YouTube video snippet on our 8 Habits workshop.
Habit #1 is Safety. Because… Safety First!
It is kind of like Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. At the bottom of the pyramid are the basic needs – food, water, security, and SAFETY.
These needs must be met first in order to address the more psychological needs of esteem, belonging, and love.
Highly-effective afterschool leaders keep kids and each other safe – physically safe and emotionally safe.
Leaders ensure there are NO safety or health hazards in the area. They protect kids from even potential hazards like caustic art materials, cleaning agents, medications, sharp knives, hot liquids, etc. They check equipment for active play, and make sure it is safe.
Afterschool leaders ensure the program community works together to keep the facilities clean. They make sure there are adequate hand-washing facilities and supplies and that we ALL wash our hands frequently.
Leaders create or maintain systems that are in place to protect the children from harm, when they move from one place to another or use the rest room - systems to keep unauthorized people from taking children from the program.
Afterschool leaders carefully supervise children according to their level of responsibility. They note when children arrive, when they leave, and with whom they leave. They know where the children are and what they are doing at all times. And they increase the level of supervision even more when they are engaged in higher risk activities.
Highly-effective leaders provide appropriate supervision to keep kids safe.
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| This window page illustrates the 9 Elements of Quality Super Vision |
2. The clock reads six o’clock because that is when we close. The clock means wait until after closing time to talk about things that are strictly personal in nature. TALK LATER. Talk about the kids and how the program is running during business hours, but talk about your weekend plans or your love life later – after six o’clock.
3. The group of people with the arrow means SPREAD OUT – as opposed to “grouping up.” When there's more than one staff person in an area, spread out so that you can supervise the entire activity area well. Whether it is on the playground, in the cafeteria, on a field trip, or on a bus… don’t group up – spread out.
4. The eye in profile is the all-seeing eye. It means SEE EVERYONE. It means orient your body so that you can see the action. Position yourself in a way that allows you to see maximum program action. When you are talking to or playing with one child or a small group, sit or stand so that the whole group is in your field of vision and keep your eyes moving.
5. The railroad track means KEEP TRACK. Keep track of children who go from one area to another and children who go to the bathroom. Make sure the child gets to the supervised area or back from the bathroom in a reasonable time. If you use 2-way radios to communicate in different activity areas, KEEP TRACK means when you send a child to another space, listen for confirmation that the child has arrived.
6. The picture of the adults leading in the front of the group and the back of the group is all about moving groups of kids. When there is only one staff person this means TAKE THE LEAD. It doesn’t mean single file lines. It means stay in the front of the group. You always have runners and stragglers – kids who move quickly and those who move slowly. If the adult is in the middle of the group it becomes unmanageable quickly. But if the staff person takes the lead, he can control the speed of the group and keep supervision tight. This means children should never get into a new unsupervised area ahead of you. You must survey the area you are entering for safety hazards before entering. Don't let children run ahead of you even to the playground or activity room. When you have more than one staff person moving a group of kids form a sandwich – the staff are the break and the kids are all the stuff that stays in between the bread.
7. The stop sign means stop. PREVENT trouble before it starts. Watch for potential trouble. If you think the kids are going something which is dangerous, STOP them. If they argue that someone else lets them do it, tell them that may be so, but you are in charge of safety now and you say NO. Discuss this conflict with the rest of the staff and develop consistent rules later, but for the moment go with your "gut" feeling. When you see something and wonder if you should stop it or not… Stop It.
8. The child going down the slide on a skate board is about to get seriously injured and his parents are going to sue you and they are going to win. This pane means USE EQUIPMENT CORRECTLY. Use all equipment and playground structures the way the equipment was designed to be used. For example, do not let children climb up the outside of slides. Do not allow children to walk tight-rope-style across the monkey bars. Do not allow children to jump off of swings. Do not help children onto equipment that they cannot climb onto and off of by themselves. Do not let them climb on things that are not built for climbing like picnic tables or bicycle racks.
9. And finally, the calendar means PLAN AHEAD for plenty of positive activity choices. Visualize the activities in advance, plan your work and then work your plan. Plan ahead for high risk activities. Plan ahead for transitions. Plan ahead for things to do when there is nothing to do. Kids who are engaged in activities are easier to supervise than bored kids. Be sure that the children in your group have plenty of acceptable behavior options to choose.
Discussion Questions:
1. How well are children supervised at your site?
2. Do children get into unsupervised areas?
3. Are the checked up on when they go to the bathroom?
4. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your site in terms of supervision?
5. What are your individual strengths and weaknesses?
6. What can be done to improve the supervision of the team?
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