Concerns about a child’s behaviour

Difficulties can arise due to environmental factors and/or factors specifically linked to a child’s additional health, speech/language/communication, sensory, emotional/ social/behavioural needs. Alongside ongoing dialogue with parents/carers, specific aspects for consideration might include:

• Organisation – routines, room layout, adult deployment, accessibility of resources inside and outside, and planning for individual learning and development needs across all areas and aspects of learning and development.
• Observation and assessment against the EYO to identify developmental stage particularly related to PSED
• Planning activities that are differentiated appropriately to motivate, support and challenge children, reflecting individual children’s interests, stage of development and particular needs.
• Undertake a time audit to look at percentage of time the child spends completing adult directed tasks (E.g. whole group story times, snack times, toilet routines, lining up etc.)
• Many opportunities for active physical learning; regular and sufficient access to an outside area with adult support for running including periods when heart rate is risen.
• Opportunities for sustained child initiated activity
• Time sampling observations for individual children to determine ‘triggers’ for the behaviour (e.g. ABC checklist).
• Assessment from observation to identify if the behaviour is aggressive or just excitable – noting and assessing specific objective/non-judgemental examples of what the child does.
• Consider the child’s developmental stage as opposed to actual age and relevant and appropriate expectations and offer of gross motor skill opportunities and access to resting most of the time the child is in the setting.
• Level of support for the staff in responding to appropriate behaviours, and having consistent expectations, with a common approach to encouraging positive behaviour in the setting.
• Time with key person daily where child feels listened to and acknowledged.
• General and specific provision for emotional well-being e.g. areas for feelings exploration as part of continuous provision.
• Consideration of health aspects, for example hearing/vision, and aspects related the child’s speech and language development, and/or his/her needs with regard to communication and social interaction and sensory integration

Please refer also to ‘Behaviour management: A Graduated Response – Quick Guidelines’ and ‘Strategies for positive behaviour management’ All staff to read ‘Inclusion development programme: Supporting children with Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties. DVD attached can support in-service training