Many factors influence the behaviour of children in early years settings, but the behaviour of childcare workers has a great effect on children. Children respect adults and therefore childcare workers have a responsibility to behave appropriately and professionally at all times. This includes outside the setting as well as during working hours.
Childcare workers should ensure that they are dressed decently, safely and appropriately for the tasks that they undertake as part of their role.
Childcare workers have a responsibility to protect children's well-being and demonstrate their ability to do so in order to gain the trust of children and their parents/carers. Childcare workers should know that their behaviour, in the workplace or elsewhere, could undermine trust and confidence in them. They should demonstrate high standards of personal behaviour in order to ensure that children and their parents/carers and their colleagues have confidence in them.
Communicating with children and parents/carers via technology should only happen within professional boundaries. This includes using computers, tablets, phones, emails or text messages, social media such as Facebook and Twitter, chat rooms, forums, blogs, websites and so on. Childcare workers should not ask for or respond to any personal information from children or parents/carers over and above what is necessary for their professional role. They should ensure that they communicate in an open and transparent fashion avoiding any communication which could be deemed inappropriate.
Social media can be effective for communicating with parents/carers. They can be used to promote the setting, for example, fundraising activities. Settings will have social media policies in order to give guidance to childcare workers and encourage safe and responsible use of these media. Childcare workers should not make personal telephone calls (except in an emergency) during working hours. They should not share information online or on personal social networking pages nor take pictures or videos of colleagues, parents/carers/guardians or children within the setting.
Childcare workers must act professionally at all times with digital communication. Childcare workers should not use social media to infringe the rights and privacy of others nor make comments or express opinion on other members of staff, children or parents/carers. Childcare workers must also ensure that they maintain confidentiality when using social media. It is also important that childcare workers control the pictures on their online profile, including pictures in which they may be tagged by others.
If a childcare worker posts any information online, which identifies them as a member of the setting's staff, that post should reflect the setting's ethos, policies and procedures.
Settings take unacceptable behaviour very seriously which can lead to disciplinary action, e.g. writing or making comments which are offensive or which break confidentiality. The manager or leader of the setting will need to inform the police and await further instructions from them if the content of the message/comments is illegal, e.g. including threats of violence or racial offences.
Every setting should have arrangements in place relating to taking and using pictures or images, linked to their child protection and safeguarding policies. This should include the various devices that can be used to take images, e.g. cameras, mobile phones, tablets, web-cams and so on. Written consent from parents/carers should be sought before taking pictures of children for any use, with any media, whether a traditional camera, digital camera, video camera or mobile phone.
Mae llawer o ddylanwadau ar y ffordd y mae plant yn ymddwyn mewn lleoliad blynyddoedd cynnar, ond mae ymddygiad gweithwyr gofal plant yn cael effaith fawr ar blant. Mae plant yn parchu oedolion ac felly mae dyletswydd ar gweithwyr gofal plant i ymddwyn mewn ffordd briodol a phroffesiynol bob amser. Mae hyn yn cynnwys y tu allan i’r lleoliad yn ogystal ag yn ystod oriau gwaith.
Dylai gweithwyr gofal plant sicrhau eu bod wedi'u gwisgo'n weddus, yn ddiogel ac yn briodol ar gyfer y tasgau y maent yn ymgymryd â nhw fel rhan o’u rôl.
Mae gan gweithwyr gofal plant gyfrifoldeb i ddiogelu lles plant a dangos eu gallu i wneud hynny er mwyn ennill ymddiriedaeth plant a'u rhieni/gofalwyr. Dylai gweithwyr gofal plant fod yn ymwybodol y gallai eu hymddygiad, naill ai yn y gweithle neu allan ohono, arwain at ddiffyg ymddiriedaeth neu hyder ynddyn nhw. Dylen nhw ddangos safonau uchel o ymddygiad personol er mwyn gwneud yn siŵr bod gan y plant a’u rhieni/gofalwyr a’u cydweithwyr hyder ynddyn nhw.
