SUPERVISION POLICY
Supervision is an integral part of the whole care and education experience. “At its most basic level, supervision helps to protect children from hazards or harm that may arise in their daily experiences in play, interactions with others, and daily routines.” (Victoria Department of Education and Training, 2010, p.1). Effective supervision allows educators to actively engage in play and leisure opportunities that are meaningful to children and support their wellbeing, development and learning.

NATIONAL QUALITY STANDARDS (NQS)

RELATED POLICIES

PURPOSE
Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) educators have a duty of care to ensure children are actively supervised at all times, maintaining a safe and secure environment adhering to Education and Care National Law and National Regulations. Supervision for children in OSHC requires educators to cater for a wide range of ages and abilities and requires flexibility and organisation to ensure thoughtful design and arrangement of children’s environments, assists in the prevention and severity of injury to children. Effective supervision of children provides educators with the opportunity to support and build on younger children’s play experiences whilst supporting older children’s independence.

Educators will actively supervise children, identifying risks and taking all necessary steps to prevent or minimise injury in a range of situations including, transitioning children between school and the Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) Service and whilst transporting children to and from the OSHC Service.  Effective supervision of children provides educators with the opportunity to support and build on children’s play experiences.  Our Service will ensure no child or children are left alone with a visitor, student or volunteer.

SCOPE
This policy applies to children, families, staff, educators, approved provider, nominated supervisor, students, volunteers and visitors of the OSHC Service.

IMPLEMENTATION
Our OSHC Service caters for children of different ages and abilities requiring educators to consider a variety of different supervision strategies. Younger children require closer supervision, whilst educators

need to be respectful of older children’s developing independence and autonomy. 

THE APPROVED PROVIDER/ NOMINATED SUPERVISOR/ MANAGEMENT WILL:

• ensure obligations under the Education and Care Services National Law and National Regulations are met
• ensure educators, staff, students, visitors and volunteers have knowledge of and adhere to this policy and associated procedure
• ensure all new employees, students and volunteers are provided with a copy of this policy as part of their induction process
• ensure that the premises and facilities are designed and maintained to facilitate adequate supervision of children at all times while maintaining the rights and dignity of all children
• notify the regulatory authority of any serious incident or complaints alleging the safety, health or wellbeing of children has been compromised within 24hours of the incident or the time that the person becomes aware of the incident or complaint. This includes if an ambulance was call in response (not as a precaution) to the incident, situation or event
• notify parents as soon as practicable but within 24 hours if their child is involved in a serious incident/situation at the OSHC Service or whilst under the care of the OSHC Service. Details of the incident/situation are to be recorded on the Incident, Injury, Trauma and Illness Record

• ensure educators under eighteen years of age (18) are adequately supervised by an educator over the age of 18 at all times and are not left alone with children at any time
• ensure students, volunteers and/or visitors are never left alone with a child whilst at the OSHC Service under any circumstance
• minimum educator qualification requirements are recognised and adhered to according to legislative requirements
• the OSHC Service maintains the required educator-to-child ratio for children over preschool age- 1:15

• ensure that all educators are aware of where children are at all times and monitor the environment closely
• ensure educators are able to respond to any situation immediately, particularly if a child is distressed or in a hazardous situation
• develop and maintain rosters that ensure continuity of care and adequate supervision at all times when children are in attendance at the OSHC Service including:

• visiting and returning from children’s toilets
• transported to and from the OSHC Service premises (see: Safe Transportation Policy)
• transported in a vehicle/bus as part of an excursion
• when children are moving between different levels of the OSHC Service (See: Multi-storey Building Policy)
• transitioned between the OSHC Service and school grounds and
• during excursions and outings (including Vacation Care)

• ensure a staff member or nominated supervisor is present at the Service to account for children when they embark and disembark the vehicle at the OSHC Service presmises (Regulation  102E and 102F)
• ensure flexibility of supervision to provide for educators to supervise individual children or small groups of children
• guide and mentor educators to ensure a range of strategies are used to provide effective supervision such as regular head counts and attendance checks
• respect children’s age and developing independence and need for privacy when providing supervision for children in the OSHC setting
• conduct risk assessments and plan ongoing supervision taking into consideration the layout of the premises and grounds, any higher risk activities, the presence of any animals, the location of activities and the location of bathroom facilities. The supervision plan and strategies will be displayed for families in all rooms and in the outdoor area.
• ensure additional risk assessments are conducted for OSHC Services located in multi-storey buildings to ensure adequate supervision (See: Multi-storey Building Policy)
• develop, maintain and regularly review a supervision plan and strategies for both the indoor and outdoor areas, which will support educators to position themselves effectively to allow them to observe the maximum area possible
• ensure educators employ ‘active supervision’ strategies at all times
• ensure educators avoid activities or actions that will distract them from supervision, such as speaking to other educators for long periods of time, taking personal phone calls, checking mobile phones or smart watches or administrative tasks
• ensure educators are aware if they need to move away from children, another educator is to replace them
• ensure educators are positioned allowing them to watch the maximum area possible
• ensure educators move around the environment to observe the maximum area and to avoid standing with their back to children or talking with other educators
• adopt accepted best practice, ensuring no staff member is left alone with a child to support child protection protocols
• in the event of a child missing or unaccounted for, the Missing Child Procedure is followed, including notification to the regulatory authority within 24 hours of a serious incident. See Incident, Injury, Trauma & Illness Policy
• ensure that a Risk Assessment and a Management Plan is carried out before an authorisation is requested for an excursion. The risk assessment will consider and identify the number of adults required to ensure continuous adequate supervision throughout the excursion
• conduct risk assessment to determine how children are supervised while being transported and whether additional adults are required during transportation.

