Croydon Child Care Centre

Behaviour Guidance Policy Version number Link to CCQA Principles 2 Quality Improvement and Accreditation System (QIAS) Quality Practices Guide (2005) Principle 1.2

Policy statement Croydon Child Care Centres Behaviour Guidance Policy: o emphasises that children have the same rights as adults; and o recognises, values and celebrates the differences and similarities that exist in all persons1. o The service has a duty of care to all children enrolled in the Centre. Families and staff will actively strive to use appropriate strategies to guide children to recognise, manage and learn from their behaviours and express their emotions in positive, non-threatening and productive ways. Croydon Child Care is committed to a Behaviour Guidance Policy because it: o reflects the values, attitudes and current recommended strategies that promote positive play behaviours and patterns; o respects the importance of interactions and relationships between children, families and staff/carers; o understands why children behave in certain ways in specific circumstances; o promotes realistic play and behaviour limits that guide childrens safety and security rather than curb their play experiences, curiosity or creativity; o defines clear and transparent caregiving strategies that communicate how behaviour guidance is implemented by the service; o informs the services stakeholders about the procedures involved in behaviour guidance management plans; and o explains the services commitment to professional development and utilisation of external agencies. The purpose of the Croydon Child Care Centres Behaviour Guidance Policy is to: o encourage acceptable forms of behaviour by using strategies that build childrens confidence and self-esteem; o provide children with support, guidance and opportunities to manage their own behaviour; and

1 For the purpose of this policy, 'persons' include children, families, staff, carers, carers' family, management, coordination unit staff, ancillary staff (administrative staff, kitchen staff, cleaners, maintenance personnel), students, volunteers, visitors, local community, school community, licensee, sponsor and/or service owner. Page 1 of 8

promote collaborative approaches to behaviour guidance between the services stakeholders and/or external agencies.

The service recognises and understands that a childs behaviour may be affected by their: o age and development; o general health and wellbeing; o relationships with their family; o play and learning environments, which includes the physical indoor/outdoor settings, the weather, the time of year, the time of day; o staff/carers caregiving strategies and practices, which includes how those strategies are implemented; o relationship with other children and stakeholders, such as students, volunteers and visitors; and o external factors, such as family, home life, school or peer group experiences, or media coverage of traumatic events. Families and educators display respect and empathy towards children when they label behaviour and not the individual child. This means that behaviours are managed, not children. Eg. educators, other children and families should refrain from labelling a childs inappropriate or negative behaviour as naughty or bad. Similarly, traditional labels such as good boy or good girl identify the individual but not the positive behaviour. For example, when a child completes a task directed by an adult, such as washing their hands before a meal, staff/carers should identify the behaviour that reinforces the achievement and not label the worth of the individual. Instead of good boy/girl, the educators can respond with thank you (childs name) for washing your hands with soap before lunch or thank you for remembering to clean your hands before you eat. While educators are aware and respect individual childrens and families backgrounds and beliefs, it may be necessary to balance the individual needs of stakeholders with educators knowledge of developmentally appropriate practices and current best practice recommendations from recognised authorities. The Occupational Health and Safety Act states that employers have a duty of care to their employees to ensure that the working environment supports emotional and mental wellbeing.

Rationale
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Important: The use of physical punishment2 by educators/students/volunteers/visitors and families as a behaviour guidance strategy is not acceptable under any circumstances. The use of isolation, humiliation, intimidation or negative labelling by educators/students/volunteers/visitors and families as a behaviour guidance strategy is not acceptable under any circumstances. In meeting the services duty of care under the Child Care Act and Regulations there is a shared responsibility between the service and its stakeholders that the Behaviour Guidance Policy and procedures are adhered to.

