Putting together a meaningful playground supervision plan requires planning, training, and deliberate action.
One of the first steps is deciding 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. 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, as well as 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. Initial staff training is as important as ongoing education. Staff, students, 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.
Our Playground Supervision Guide provides recommended supervision practices along with a form designed as a sample playground supervision plan to assist when creating a unique supervision plan for your playground.
