All children have the right to a safe environment in which to learn and grow.
Understanding principal elements in supervision practices,
such as appropriate staff to child ratios, greatly influences quality
care for children. Ratios are relevant.
In child care, ratio is the relationship between the number of adults
compared to the number of children. For example,
a ratio of 1:4 means that one person may care for four children.
Ratios vary by the ages of children, the child care
setting, and by each state's regulations.
Lower staff/child ratios and smaller group sizes have been
linked to strong predictors of quality in child care. Ratios
are designed to limit the number of children a staff person is responsible for
based on children's age and development.
Supervision...
we, in our two year old classroom, we have 1:5 ratio.
So there's 2 teachers for 10 students, 1 for 5. So,
we are lower than the state's standards as well, so that makes it a lot easier for
us to be able to supervise our children and to be able to watch them.
Since we have certain areas, we break ourselves up as co-teachers
to make sure that we can see the whole surrounding of where
the children are and we are able to see where ever they are to make sure that
they are safe.
Depending are where the children are, you know depending on where they are most active or
they're playing, you have to position yourself so you can see the whole group, instead of just seeing
one child. You want to be able to see the majority of the group.
There maybe some bushes in the way or something, that's why you separate from your co-teacher, so you're able to
break up and see half of your students. So, we each have 5 students that we're in charge of
that are in our group of 10, so we try
and position ourselves so we can see our group of 5 children at each time.
Infants and younger children require more direct care to meet their needs
than older children and will need lower child to adult ratios.
For example, in Pennsylvania, the ratio of caring
for infants in a child care center is a maximum of 4 infants per adult
staff member. As children get older and develop more skills,
the ratio of children to staff increases as they need less direct care.
Always, adults must be able to see,
hear, direct, and assess all of the children in their care.
Supervision: well, daily
we are counting. Making sure we have every single child
accounted for, especially during transitional times, is really
key to make sure when your pick up times,
when kids are going to be dropped off, to know how many children are arriving and how many are
leaving. During times where it's
transitioning from outdoor to lunch, making sure that all the children
are out of the restroom and where they're supposed to be. So, we
are always counting and making sure every child is accounted for and
all staff are counting to double check the other staff member.
We are all aware of it, that it's not a trust thing.
It's just the more eyes you have for supervision the better off
you're going to be.
Every caregiver needs to be aware of relevant ratio information that may affect their work
such as: ratios based on state regulations,
ratios based on ages of the children, ratios based on the type
of child care program, ratios based on staff qualifications
and job positions, ratios based on napping, and
other safety considerations such as: outdoor activities, water activities,
and transporting children. Honestly, I do
rely on the regulations from the state. When I first
started I was very young. I was 27 years old. I didn't know anything.
So, I clung to those regulations. I thought I'd be able to keep those kids safe
if I had those regulations and if I followed those regulations. Then when STARS came along,
it just bumped it up. It made the quality more.
Those standards that
other people give me, give me the guidelines, they tell me this is what's quality
then I can see it in action. I can see that oh yeah, that's true this does work.
The caregiver's goal will be to maintain ratios and all supervision
practices, which may at times be challenging.
Caregivers can reflect on the unique circumstances that may disrupt ratios
and distract supervision to better prepare. For instance,
staff absences: it's not just about having a substitute, but
having a substitute who is qualified to supervise the particular group;
and staff who arrive late, as well as children
who arrive late and or early can throw off ratios completely.
Strive to stay within ratio.
Poor supervising practices such as scheduling
too few adults, not counting children regularly,
and a lack of communication disrupts quality supervision.
Strive to have good supervision practices.
Personal electronic use such as
cell phones and staff who leave the room, even for a short time,
compromise staying within ratio and supervising with quality.
Strive to supervise with focus.
Unique situations can disrupt supervising the children
such as an injury, or a family unexpectedly needing staff
attention and time. Strive to be safe and prepared.
We have cards that we use for the children outside.
Our attendances are with us at all times and
that's big. What we do is we just write
the kids names on their cards. Then when we go outside, we count
the children and then we count the cards to make sure we have every
card for every child. Sometimes when the child's not in
yet, but we know we're expecting them, we'll put their card in a different area of the bag.
So when they come, we have their card. So when we go to count the cards
we don't have 11 children and 10 cards. So all our cards are together
and all our children are with us.
I'm constantly in my head counting 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 to make sure that I have my whole
group with me. We check tags each time before going outside
and coming back inside. It's important that you are communicating with your other
staff member as well.
You also need to know your whole group number and if we split
up for small groups and if a child comes in when she's inside, I might not know that the child
had arrived and was in her group. So, it's important that we communicate between
each other as well. The care that young children receive early in life
influences their development well into the future. Keep children safe
and well cared for by knowing relevant ratio information and applying
quality supervision practices for children.
You can never be too safe in child care. Know your
supervision regulations and relevant ratio information.
Visit the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education.
Visit Better Kid Care.