Develop a Playground Supervision Plan
Promote Positive Playground Behavior
Putting together a meaningful playground supervision plan, ensuring safety on the playground, and helping to protect children at play requires planning, training, and deliberate action. After reviewing this guide, decide whether additional considerations should be put into place for your particular playground setting, appoint a representative to be responsible for developing and implementing each step, and set a schedule for establishing a procedure to be followed. As part of the procedure, be sure to implement a training plan for both supervisors and children. As stated earlier in the guide, it’s a good idea to take children out on the playground at the beginning of each school year to familiarize them with the
equipment, age appropriateness, and how to use the equipment, so it’s also a good idea to use this time to train them on the established and published playground rules. Be sure to share written as well as verbal instructions and express the rules in child- friendly language to help ensure they understand. To help you develop your facility’s own procedure, review and utilize the playground supervision plan to help your team make planning decisions. Training staff at the onset is as important as planning for ongoing continuing education. Staff changes, children advance in age and move on, and the environment changes over time. Building a culture for playground safety and supervision requires passion and diligence, and the benefits are well worth the effort.
destination is always staffed to avoid confusion or delay when the runner reaches their destination. For this purpose, the cards can be color coded to communicate clearly what the emergency is (example red for fire, black for intruders, yellow for serious injury, etc.) • Special whistle signals can also be established, if the supervisor can ensure that the intended receiver will be able to always hear the signal. When a louder signal is needed, a bullhorn or air horn might also be effective. Whatever you choose, it is important is to find a system of emergency communication and action that works effectively. Once an emergency system is established: 1. Develop written plans, including how to summon assistance in case of an emergency. 2. Train playground supervisors, office staff, and children. 3. Test the emergency system: practice, drill, and practice some more. 4. Ensure a process for prompt notification of others as needed.
Following an organized and well-drilled emergency plan can help reduce reaction time, and often the severity of the emergency. Report Incidents Every school and agency should have an incident report form that has been prepared with the advice of the school or agency’s legal or risk management department. Playground supervisors should know how to properly complete the form in a timely manner so that proper notifications and documentation can be ensured. If a child is injured severely enough to require treatment at a hospital, there is a good chance that further information will be needed about the incident. Additionally, incident reports should be processed and retained in a systematic manner so that trends can be identified and adjustments to the supervision program can be made. An incident report form is the best, most complete way of documenting the circumstances surrounding the incident; therefore it needs to be completed and submitted immediately following the incident as directed by the school or agency policy. Other incidents such as bullying, fighting, or medical emergencies, etc. may also need to be documented.
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Preserving the Play Environment • Promoting the Value of Play • Protecting Children
Preserving the Play Environment • Promoting the Value of Play • Protecting Children
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