Early Years behaviour

As providers of early education you will be aware of the importance of creating an environment that promotes positive behaviour and in accordance with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) your setting should have and be implementing a behaviour management policy. You are also required to have a named practitioner who is responsible for behaviour management. The role of the named practitioner is to give advice to other staff members and develop confidence and understanding in dealing with unwanted behaviour. As part of NCC inclusion strategy we provide the nationally accredited programme called Norfolk Steps. This approach is adopted across the county in early years and schools.

One-day Step On training is provided for early years providers and is valid for two years. This training is a proactive response to establishing ethos and systems to support the inclusion of children with challenging or dangerous behaviours. Training includes establishing ethos, understanding behaviours, de-escalation, consistent responses, law and guidance, planning and documentation, repair and reflection.

Half-day Step On refresher training is required every 2 years and offers updated information about changes in legislation and local strategies. It also offers opportunity to refresh and reestablish ethos. If a practitioner does not attend the refresher training within the agreed timescale, they would be required to access the one day training again.

Individual consultations Occasionally individual consultations from a member of the Norfolk Steps team around specific issues can be accessed. Evidence that strategies for support have been tried and that practitioner/s have attended and hold an up to date certificate for Step On training will also be required should there be need to access this level of support. It is advisable to contact the Early Years Duty Desk to discuss before making a referral request.

Behaviour toolkit Linking to Step On training, a behaviour toolkit was developed for early years providers as an additional resource offering another tier of support. Although these are no longer provided in paper form, the updated forms contained within the toolkit can be found on the Norfolk Steps - forms and documentation page in this section.