EDUCATORS WILL:

• monitor and maintain staff to child ratios to ensure adequate supervision of children
• have a sound understanding of their duty of care and responsibilities in ensuring children are within a safe environment
• communicate and collaborate with others to ensure the effective supervision of children within the OSHC Service
• alert other colleagues if they need to leave an area for a particular reason to ensure continuous supervision of children (e.g., to obtain resources, visit the bathroom)
• adhere to a supervision plan and strategies for both the indoor and outdoor environment, assisting colleagues to position themselves in order to effectively supervise children’s play. The supervision plan will include the floor plan of the OSHC Service and include the location of activity areas and the closest bathroom facilities for boys and girls
• respect children’s age and need for independence when actively supervising children in the OSHC setting- (younger children will require closer supervision than older children)
• implement vigilant supervision strategies for hygiene requirements including:

• regular handwashing
• cough and sneeze routines- using disposable tissues and handwashing

• inform new and relief educators about supervision arrangements, outlining their supervision responsibilities
• regularly evaluate the efficiency of the supervision plan and update as required
• in the event of a child missing or unaccounted for, the Missing Child Procedure is followed. (See Incident, Injury, Trauma & Illness Policy)
• ensure any educators under the age of 18 years old are never left alone with children
• ensure students, volunteers and/or visitors are never left alone with children
• ensure that at least one other educator is within sight when working with children or if it is necessary to assist a child to change their clothes
• arrange the environment to balance supervision of children’s needs depending on age, ability and activities

• emphasis for supervision will be on open playgrounds, risky play opportunities and doors during arrival and departure times
• communicate with each other about their location within the environment and any relevant information about supervising individual children to ensure their needs are met

• maintain correct ratios adhering to the Education and Care National Regulations throughout the education and care environment
• ensure that all children are in sight or hearing of educators at all times
• ensure that children are supervised by an educator or accompanied by an older child when going to the bathroom at the OSHC Service
• ensure that hazardous equipment and chemicals are inaccessible to children
• scan the environment during interacting with individuals or small groups
• continuously scan and look around the area to observe all the children in the vicinity.
• implement correct supervision strategies and not perform other duties while responsible for the supervision of children
• listen closely to children whilst supervising areas that may not be in a direct line of sight noticing changes in volume or tone of voice
• plan for a mixture of activities to allow for appropriate supervision of groups of children

• provide effective and adequate supervision when children are transported in a vehicle at all times (see Safe Transportation Policy and Road Safety Policy) 
• employ a variety of methods to account for all children including checking children’s name on attendance records and conducting headcounts and recording the date and time of all checks

CONSIDERATION WILL BE GIVEN TO THE DESIGN AND ARRANGEMENT OF CHILDREN’S ENVIRONMENTS TO SUPPORT ACTIVE SUPERVISION BY:

• using supervision skills to recognise areas of risk therefore reducing the potential for injury or incident to children and adults
• providing direct, constant and proximal monitoring to children undertaking activities that involve some risk and recognising when the ratio of educators to children needs to be increased- (e.g.: carpentry, water activities, climbing)
• guiding educators to make decisions about when children’s play and games neede to be interrupted and redirected
• supporting educators with specific strategies such as positioning, peripheral vision and monitoring children’s arrival and departure from the OSHC Service
• providing consistent supervision strategies when the OSHC Service requires relief educators.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT/REFLECTION

The Supervision Policy will be reviewed on an annual basis in conjunction with children, families, educators, staff and management.

CHILDCARE CENTRE DESKTOP - RELATED RESOURCES

SOURCES

Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority. (2023).  Active Supervision: Ensuring safety and promoting learning.  

Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority. Children’s Health and Safety. An analysis of Quality Area 2 of the National Quality Standard. Occasional Paper 2. (2016).

Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority. (2023). Guide to the National Quality Framework.

Australian Government Department of Education.(2022).  My Time, Our Place- Framework for School Age Care in Australia.V2.0.

Early Childhood Australia Code of Ethics. (2016).

Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010. (Amended 2023).

Education and Care Services National Regulations. (Amended 2023).     

Victoria Department of Education and Training. (2012). Supervision [Practice Note 12]: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/providers/regulation/pracnotessuperv.pdf

Western Australian Education and Care Services National Regulations