Behaviour Management Policy

The goal of all behaviour management techniques used by the staff is to promote the safety, well-being, comfort, and happiness of all children in the Centre, and to create an environment that encourages the development of physical, emotional, cognitive, and social skills. The behaviour management techniques listed below will be used to teach children acceptable behaviour. Acceptable behaviour is behaviour that is safe and that shows respect for the rights, feelings, and property of self and others. Bessborough Centre Creche does not use corporal punishment to promote acceptable behaviour.

The Centre staff will use the following behaviour management methods:

    • Engaging children in their daily schedule of activities appropriate to children’s developmental levels;
    • Providing prompt attention to the individual needs of the child; giving attention, praise and encouragement for appropriate behaviour
    • Using empathy, patience, firmness and consistency;
    • Modelling appropriate behaviour;
    • Communicating clear expectations of acceptable behaviour to children in ways they can understand;
    • Setting consistent limits on unacceptable behaviour and communicating limits to children in ways they can understand;
    • Redirecting children from unacceptable behaviour to other acceptable activities; and/or
    • Allowing children to experience the natural or logical consequences of their unacceptable behaviour when appropriate e.g using a sand time

        The following procedures are used if the methods above are not working:

    • If a child requires more than 3/6 minutes (age appropriate) away from the group in order to regain control of his behaviour, parents will be notified and the incident will be documented by the staff.
    • If, in the teacher’s judgment, a child’s behaviour prevents them from coping with the demands of a group situation on a particular day, the parents will be notified.
    • If a child develops a pattern of disruptive or destructive behaviour, either physical or verbal, the teacher will notify the parents. The parents, staff will meet to develop a mutually agreeable plan to address the problem behaviour. If a plan cannot be agreed the parents will be asked to take their child from the Centre. If a plan is developed but fails to prove successful after a reasonable period of time, the parents and staff will meet again. A new plan may be developed. In any case where the safety or well-being of the other children is in jeopardy, parents could be asked to remove their child immediately.