Should children be excluded as a form of punishment?
Reports of children being excluded from their Primary schools, and even some nursery settings, for negative behaviour are slowly increasing. However many professionals and parents have slammed this consequence, claiming it as severe and unnecessary.
Childcare providers and primary schools will often have a policy on behaviour or a code of conduct for pupils to follow. This may outline the types of behaviour that will not be accepted, the consequences of these and how the teachers or staff members should handle these incidents. These policies tend to be much more strict and rigid in a school environment, due to the age of the children and the higher level of understanding. However negative behaviours such as biting, fighting and swearing can still often be observed in Early Years settings.
It is uncommon to see children excluded at such a young age, with many Early Years behaviour policies focusing on finding the root cause for the behaviour and working with the child and their parents to modify this; however some settings have found no other alternative but to remove the child from the setting. This can be for a variety of reasons, yet is usually for the safety of the child, their peers or the members of staff.
Many may argue that excluding a child from the setting has no benefit for the child and instead impacts on their learning and development. It can be a difficult situation for an Early Years provider to find themselves in, yet it is important that the manager and the parents try every other avenue before deciding on exclusion.
Alternative routes to exclusion
As most child behaviur theroists will agree, behaviour is learnt. They observe the world around them and will imitate what they have seen. This may not mean that the child has witnessed their parents doing such things, but may have picked it up from another child or experienced it from the media. Children will experiment with a range of behaviours to see which one gets the best outcome from others. The same way babies cry to be fed; children may start biting to gain attention. It is a good idea to observe the behaviours, perhaps using an ABC chart, in order to pinpoint the different times and situations when a child’s behaviour changes. This may enable practitioners and parents to distract the child before the need arises.
There are many debates on discipline, with all children responding differently to different methods. Some believe that positive reinforcement is the most efficient way to rectify behaviour, with adults praising only the positive behaviour and ignoring the negative. This has a great deal of rewards and can help children to understand that they will receive a great reaction from doing something positive; however others may see that their negative behaviour isn’t gaining attention and may take this further.
Other professionals may use different techniques to modify behavior such as giving the child 3 warnings before sitting them in “thinking time.” This is a strategy often seen in Early Years settings to teach children that their behaviour is unacceptable and give them some time away from an activity to reflect on their actions. Sand timers are a great way for the child to visually understand how long they need to stay in thinking time for and can help them to focus and calm their emotions if the are upset or angry. It is a general rule of thumb for a child to be put in thinking time for one minute per year of their age, so a three year old will usually be given three minutes thinking time.
Talking with a child about their behaviour is another way to understand the cause and help the child rectify their actions. Emotion cards, stories about characters misbehaving and puppets are all useful resources that can be used with children to talk about their feelings and think of alternative responses or actions. Children who are showing a great deal of anger or frustration may benefit from physical activities that enable them to release extra energy and build up frustration.
If an Early Years setting has tried a variety of behaviour strategies with a child who is displaying negative and aggressive behaviour without success, it may be a good idea to call the child’s parents in for a chat. It is good practice for them to have been informed of any incidents prior to this point; however by calling a meeting the setting may be able to put a plan into place and gather some help from parents.
Children in Early Years settings are still trying to learn social cues and understand their own feelings and behaviour so many may feel that exclusion is an extreme course of action. It is a good idea to try and support the child and their family in altering their behaviour and building their personal development, using actions such as exclusion as a last resort.