active supervision

Targeted PD

Understanding Your Role in Active Supervision

Active supervision is a critical element for fostering safety and preventing harm to children and youth. To ensure effective supervision, child and youth professionals must be aware of the physical environment and be responsive to the unique needs of each child or youth. This training will emphasize active supervision as a key approach to promoting a culture of safety within child and youth development programs. It will also examine what active supervision looks like and highlight strategies for implementing it in daily routines and activities. 

Virtual Lab School Targeted PD Understanding Your Role in Active Supervision
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Training Requirements:

Read & Watch

Read and watch all the content.

Pause & Reflect

Complete each pause and reflect exercise. Note: Your responses are not saved or submitted but are required before unlocking the assessment. You may use the print button at the end of the page to save-as-pdf or print your responses if you wish.

  • Thinking About Active Supervision…
  • Identifying Strategies
  • Assessing Your Supervision

Review & Assess

Once the above is complete, the assessment is unlocked. Review the attached appendix materials at the end of the training, then complete and submit the assessment for review.

Suggested Audience(s):

Direct care providers (center-based, school-age staff, and family child care)

DoDI 6060.02:

Accountability and child supervision training

DoDI 6060.02:

Safe infant sleep practices and SIDS prevention

Aligns with:

CDA: To establish and maintain a safe, healthy learning environment, NAEYC: Standard 3: Teachers carefully supervise all children, MSA: Competency Goal I: To establish and maintain a safe, healthy learning environment, COA: The agency ensures the safety of children and youth by providing sufficient and appropriate supervision at all times, including on field trips away from the program site, NAFCC 4.1: Children under the age of 3 are in the provider’s line of sight always, NAFCC 4.2: Children age 3 and older may be out of the provider’s line of sight for short periods of time, NAFCC 4.3: Children under the age of 6 are never inside or outside by themselves, NAFCC 4.5: The provider is particularly careful supervising children in high-risk activities

Objective(s):

Center-based direct care staff, including school-age staff, and family child care providers will reflect on the importance of active supervision, describe what active supervision looks like, and identify key strategies to ensure daily implementation of active supervision practices.

Glossary

Culture of Safety:
The culture created by prioritizing behaviors, beliefs, and actions that encourage communication, respect, and risk-reporting
Supervision Zone:
An assigned or defined area a person is responsible for supervising

Introduction

When families enroll their children in a child or youth program, they want to know their children will be cared for in a safe and nurturing environment. Quality programs foster a culture of safety. A culture of safety provides an environment that encourages people to speak up about safety concerns, makes it safe to talk about mistakes and errors, and encourages learning from these events (Institute for Healthcare Improvement, 2016). When a child care program adopts a culture of safety, every single person prioritizes and incorporates it in everything they do. Whether you are a direct care professional, Training & Curriculum Specialist, Program Manager, support staff, parent, or volunteer, preventing injuries and keeping children safe is an important part of your role and responsibilities.

As a child and youth professional, it is crucial for you to be aware of your surroundings and mindful of potential risks, hazards, and accidents that could lead to harm. This responsibility extends beyond your immediate surroundings and encompasses the entire program environment. To ensure effective supervision, you must be continuously aware of the physical setting and be responsive to the unique needs of each child. This training will emphasize active supervision as a key approach to fostering a culture of safety within your program.

What is Active Supervision?

Active supervision is a strategy used by child and youth professionals that involves watching, listening, interacting, monitoring, and preventing accidents and injuries to ensure the safety of and accountability for all children. Active supervision fosters an environment that supports learning opportunities and encourages positive behaviors. By actively observing and assessing potential safety hazards, child and youth professionals can offer guidance to children and youth, allow for appropriate risks, and identify teachable moments. This helps establish a safe and positive learning environment.

Preschool, Safe Environments, Lesson 4

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “active and positive supervision” involves:

  • Knowing each child’s abilities.
  • Establishing clear and simple safety rules.
  • Being aware of and scanning for potential safety hazards.
  • Standing or sitting in a strategic position (zoning).
  • Scanning play activities and circulating around the area.
  • Focusing on the positive, rather than the negative, when teaching what is safe for the child and other children.
  • Teaching children the appropriate and safe use of each piece of equipment (e.g., using a slide feet-first only and teaching why climbing up a slide can cause injury, such as a head injury).

As you can see, supervision is much more than just watching—it involves all of the above skills. Supervision is your responsibility and commitment to the families who have trusted you with their children. It is also your responsibility and commitment to the children who rely on you for guidance, nurturing, protection, and support.

Watch this video to see how this preschool teacher uses active supervision strategies to guide children’s behavior and prevent harm.

Supervising for Safety

This video shows an example of active supervision on the playground.

Who is Responsible for Active Supervision?