Strategies and practices Behaviour guidance strategies The Centres behaviour guidance strategies include positive reinforcement and positive redirection. Room limits have been introduced and are enforced positively. Guidance and Babies Guidance starts at birth, along with other teaching and learning. A babies needs must be met in order to secure the best start to developing positive behaviour attributes. For positive guidance carers/staff need to be able to distract, guide, redirect attention and remove temptation. Furthermore, carers/staff need to ensure a great deal of attention is given to babies in both cases of happiness and sadness. Finally, educators need to be sensitive to babies limitations, changing the situations according to their needs and desires. Guidance and Toddlers Toddlers can become frustrated easily in situations of difficulty. Toddlers should not be forced to share, play together or cooperate if it is causing distress. A positive way to avoid conflict is to provide distractions. Re-direct their behaviour in a positive way. Disapproval of behaviour should come through the educators tone of voice and manner but should be kept to situations of extreme need eg. Biting or hurting another child. Guidance and 3 5 year olds Children begin to understand consequences and actions as they reach this age group. Developmental levels include understanding more about appropriate/accepted behaviour, gaining self control, the ability to use language to their advantage, and they become less egocentric than younger children. Biting Biting is a way of expressing frustration and sometimes communicating displeasure for children. Children under the age of three are limited to expressing their frustration
For the purpose of this policy, physical punishment includes smacking, hitting, slapping, kicking, pinching, pulling, pushing, shoving or the inappropriate manhandling of a child by an adult. Page 3 of 8
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as they do not have the ability to do so verbally. Therefore, it is common for children under the age of three to bite out of frustration. There are other reasons that children may bite and these include the fact that they may be teething, they may have witnessed other children bite and are imitating the behaviour, or they may even be playing. However, biting is a serious issue and the most effective means of preventing it is supervision. Educators need to be alert to situations of frustration and must be able to re-direct the behaviour to prevent it from happening.

Children Children are active participants in the development, implementation and monitoring of behaviour guidance management plans, and should be consistently communicated with during the process. At Croydon Child Care Centre it is important to identify how children learn about their own feelings and emotions; how to establish limits and the consequences when limits are not adhered to; and where can they seek support and guidance from peers or adults. Children are encouraged to discover their emotions through a wide range of activities provided and planned throughout the year. Activities also involve a range of ways for children to learn how to deal with/express their emotions. Limits are established at the beginning of the year and are adhered to via constant verbal reminders and activities. A relaxation corner has been constructed for children who go beyond the limits of the classroom as a consequence. Children are encouraged to seek assistance from adults (educators/parents) if they are having any emotional troubles. Educators are to remain approachable at all times. Establishing limits Children are involved in establishing play and safety limits in the service, which reflect recommended best practices, and the consequences involved when limits are not adhered to. The development, reinforcement, and consequences of behaviour and its impact on the group. Reflective questions engage children to think about their practices and environment. For example, If you push your friends how are they going to feel? Encouraging children to develop their play and learning limits and consequences, reinforces ownership of the services practices. Defining limits in terms of a positive instead of a negative assists children to remember what to do rather than what not to do. For example, walking feet inside is preferable to no running inside, we use gentle hands instead of DONT hit. Establishing limits depends on the developmental level of children. For example stop, mine, stop, hurting me, for younger children. And for older children stop I dont like you pushing me. Younger children require safety and guidance limits established for them by adults, while educators can vary their communication style and language with older children to negotiate limit setting.

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For example, educators can discuss with children why it is important to wash hands before handling food and the reasons why people sit when eating food. The service should consider the following reflective questions: o Why is it important to wash hands before handling food? o What could happen if you didnt wash your hands before eating food? o If you were running around while eating and tripped, what might happen? Why is this dangerous? o What do you think should happen if someone doesnt want to wash their hands before eating?

Establishing spaces Children are involved in establishing play and learning spaces in the environment which includes areas where children can find solace, peace and relaxation. Environments need active, loud and energetic play spaces balanced with passive, quiet and peaceful areas where children can find solace and peace. It is important that services provide both types of spaces, especially for those children who recognise that they require time apart from their peers. For example, a child who recognises that they are becoming frustrated with other children can retreat to an area that is calming and allows them to refocus. Support The service provides opportunities for children to seek information that can assist them in dealing with their emotions. At times, children need to know where they can enlist adult support and receive information that may not be delivered directly by educators. Enrolling, orientating and settling families into care (orientation) The service informs families about the behaviour guidance policy on enrolment and seeks information from families about the behaviour guidance strategies used at home. It is important for the service to understand the expectations of families regarding behaviour guidance strategies used in the service before children begin care. Communicating with families during the enrolment process assists educators in understanding childrens behaviour and the limits established at home. Establishing lines of open communication and expectations Families should have the opportunity to express their thoughts, expectations and feelings openly and with respect with educators. Educators should extend open and positive lines of communication with families in regards to maintaining behaviour guidance strategies and practices. It is important to communicate to families about the behaviour guidance strategies established in the service. Families should recognise that some behaviour guidance strategies or practices established in the home cannot be enforced in the services environment. Educators
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Educators respond to, and acknowledge childrens emotions, such as happiness, anger, pleasure, fear, anxiety, frustration, sadness, and pride. Educators acknowledge that the emotions experienced by children are significant. For example, an adult who is not scared of thunder should not trivialise the fear or anxiety expressed by a child. Educators understand that children may not have developed the appropriate strategies to express emotions due to their age and/or stage of development. Educators attitudes and caregiving strategies demonstrate an understanding and empathy towards children who display behaviours that are not always consistent with their development and/or general disposition.