Dylai cyfathrebu â phlant a rhieni/gofalwyr trwy gyfrwng technoleg ddigwydd o fewn ffiniau proffesiynol unig. Mae hyn yn cynnwys defnyddio cyfrifiaduron, tabledi, ffonau, negeseuon e-bost neu decst, cyfryngau cymdeithasol fel Facebook a Twitter, ystafelloedd sgwrsio, fforymau, blogiau, gwefannau ac ati. Ni ddylai gweithwyr gofal plant ofyn am neu ymateb i unrhyw wybodaeth bersonol gan blant neu rieni/gofalwyr heblaw am yr hyn sy’n angenrheidiol yn eu rôl broffesiynol. Dylent sicrhau eu bod yn cyfathrebu mewn ffordd agored a thryloyw sy’n osgoi unrhyw gyfathrebu y gellid ei ystyried yn anaddas.
Gall cyfryngau cymdeithasol fod yn ffordd effeithiol o gyfathrebu â rhieni/gofalwyr. Gellir ei ddefnyddio hefyd i hyrwyddo'r lleoliad, er enghraifft, gweithgareddau codi arian. Bydd gan leoliadau bolisi cyfryngau cymdeithasol er mwyn rhoi arweiniad i gweithwyr gofal plant ac annog defnydd diogel a chyfrifol o’r cyfryngau hyn. Ni ddylai gweithwyr gofal plant wneud galwadau ffôn personol (heblaw ei fod yn argyfwng) yn ystod oriau gwaith. Ni ddylid rhannu gwybodaeth ar safle gwe neu dudalen rhwydwaith cymdeithasol personol na thynnu lluniau na chreu fideo o gyd-weithwyr, rhieni/gofalwyr/gwarcheidwaid na phlant y lleoliad.
Mae angen i gweithwyr gofal plant fod yn broffesiynol bob amser wrth gyfathrebu’n ddigidol. Ni ddylai gweithwyr gofal plant ddefnyddio cyfryngau cymdeithasol i dorri hawliau a phreifatrwydd eraill neu wneud sylwadau neu fynegi barn am aelodau eraill o’r staff, plant neu rieni/gofalwyr. Rhaid i gweithwyr gofal plant sicrhau eu bod yn cadw cyfrinachedd wrth ddefnyddio cyfryngau cymdeithasol. Mae’n bwysig hefyd i gweithwyr gofal plant reoli’r lluniau sydd yn rhan o’u proffil ar-lein, gan gynnwys delweddau y gall eraill eu tagio ynddynt.
Os yw gweithiwr gofal plant yn postio unrhyw wybodaeth ar y We, lle gellir ei adnabod fel aelod o staff y lleoliad, dylai’r post hwnnw adlewyrchu ethos, polisïau a gweithdrefnau’r lleoliad.
Mae lleoliadau’n ystyried ymddygiad annerbyniol yn beth difrifol iawn sy’n gallu arwain at gymryd camau disgyblu, e.e. ysgrifennu neu gyflwyno sylwadau sy’n sarhaus neu sy’n torri cyfrinachedd. Bydd rheolwr neu arweinydd y lleoliad angen hysbysu’r heddlu ac aros am gyfarwyddiadau pellach ganddynt os yw cynnwys y neges/sylwadau yn anghyfreithlon, e.e. yn cynnwys bygythiadau o ymosod neu droseddau hiliol.
Dylai fod gan bob lleoliad drefniadau mewn perthynas â chymryd a defnyddio lluniau neu ddelweddau, sy'n gysylltiedig â'u polisi diogelu ac amddiffyn plant. Dylai hyn gynnwys y gwahanol ddyfeisiadau y gellir eu defnyddio i gymryd delweddau, e.e. camerâu, ffonau symudol, tabledi, gwe-gamerâu ac ati. Dylid sicrhau caniatâd ysgrifenedig rhieni/gofalwyr cyn tynnu lluniau plant at unrhyw ddefnydd, gydag unrhyw gyfrwng, boed gamera traddodiadol, camera digidol, camera fideo neu ffôn symudol.
Sort the statements regarding the behaviour of childcare workers into the correct column.
Rhowch y datganiadau ynglŷn ag ymddygiad gweithwyr gofal plant yn y golofn gywir.