Whether you are a professional in a center-based program or a family child care home, you need to be vigilant when it comes to supervising children. When children are not adequately supervised, the risk for injuries increases. For example, if you have your back to the children while talking to another adult, you may not notice that a child has climbed up on a shelf to reach a toy. A few seconds of inattentiveness can lead to a serious accident or injury. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, supervisory neglect occurs whenever a caregiver’s supervisory decisions or behaviors place a child in their care at significant ongoing risk for physical, emotional, or psychological harm (Hymel, K. P. & the Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, 2006).

Children are naturally active, curious, and inconsistent when it comes to remembering and applying safety rules, so it is up to the adults to be aware of the children’s safety needs. Active supervision always requires focused attention and intentional observation. When it comes to supervising children, you must be consistently observing their play and daily activities to ensure safety.

Family Child Care, Safe Environments, Lesson 2

However, supervision is not a solitary task. You supervise best while interacting with the children in your care. This means you and the children will be talking, singing, giggling, making discoveries, having quiet time, sharing a book, exploring toys and materials, engaging in routines, and sharing one-on-one time.

Because of your supervision, the children in your care are free to learn about themselves, their environment, and the people around them, which promotes a holistic approach to development. Active supervision aids in children’s cognitive, social-emotional, and communicative development.

Preschool, Safe Environments, Lesson 4

Supervising children is a critical direct care role, and it is very important that you take this role seriously as distractions can be deadly. You should never be so engrossed in an activity that you are not watching all the children and maintaining awareness of what they are doing. Center-based staff should discuss and plan any work-related reading, telephone calls, or computer use with your administrator for a time when you are not supervising children.

OK
  • Working on lesson plans or child daily notes during rest time 
  • Writing documentation notes during free choice time 
  • Documenting accountability checks
  • Completing accident/incident reports during free choice when there is an additional professional present to cover ratio and supervision
  • Answering the classroom phone
  • Greeting a family
Not OK
  • Using headphones during rest time
  • Writing the class newsletter during free choice time
  • Carrying on an in-depth conversation on the classroom phone
  • Carrying on a personal conversation, checking and/or sending personal messages on your cell phone or smartwatch, even while in ratio
  • Carrying on an in-depth conversation with a family

For active supervision to be successful, appropriate adult-to-child ratios must be maintained in both indoor and outdoor environments. This is important for the children’s well-being as well as your own. Anyone who is responsible for the children should be aware of and help to maintain these ratios. It is a good idea to have walkie-talkies or phones available to reach another adult in case help is needed. You should never leave a classroom or program out of ratio. There are exceptions to standard ratios, including during rest time and field trips. For more information on staff-to-child ratios, you can review the Safe Environments course in each of the foundational tracks in the VLS. Additionally, you should meet with your Training & Curriculum Specialist, Program Manager, and coworkers to discuss safety issues and make any necessary adjustments.

What are some of the challenges you have experienced when it comes to actively supervising children or youth in your program or child care home?

How do you currently assess children’s skills and abilities?

How do you adapt activities to avoid potential injuries?

How do you plan for or determine when additional supervision may be needed?

Active Supervision Strategies to Keep Children Safe

Active supervision includes recognizing risks, acting on those risks, and engaging with children. To help implement active supervision into your daily practice, the Office of Head Start National Center on Health, Behavioral Health, and Safety has defined the following six strategies that child and youth professionals can use to keep children and youth safe.

The six different active supervision strategies.
The six different active supervision strategies are: (1) Set up environment, (2) Position staff, (3) Scan and count, (4) Listen, (5), Anticipate children’s behavior, and (6) Engage and redirect.

  1. Set up the Environment:

    Program professionals must set up the environment so they can supervise children and always have access to them. Grouping activities together and making sure furniture is waist-height or shorter allows adults to see and hear children. Small spaces should be free of clutter, and big spaces should have clear play spaces for children that staff can observe. Environments should have open spaces in and out of each center, and staff should see the children in each area easily when standing. Program professionals should also be aware of blind spots. Prior to children arriving in your program or home, daily safety inspections (safety checklists/opening checklists) must be conducted to ensure that you have taken all preventative measures to keep children safe. Be sure to inspect all areas, both indoors and outdoors, for potential risks.

