Commitment to Interactive Supervision Statement

TG’s Child Care is committed to Interactive Supervision

Aim

Educators have a duty of care to ensure children are actively supervised at all times, maintaining safe and secure environments whilst adhering to Education and Care Services National Law and National Regulations. Supervision, together with thoughtful design and arrangement of children’s environments, assists in the prevention and severity of injury to children.
 

Educators will actively supervise children, identifying risks and taking all necessary steps to prevent or minimise injury. Effective supervision of children also 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.

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Implementation

Adequate supervision in a centre-based service requires careful consideration depending on the different ages of children and varying abilities. Generally, the younger the child the more they will need adults close by to support and provide assistance. Supervision of infants and toddlers who are sleeping need careful consideration to ensure educators can see and hear children. (See: Safe Sleep, Rest, Relaxation and Clothing Policy).
 

Supervision of preschool age children may involve simultaneous use of indoor and outdoor environments and require effective supervision of children in both environments. (Source: ACECQA, 2023).

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TG's Child Care will:

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• 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 if their child is involved in a serious incident/situation at the 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 a qualified 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 Service under any circumstance

• ensure that all educators are aware of where all children are at all times and monitor their environment closely

• ensure educators conduct roll calls before moving to a new room or learning environments both indoors and outdoors

• ensure educators are aware to close any doors they are leaving a room but before doing so ensure a check is completed to ensure no child is left unattended

• complete a monthly supervision audit (see Appendix A)

• ensure educators are able to respond to any situation immediately, particular when 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 being cared for and educated in the Service including:

o when children are participating in excursions and when transportation is provided as part of our education and care service

• 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

• ensure supervision of sleeping children is active, effective and frequent

• ensure educators are aware that if they need to move away from directly working with children, another educator is to replace them. (e.g., collecting additional resources. Ensure educators sign in to the room using the working directly with children form to ensure all ratio requirements are met at all times (see Appendix B)

• in consultation, a risk assessment is created with the team and will 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 and nappy change facilities. The supervision plan will be displayed in the outdoor environment to guide educators, if applicable

• ensure educators employ ‘active supervision’ strategies at all times. (See active supervision document: https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-04/QA2ActiveSupervisionEnsuringSafetyAndPromotingLearning_1.pdf and activesupervision poster (Appendix D) -

https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-09/Active-Supervision-6-steps.pdf

• ensure educators are aware of the child safe standard and participate in yearly training

• 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 apple watches or administrative tasks

• ensure educators are positioned to allow them to observe the maximum area possible

• ensure educators move around the environment to provide maximum vision of the area and avoid standing with their back to children or talking with other educators

• adopt best practice; ensuring no educator is left alone with a child to support child protection protocols

• ensure that a Risk Assessment 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

• ensure risk assessments are conducted to determine how children are supervised while being transported and whether additional adults are required during transportation

• minimum educator qualification requirements including how many educators are to be early childhood teachers, are recognised and adhered to according to legislative requirements

• the Service maintains the required educator-to-child ratio working directly with children at all times, based on the ages and number of children being educated and cared for at the Service

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​Educators will:
• monitor and maintain educator 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 child safe environment at all times
• communicate and collaborate with others to ensure the effective supervision of children within the 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)
• implement vigilant supervision strategies for hygiene requirements including:

1. regular handwashing

2. toileting

3. cough and sneeze routines- using disposable tissues and handwashing

• inform new and support educators about supervision arrangements, outlining their supervision responsibilities during the induction process and procedure
• ensure any educator under the age of 18 years old is 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 and when supporting children with toileting/hygiene routines
• arrange the education and care environment to maximise the ability of educators to supervise all areas accessible to children.
• emphasis for supervision will be on gates, the fence line 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 Services National Regulations throughout the education and care environment
• providing flexible rostering of supervision depending on the age of children and needs of individual children
• promote children’s agency by making decisions about supervision that allows children to engage in independent exploration and appropriate risk taking
• actively engage with children to support their learning whilst actively supervising and observing children
• ensure that all children are in sight or hearing of educators at all times
• ensure that no child is left alone while eating or at nappy change and toileting times
• adequately supervise children during rest time in accordance with the Safe Sleep, Rest, Relaxation & Clothing Policy and relevant legislative requirements
• 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 on the roll with an educator’s signature
• ensure that hazardous equipment and chemicals are inaccessible to children
• scan the environment during interactions with individuals or small groups
• 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 learning environments to allow for appropriate supervision of groups of children
• Read, understand and follow the Supervision Guidelines and Procedure in this policy (see Appendix C)
 

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 needs to be interrupted and redirected
• supporting educators with specific strategies for supervision such as positioning, peripheral vision and monitoring children’s arrival and departure from the service
• providing consistent supervision strategies when the Service requires support educators

Continuous Improvement/Reflection
The Interactive Supervision Policy will be reviewed on an annual basis in conjunction with children, families, educators, team players and management.

​Created: May 2024       Next review: May 2025