Leicestershire providers strive to offer children the best start in life. Occasionally providers can find themselves struggling to include and meet the needs of particular children, who for a variety of reasons do not respond to the setting’s behaviour support strategies. Despite the provider's best attempts nothing seems to be effective.
It is important to note that Leicestershire does not endorse exclusion as an appropriate or desirable strategy to manage difficult behaviour.
To ensure all children are supported the key is to develop good working relationships with parents and carers together with a clear inclusion plan supported by a whole staff approach.
Have a written behaviour policy
The local authority would expect each provider to have their own written behaviour policy published and available for parents to read.
The purpose of a behaviour policy is:
- To promote positive behaviour, helping children’s social development and emotional wellbeing.
- To ensure that all children feel safe and secure in the provision.
- For all staff to have consistent expectations and approaches to children’s behaviour.
- To enable staff to support children to behave appropriately.
- To help children develop an awareness of our expectations and know/learn how to behave appropriately.
- For parents to know there is a consistent and fair approach.
It is important to adopt a consistent approach when supporting the child at home and in the setting. The policy should be discussed during supervisions to ensure that staff are aware of the policy and are able to put strategies in place. It is useful when discussing strategies to evaluate which have been successful and less successful in supporting the child.
All staff should be aware of appropriately managing Children’s behaviour and ideally several staff members should attend appropriate training to support positive approaches to challenging behaviour.
All staff should be aware of the Equality Act 2010 and protected characteristics of disability and in particular the implications of the term ‘reasonable adjustments’. All staff should be able to share with parents, carers and involved agencies, how they are working with the children. Staff should be able to produce current records and plans if required to do so.
Parent and carer support
It is the setting's responsibility to ensure all children are included. This can sometimes be a challenge for staff and it is during these times that parental support is most valuable.
Every family has the right to confidentiality and privacy when discussing concerns.
It is important to involve parents at an early stage because they know their child best, and may be able to give you invaluable information to help you understand why their child is finding a particular situation difficult and help you manage it. This will support staff in putting appropriate strategies in place to support the child.
Working with parents to support their child’s positive behaviour is an ongoing and collaborative process which depends on regular and open communication over time.
All parents need to be confident that all staff are working together with both the family and agencies involved to resolve any issues and to provide all children with quality care. If parents and carers raise concerns, it is important that providers keep parents informed as to how the issues are being managed and work together.
Sometimes children may present with challenging or withdrawn behaviour. It is very important that steps are taken quickly, with the involvement of the SENCO and wider services, to help children with this level of difficulty, and to ensure that other children are kept safe.
Providers need to remind parents that children develop different skills at different rates and as a consequence some will find certain aspects of their time in a setting more difficult than others.
Practitioners need to reflect on the provision for the child to ensure it meets their needs. This includes:
- Audit the environment and resources e.g. are there enough resources for everyone to share?
- Opportunities for all to use the indoor and outdoor environment
- Review of the positive behaviour strategies used in the setting
- Review staff training and identify any additional training required
- Time to embed advice and strategies to support the child’s needs
Further advice and support
Education psychology duty desk: 0116 305 5100
Providers can phone Tuesday to Thursday 8.30am to 4.30pm for advice about a child.
Improvement Advisor/Area SENDCo duty desk: 0116 305 7136
Providers can phone for advice and guidance regarding policies and procedures to support children’s learning and development. Providers can also phone for advice and guidance regarding supporting a child’s potential and emerging SEND.
Early Help Services can provide support to parents who are struggling to manage their child’s behaviour and offer both group work programmes and brief one to one work. In addition, the Pathway Coordination team can provide a team around approaches to the family where the needs of pre-school children and their families appear more complex or where there may be a need for involvement from a range of agencies, for example services for the parents and for the children.