  2. Position Staff/Providers:

    Program professionals should carefully plan where they will position themselves to protect children from harm. This includes positioning themselves to see and hear all the children in their care. Staff should position their backs to the wall when talking with families at drop off/pick up and scanning the room for potential hazards. Staff should make sure there are clear paths to where children are playing, sleeping, and eating. This allows adults to react quickly when necessary and stay close to children who may need additional support. Whether one adult or more than one adult is responsible for a group of children, professionals should individually or collectively identify “hot spots” where children usually need assistance or where adults have a hard time seeing children. Adults should stand or sit strategically so they can supervise all areas. This means adults will not stand or sit together. Adults must be spread out, watching, listening, and interacting positively with children. FCC providers must be aware of blind spots in the home and work to arrange the environment to have the highest possible visibility at all times. Providers can use augmenting devices such as baby cameras or even convex mirrors but should not rely on these as the only means to help with visibility. Providers can and should position themselves to be able to see all areas of the home, especially if children are engaged in individual activities. The same applies when outdoors on community playgrounds or in other community spaces.

  3. Scan and Count:

    Professionals should always be able to account for the children in their care. Program professionals should actively walk around and continuously scan the entire environment to know where everyone is and what they are doing. Staff/Providers should also count the children frequently by matching names to faces. This is especially important during transitions when children are moving from one location to another. Professionals can include children in this strategy by asking them to help count the children in care when doing a name-to-face count.

  4. Listen:

    Specific sounds—or the absence of them—may be cause for concern. Program professionals who listen closely to children can quickly identify signs of potential danger. Limiting the use of loud music in the background is important as continuous background noise can limit the ability to hear important sounds in the environment. Programs that plan systemically are better able to implement additional strategies to safeguard children. For example, adding bells to doors helps alert staff when a child leaves or enters the room.

  5. Anticipate Children’s Behavior:

    Program professionals should use what they know about each child’s interests and skills to predict what the child will do next. Staff can create challenges that children are ready for and support them in succeeding. Professionals should also be aware of changes in a child’s mood and anticipate when a child may wander off, get upset, or take a dangerous risk. Information from daily health checks (e.g., illness, allergies, lack of sleep or food) informs observations and helps predict children’s behavior. Professionals who know what to expect are better able to protect such children from harm. Offering appropriate activities that support each child and setting and maintaining clear and consistent rules and consequences help children learn expectations that guide appropriate behavior.

  6. Engage and Redirect:

    Regularly observe children as they play and interact. Have meaningful conversations. Sit or kneel at children’s eye level. Interact with children so you know their strengths and needs. Program professionals should offer support by using what they know about each child’s individual needs and development. Professionals can encourage children to solve problems on their own and help them develop solutions if needed; offering different levels of assistance, redirection, or changes to the environment or activities depending on each child’s needs.

These six strategies are active skills that require intentional use throughout the day. Effective implementation of these strategies will vary depending on children's age, group size, activity, and environment.

You will need to adapt the supervision to the children in your care—not only based on their age and developmental level, but also on their unique personalities, strengths, and interests. Different strategies may need to be used at different times depending on the environment and the children’s needs.

Supervising Younger Children in Center-Based Settings

Infants & Toddlers, Safe Environments, Lesson 3

The younger the child, the more dependent they are on the adults around them. Although they are learning about what is safe, young children are not yet able to stay safe without your attention and support. Therefore, you must provide active supervision all day, every day.

Utilizing the primary caregiving technique supports active supervision. Assigning a primary group of infants or toddlers to you and your teaching partner creates smaller groups of children, which makes supervision easier. Even though you are assigned specific children for the purposes of continuity of care, all teachers in a classroom help in supervising all the children in the room so that no child is left alone at any time.

Always stay within easy reach of infants and toddlers—no more than an arm’s length away. Some activities require closer supervision. Tummy time, sand or water play, and use of climbing equipment, for example, present greater risk of serious injury if children are left unattended.

Sit close to non-mobile infants to protect them from mobile infants and toddlers. Stay closer to a child whose behavior is more aggressive. Allow all infants and toddlers to interact with their peers to develop social skills. Your presence will not only protect infants, but it will also facilitate socialization.

Noise levels should be maintained to allow you to hear infants’ coos, sounds of distress, and the language of toddlers. Being able to hear infants and toddlers means you will be alert to distress, and it is important for the development of language skills.

Supervising Younger Children in Family Child Care Settings

Family Child Care, Safe Environments, Lesson 2

Supervision in family child care can be more complicated than in center-based settings. As a solo provider, you must be more strategic, as you are the only adult ears and eyes to ensure children’s safety.

Regarding supervision, the National Association for Family Child Care Foundation (2017) states that the following should take place:

  • Children under 3 are in the provider’s line of sight, except when the provider attends to their own personal needs for up to five minutes. The provider applies measures that assure the safety of all children while attending to their own personal needs.
  • Children ages 3 and older may be out of the provider’s line of sight for short periods of time, as long as the provider is close by and listens carefully to assure all children are safe. If the provider is unsure about the child’s safety, the provider must immediately re-establish visual supervision.
  • Children under the age of 6 are never inside or outside by themselves. When children are inside, the provider is inside. When children are outside, the provider is outside.

