everything you say and do and everything that you provide.
It is therefore fundamental for children that practitioners reflect on practice, routines, and environment with the whole team.
Supportive, caring and responsive relationships
The EYFS tells us that children learn best when they are healthy, safe, secure when their individual needs are met, and when they have positive relationships with the adults caring for them. All children and their families need to feel safe both physically and emotionally within the provision. Sharing your knowledge about child development with families and looking together at milestones and potential next steps will also help to give a wider context for children’s responses and behaviours. Cultural considerations should be made as there is a wide range of ideas and perceptions about discipline, expectations and what are/are not valued behaviours. Having individual discussions with families about their values, views and approaches to behaviour is important, as is sharing the provisions ethos about how you support children to engage in positive interactions. This can help parents to understand your approach from the very beginning of the relationship.
Inclusive and enabling environment
Babies and children learn best in an environment that reflects their lives and experiences as well as provides new opportunities to be curious. Children should be able to feel they belong in the physical and emotional spaces that have been created. Resources must be open-ended, provide opportunities for children to lead their play as well as offer challenge and excitement.
Play-based curriculum
Play should be valued and supported at all times. Practitioners must be able to follow the child’s lead as well as enhance provision to extend learning.
Supporting emotional development
This should be at the heart of the provision’s curriculum and practitioners should prioritise supporting the development of children’s emotional development through consistently positive interactions, particularly through routines and activities.
Reflective practice
All practitioners should have time and encouragement to reflect on their practice, the environment and plans to extend learning. Practitioners should be responsive to the individual needs of the child and consider how to meet any unmet needs of the child through a holistic approach.
Only once you are sure all the above is in place for the child can you look to use other strategies and tools to help individual children.
Further questions to ask:
- Have you spoken with your Early Years Adviser for further support?
- Have you and your staff team accessed 'Understanding Children’s Behaviours and Interactions' training? Professional Development Programme
- Have you booked a SEND Surgery to discuss children who are not already on the Early Support Pathway? Booking and reservations for Early Years Workforce Development.
- Have you completed targeted observations (if any safeguarding concerns arise, refer to setting DSL or if any SEND concerns refer to SENCo DP)?
- If the family would like support at home have you considered your local Child and Family Centres may be able to support them with additional advice and support? Consider speaking to the manager to find out what is on offer you can signpost the family to.
Exclusion and suspension
These are not strategies as they do not address underlying problems. If children are accessing provision, they are more likely to be building relationships and having opportunities to learn valued behaviours.
If at any point you have concerns about any child’s behaviour that may consider you to look at reducing that child’s hours, please contact your Early Years Adviser for support before doing so. If you are unsure who this is, please contact earlyyears.service@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.