Confidentiality and privacy All issues that arise as a result of the behaviour guidance policy will be deemed confidential. Please refer to confidentiality policy.

Educator professional development opportunities Educators at the Centre will participate in as much professional development activity in relation to behaviour guidance as possible. Relief educators Role and responsibilities o All relief staff will have the opportunity to undertake behaviour guidance policy training and will be expected to stay in line with the current policy/procedure. Students and volunteers Role and responsibilities o Any students or volunteers will be expected to adhere to the behaviour guidance policy at all times. Protective Behaviours and Practices Educators, students and volunteers as role models Children learn through example and modelling is an important way to teach children behaviour guidance practices. Educators, students and volunteers must comply with the Behaviour Guidance Policy. Modelling clear and consistent expectations is an important tool in behaviour guidance management strategies. Services can describe how staff/carers maintain positive modelling when caring for children, and how they communicate to colleagues the importance of role modelling in the workplace. Accessing external support agencies The Croydon Child Care Centre will utilize the Inclusion Support Agency for any issues that may arise in relation to behaviour guidance.

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Policy review The service will review the Behaviour Guidance Policy and guidelines every 12 to 18 months. Families are encouraged to collaborate with the service to review the policy and procedures. Educators are essential stakeholders in the policy review process and will be encouraged to be actively involved.

Procedures Procedures to be followed when an inappropriate behaviour is displayed. 1. Re-direct the child to another experience and explain in a developmentally appropriate manner the correct behaviour. Eg. If a child is climbing on the play dough table the educator will use language to re-direct the child to another area saying the table is for working on, our bottoms go on chairs. Documentation to be written/kept via anecdotal records. 2. The child will be monitored and consistent positive language will be modelled and used each time the inappropriate behaviour is displayed. 3. If the behaviour physically affects another person the perpetrator will be required to assist the injured party by comforting them in an age appropriate manner. Eg. Holding the ice pack on them, sitting with them, showing the other child empathy (the child is not expected to verbalise sorry). Documentation will include incident forms, and anecdotal records in the childs file. 4. Should the inappropriate behaviour persist or escalate the staff will review documentation to identify patterns or time frames affecting/causing the behaviour and implement behavioural checklists to ensure that all the needs of the child are being met at the service. Should there be an issue the educators will implement strategies to implement effective solutions and monitor the progress of these. 5. Should the behaviour continue, the family and Director will meet to discuss ongoing strategies that can be implemented and these will be documented in the form of a behaviour plan set to a timeline. 6. Should the behaviour plan not be effective, outside agencies will be consulted in collaboration with the family. 7. If the behaviour continues and is causing a duty of care issue within the Centre and the group, the Licensee will be advised and written communication will be sent to the family advising them of further steps which will be taken. This will include exclusion periods from the Centre for the particular child until such time as the behaviour is no longer evident. Links to other policies The following are a list of examples: Child protection Enrolment of new children and families to the service and the orientation procedure Grievances and complaints management Occupational health and safety
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Educators as role models Supervision Supporting childrens individual health needs

Sources and further reading Early Childhood Australia Inc. (2007). The code of ethics. Retrieved May 2, 2007, from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/code_of_ethics/early_childhood_ australias_code_of_ethics.html National Childcare Accreditation Council Inc. (2005). Diversity in programming. Family Day Care Quality Assurance Factsheet #4. NSW: Author. Porter, L. (2003). Young childrens behaviour: Practical approaches for caregivers and teachers (2nd ed). NSW: MacLennan & Petty. Porter, L. (2006). Children are people too: A parents guide to young childrens behaviour. Adelaide: East Street Publications. Stonehouse, A. (2004). Dimensions: Excellence in many ways. NSW: National Family Day Care Council of Australia. Stonehouse, A., & Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2004). Making links: A collaborative approach to planning and practice in early childhood services. NSW: Pademelon Press. Tansey, S. (2006). Equity for children and families. Outside School Hours Care Quality Assurance Factsheet #8. NSW: National Childcare Accreditation Council Inc. The Royal Australasian College of Physicians. (2004). Physical punishment and discipline (including smacking). Retrieved May 2, 2007, from http://www.racp.edu.au/index.cfm?objectid=A4254F55-2A57-5487DFE129631BCB4C59 UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved April 4, 2007, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf

Policy created date Policy review date Approved by (Chief Executive Officer Croydon Shire Council) Approval date

26/08/2004 21/03/2010

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