Behavior Policy

Dafna International School Kindergarten aims to provide a rich, stimulating, and caring environment where:

  • All children feel included, secure, and valued.
  • Parents / Guardians, practitioners and children work together in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
  • Appropriate behavior is promoted and encouraged.
  • Differences are celebrated.
  • Tolerance and understanding are developed.

Our positive behavior policy is intended to be reflected continually in our practice, and ensures that all practitioners are working in the same way to promote acceptable behavior and respect for others.

Our Aims are:

  • To promote and maintain positive behavior.
  • To foster good relationships between all staff, children, parents, and the wider community.
  • To actively welcome parental involvement and always encourage open dialogue.
  • To have clearly defined expectations regarding children’s behavior.
  • To create a purposeful, attractive environment and atmosphere in which children can develop self-esteem, self-discipline and an awareness of their responsibilities in the community.
  • To recognize and praise good behavior as well as dealing with inappropriate behavior.
  • To ensure that children are aware of the rewards and sanctions in place within the Kindergarten.

How we will reach our aims:

  • Our staff will have a consistent approach towards learning and behavior.
  • Our staff will provide support for one another through discussion and implementation of a common approach.
  • Will make explicit to the children’s expectations about behavior and the procedures for rewarding and promoting good behavior and for dealing with problems.
  • Children will be taught to learn respect for others, belongings and Kindergarten property.
  • Children will be taught to establish orderly patterns of learning and behavior through    self-discipline.
  • Children will be taught to recognize the advantages of co-operation and friendship.

Teaching and Learning

Through our daily instructions we promote positive attitude, good behavior self – respect and respect for others among children. We offer opportunities for pupils to reflect on their experiences and understand how they are developing personally and socially. All subjects taught at our school and experiences within the curriculum contribute to the process of promoting personal and social development. The needs of individual children will be planned for as and when needed.

Unacceptable Behaviour

At Dafna International School Kindergarten, we believe the following behaviours to be unacceptable:

  • Swearing – bad language
  • Repeatedly disobeying instructions
  • Hitting each other
  • Teasing other children or upsetting others on purpose
  • Rough play
  • Spitting
  • Biting
  • Damaging, stealing, or hiding other children’s property
  • Name calling

Bullying

Bullying is defined as deliberately hurtful behaviour, repeated over a period, where it is difficult for those being bullied to defend themselves. It can take many forms, but three main types are-

physical (e.g. hitting, kicking, theft),

verbal (e.g. name calling, racist remarks) and

indirect (e.g. spreading rumours, excluding someone from class groups) No member of staff in our school should tolerate bullying. The children will consistently be made aware of this rule.
A child who is being bullied is encouraged to speak to an adult in school or at home. We aim to deal with bullying incidents quickly and appropriately.

Our strategies for dealing with a bullying incident:
Child to report to teacher or parent to report to class teacher.

  • Teacher to investigate the incidents listening to all children concerned (on the same day as the report if possible, if not within the next 24 hours)
  • Children reporting bullying will be supported and praised.
  • Any serious report of bullying will be logged using an ‘Incident Report’.

Rewards and Sanctions:

  • We believe that praise is the most effective way of rewarding effort and appropriate behaviour.
  • We believe that when sanctions are necessary it is important to be fair and consistent.
  • We believe that it is important to protect our relationship with the child and to protect the child’s self-esteem by criticising the behaviour and not the child.

Rewards:

Our emphasis is on rewards to reinforce acceptable behaviour. The behaviour and the child are praised. Children are rewarded for their personal achievements by:

  • Immediate praise from a member of Kindergarten staff in – either verbally or by a sticker or both
  • Work displayed.
  • Achievements being shared with family.
  • Certificates / monthly certificates / Star of the week

Sanctions
Sanctions are needed to discourage unacceptable behaviour and to ensure safety of other children and staff. It is the behaviour that is being disapproved of, not the child. ‘I like you, but I don’t like everything you do.’

Unacceptable behaviour is sanctioned by:

  • Children being told which of their behaviours is inappropriate and why.
  • Children being told the appropriate way to behave.
  • If children continue to behave unacceptably, they will be told the next course of action and why; this will be ‘Time Out’.
  • Children will be sat on a chair with a timer and their behaviour and its consequences will be discussed with them whenever possible. This recognises that staff may have to focus attention on the victim.

Partnership:

  • Our staff and parents will initially work together through the Home Kindergarten agreement to create a positive partnership.
  • Parents will be informed if their child has behaved consistently unacceptably or if they have hurt another child.
  • Parents will be informed if their child has been a victim of unacceptable behavior without the perpetrator being named.
  • Where behavior is causing concern, the Social Worker will inform parents at an early stage and parents’ support will be sought in devising and implementing any plan of action.
  • Recommendation to consult with other professionals for help and support if necessary.