Teach

Ensuring that staff members have the ability to safely supervise the children in their care is your responsibility. It reflects the commitment you make to the families who have trusted your program with their children. It is also your responsibility and commitment to the children who rely on your program for guidance, nurturing, protection, and support. This course will provide simple tools you can use to guide staff as they learn to follow ratio and supervision guidelines.

It is also your responsibility to teach staff members your program’s specific ratios and policies for maintaining accountability. Provide them the tools they need, such as sign-in sheets and attendance logs. Teach staff members in your program how to use those tools. Also, teach them the critical importance of active supervision. The Virtual Lab School Safe Environments course within each direct care track provides staff members or family child care providers specific details about active supervision strategies appropriate for the age groups they serve. Follow-up with staff members or providers to support their use of age-appropriate active supervision techniques.

Supervision of Internet and Technology Use

Technology has changed the nature of our day-to-day lives. While the internet, tablets, and applications or “apps” provide children and staff with new and exciting learning opportunities, they also come with safety and supervision challenges. It is essential that your program has guidelines for the supervision and use of technology by children, and you play an important role in supporting staff so they know the rules and carry them out. Your program may have protections such as software that limits access to explicit material on the internet, but know that this should not provide a false sense of safety. While such programs are useful, and a good starting point, active supervision of children’s internet and device use is best, and you should coach staff to provide the same level of supervision for children’s online activity while in your program as they do with any other type of activity. Consider these questions when helping staff members assess their supervision of children’s online activity and technology use:

Is internet and technology use intentional and planned or are children “surfing the web?”

Am I familiar with the websites, apps, or games children are using while in the program?

Do the websites, apps, and games used during program time contain content that is sexually explicit, promotes hate or violence, or encourages users to buy something or provide personal information?

Are children interacting with others online? If so, who?

Am I engaging with the children during their online activities?

Model

When you spend time in classrooms and programs, model the active supervision strategies you expect staff members to use. When you go on playgrounds, move around and make sure children are safe. Avoid standing still and talking to staff members. This might distract them from their supervisory responsibilities. Make sure you know children’s names and are able to support staff members as they supervise for safety.

Frequently check-in with staff members and ask how many children are in their care. Staff members should be able to instantly state the number of children in their classroom or program. This “spot check” is one way you can make sure staff are aware of and following ratio and supervision practices.

Observe

Observe staff members and talk with them about ratio and supervision practices. It is important for you to know each staff member’s individual strengths and challenges. Remember to focus on the content the staff member is working on: in this case, ratios and supervision. You can use a variety of tools to focus your observation:

• Checklists. Complete a supervision checklist and share results with the team.
• Setting maps. During a site visit, sketch a map of the classroom or program. Mark the form to indicate where adults stand and where the majority of children are. Share results with staff. Relate results to the action plan. Are staff members following the action plan?
• Video recording. Record staff interactions with children. Review the video with staff members. Talk about strengths, issues and concerns related to the action plan.
• Track a child. If staff members are concerned about supervising a particular child, spend some time specifically observing that child. Keep anecdotal records of the child’s movements, behaviors, and interactions with children and adults. Share results with the team, and brainstorm solutions.
• Track Incident Reports. Spend time reviewing incident reports for a classroom or setting. Look for patterns and discuss these with staff members. Identify when and where problems are occurring. Discuss with staff whether supervision issues played a role in the incidents.

As aPUBLIC coach, you should remain aware of the children in each group who may need special attention. Staff members may need extra support to supervise these children effectively. You may have to help them brainstorm staffing solutions and activity plans that meet the child’s needs. You might have to help develop activity schedules, role and responsibility plans, and other staffing supports for the child. You can support staff members as they refine their supervision skills by:

• Providing information about a particular child’s behavior or skill
• Providing information about classroom “hot spots”
• Discussing a video of the classroom together
• Providing resources about what to do if a room is out of ratio (over or under)

Case Example Step 1

Now let’s spend some time thinking about a Case Example. It’s important to remember that you can provide support for staff members at all levels of skill. As you watch this video of Nikki, think about ways you could help her reflect and build her professional skill around supervision.

Case Example Step 2: Make a Plan

Maintaining accountability for children is critical. This can be an important focus for action planning. All staff members can improve their professional skills.

Here is a sample action plan that Nikki and herPUBLIC coach created about supervision. Nikki is the preschool teacher you saw in the video about riding bikes safely. She uses effective supervision strategies. She and herPUBLIC coach decided it would be valuable for her to share her professional knowledge.

Additional Examples of Supervision Strategies

Staff members use a variety of strategies for maintaining accountability. Watch these examples of adults supervising infants and toddlers. As you watch, think about the strategies you see related to supervision and ratios.

Following each video, think about the competencies you saw and what you might say or do. Here is an example:

Following each video, think about the competencies you saw and what you might say or do. Here is an example:

Finally, watch these examples of adults supervising school-age children. As you watch, think about the strategies you see.

Following each video, think about the competencies you saw and what you might say or do. Here is an example: