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Active and adequate supervision is required to ensure that children are safe, secure and protected from hazards and harm. Equally, effective supervision allows children and educators to have meaningful interactions.
It's wise, as a leader, not to assume that all of your educators thoroughly understand what is required for active supervision to be achieved at your service. Thorough inductions are required and your team need to know the service's policy and practices when it comes to supervision. Ongoing professional development is also necessary as complacency can easily set in.
Here are 3 aspects of active supervision that you could review with your team of educators as part of ongoing professional development. You could also use these discussion points as part of your recruitment and induction process
As well as your service's policy and procedures, educators need to know the legislative requirements and the National Quality Standard in relation to supervision.
ACECQA Information Sheet | Active Supervision: Ensuring Safety and Promoting Learning
Access the Quality Area 2 Active Supervision: Ensuring Safety and Promoting Learning Information Sheet from ACECQA to review the requirements from the National Quality Standard as well the legislative requirements.
Scanning the environment to observe all the children in it ensures that they are actively supervised. Equally, it's important to assess the environment for potential risks.
As an exercise with your team during a staff meeting or , you could watch this video together. Start the video at 2:12.
Then take turns in different rooms and environments at your service to act as though you were the presenter in a similar video for your service. What would you tell a new educator, what should they look out for? What risks and benefits are there to this environment? What other observations do you have about this video?
You could also click on the images below and print the sheet as a professional discussion starter. What risks and benefits might there be in each environment? What else do you notice?
Discuss this quote together or reflect upon as part of your own professional development. How can the way that supervision is conducted provide opportunities for children to participate in decision making?
Use this article as one step in supporting your team and looking for any areas of improvement required. Look for opportunities for ongoing professional discussions around supervision.
Let us know in the comments if you try any of these activities with your team. How did it go? Are there tips that you could share with other people running these activities? How did it help with active supervision at your service?
And for further professional development training, click below for details of a related workshop that can be run at your service (in Melbourne or regional Victoria) at a time that suits you.