- Teach staff members your program’s policies for maintaining ratios and supervision.
- Model active supervision strategies for staff members in your program.
- Observe and provide feedback on staff members’ active-supervision strategies.
Learn
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.
Importance of Communication
An effective communication system will ensure ratios are maintained at all times. Whether your system involves ratio checks by intercom or in person, staff must have a thorough understanding of your program's communication system so you can be informed and can adjust accordingly. In addition written procedures are equally important. Staff must be trained on those procedures, as well as receive a copy of the staff handbook. This will be addressed in greater detail in the Communication course.
Watch this video to hear about ways to maintain ratios.
Ratios Matter
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, planned, and linked to learning goals?
Am I familiar with the websites, apps, or games children are using while in the program?
Are privacy settings and adult controls in place?
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?
Do I recognize and act on signs of potential abuse or bullying online?
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)
Observing Effective Supervision
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 (a) recognize her effective practice and (b) help her continue to refine or grow her leadership.
Case Example: Supervision
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.
Supervision for Infants and Toddlers
Following each video, think about the competencies you saw and what you might say or do. Here is an example:
Infant & Toddler Scenarios
Use the menu at left or the pager below to cycle through
You See | What you observed:
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You Say | What you might say:
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You Do | What you might do:
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Ask | What you might say:
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You Do | What you might do:
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Supervision for Preschool
Following each video, think about the competencies you saw and what you might say or do. Here is an example:
You See | What you observed:
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You Say | What you might say:
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You Do | What you might do:
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Finally, watch these examples of adults supervising school-age children. As you watch, think about the strategies you see.
Supervision for School-Age Children
Following each video, think about the competencies you saw and what you might say or do. Here is an example:
You See | What you observed:
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Ask | What you might say:
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You Do | What you might do:
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Explore
For Providing Feedback on Supervision, choose the Infant Toddler Supervision video, the School-Age Supervision video, or both. Answer the questions based on what you viewed. Think about what kinds of feedback you would provide to the staff members. Remember, feedback happens in the context of a relationship with each staff member. Focus on what you would actually say. Use first- and second-person language like “I” and “you.”
Apply
It is important to know where the “hot spots” and “blind spots” are in indoor and outdoor program spaces. On a separate sheet of paper, draw a map of the indoor and outdoor space and spend some time observing how children play and interact there. Each time you see a problem behavior or an injury, mark an X where it occurred. At the end of your observation, look for patterns and answer the questions in the activity, Active Supervision- Identifying Hot Spots. Discuss your findings with the direct care team and brainstorm solutions. Consider posting cutouts of suns in the hotspots and sunglasses in the blind spots to remind staff members to be extra watchful in those areas. The Ratio Log and Daily Attendance Record are samples of forms that can help with monitoring accountability and compliance in programs.
Staff members should know, understand, and use ratio and supervision guidelines all day, every day. Consider using the Supervision and Ratio Best Practices Checklist as a tool to observe and document competencies that specifically address supervision and ratio. As you observe and reflect on a staff member’s practice, indicate how often the staff member performs the following actions using the scale provided. Share your observations with staff and use the information learned from the checklist to identify goals and focus your coaching interactions.
Demonstrate
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. (2015).Internet use in children. Retrieved from https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/families_and_Youth/facts_for_families/FFF-Guide/Children-Online-059.aspx
American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education (2020). CFOC Standards Online Database. Aurora, CO; National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education. Also available from https://nrckids.org/CFOC
Better Kid Care (n.d.). Supervision: Counting Children. https://extension.psu.edu/programs/betterkidcare/lessons/supervision-counting-kids
CommonSense.org (2020). 23 Great Lesson Plans for Internet Safety. https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/23-great-lesson-plans-for-internet-safety
Council on Accreditation (2021). Standards for Child and Youth Development Programs. Accessible from https://coanet.org/cyd-standards/
Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (2021). Active Supervision. https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/safety-practices/article/active-supervision
Harms, T., Cryer, D., & Clifford, R. M. (2019). Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale, (3rd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.
Harms, T., Cryer, D. and Clifford, R.M. (2014). Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, (3rd ed). New York: Teachers College Press.
Harms, T., D. Cryer & R.M. Clifford. (2017). Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale,.(3rd ed). New York: Teachers College Press.
Harms, T., Jacobs, E. V., & White, D. R. (2013). School-Age Care Environment Rating Scale. New York: Teachers College Press.
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2016). ISTE Standards for Educators. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2016). ISTE Standards for Students. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-students
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology. (n.d.). Guiding principles for the use of technology with early learners. Retrieved from https://tech.ed.gov/earlylearning/principles/