Be sure to check with your family child care coordinator about the specific supervision policies required by your Service.

Supervising All Children

Preschool, Safe Environments, Lesson 4

As with infants and toddlers, good environmental design is the first step in effective supervision with preschool children. You should design your classroom with low shelves, clear traffic patterns, and safe materials. You must also teach children the safety rules for the classroom.

Good teaching is good supervision. Join children in their interest areas. Observe them. Interact with them so you know their strengths and needs. Use what you learn about children to make changes to your environment or activities. Use positive guidance techniques to help keep children safe.

When determining the level of direct, engaged supervision necessary for various activities, consider the activity type, complexity, and level of risk involved. More supervision may be necessary when learning a new or difficult skill. Less supervision may be needed in activities like reading or playing board games. Independence for older children should be respected and encouraged, although this should be balanced with direct engagement during appropriate activities.

Jamal and Tara always count the children assigned to them, occasionally raising their fingers to show each other how many children they have. They keep track of where the children are and make sure no one is missing. If one child moves to a different area of the playground, they signal to each other so they are both aware. Which of the following active supervision strategies are Jamal and Tara using?
Ruby is a toddler who recently started biting the other children in Anita’s family child care home. The biting has occurred while Ruby is upset about other children using the toys she wants to play with. Throughout the entire day, Anita stays close to Ruby and models sharing with the other children. Which of the following active supervision strategies is Anita using?
Kendrick, a staff member in the school-age program, asks a child if they are okay when he hears crying in the bathroom. Which of the following active supervision strategies is Kendrick using?
Grady, a new child in the program, has never seen a sand table and starts to pick up the sand to throw. Mackenzie, the caregiver, remains close and redirects Grady’s attention to the trucks and shows him how they move in the sand. Which of the following active supervision strategies is Mackenzie using?
Beth and Khadija have taken their preschoolers to the playground for outdoor playtime. The large playground has a climbing structure, a water/sand table, and a swing set. Beth and Khadija stand at opposite corners of the playground so they can move quickly when a child needs assistance. Which of the following active supervision strategies are Beth and Khadija using?
Before the children arrive in the school-age program, a staff member notices that one of the children’s paintings was taped on the window that looks into the computer lab. They move the poster to a wall in the art area. Which of the following active supervision strategies did the staff member use?
Prior to the children arriving at the FCC home, a family child care provider sets up an area for their two toddlers to ride trikes. The area is in front of the climbing structures for the school-age children. They check that there is a safe distance between the two areas and look for any blind spots. Which of the following active supervision strategies is the provider using?

Active Supervision in Routine Care

Children’s needs and abilities are constantly changing. Supervision must change, too. You must think on your feet to keep all children safe. This section will examine how active supervision strategies are applied throughout the day.

Infants & Toddlers, Safe Environments, Lesson 3

Arrival and Departure

Arrival and departure routines are the transferring of care of each child to and from the program. Greeting each family member and child upon arrival is a conscious and visible strategy to say, “I am aware and happy that you are here.” This says to families that their child is transitioning to your care for the day. Departure is similar. Greeting the family when they arrive and saying goodbye to the child and family completes the transition.

To account for each child, ensure the child’s name, date, and time of arrival or departure, and the name of the adult dropping off or picking up the child is properly documented.

Infants & Toddlers, Safe Environments, Lesson 4

Transitions

Transitions occur when children move from one environment, activity, or experience to another. Transitioning children from indoors to outdoors and back indoors as well as to and from school involves precise accounting. There are so many opportunities for children to get separated from the group during transitions. Always do name-to-face counts before leaving and upon arrival at your destination. Take frequent counts of the children in your supervision zone. This means you are positioned in a certain location or zone while on the playground. If working with another program professional, share that number with them and compare your total numbers to attendance records for that day. You can never take too many head counts when transitioning children. You should also do a visual sweep of the environment before leaving the area to ensure that no child has been left behind. If working with another professional, strategically position one adult at the front of the group and one adult at the back of the group when transitioning from one environment to another. If you are the only provider, position yourself at the front of the group and face the children as you walk.

Family Child Care, Safe Environments, Lesson 2

Feeding and Mealtime

Follow these safety supervision guidelines during feeding:

  • Infants must be held during bottle-feeding, even if they can hold their own bottles.
  • Children should always be seated while eating and drinking. Choking or injury risk is greater when children are on the move.
  • You must be within arm’s reach of children who are eating and maintain visual supervision. Choking is a silent accident.
  • Prevent possible safety hazards and challenging behavior (e.g., choking, playing with food, throwing food, over-stuffing mouth with food, or taking other’s food) by sitting at the table and participating in family-style dining with children and youth.
  • Be aware of and closely supervise children with food allergies to prevent them from grabbing and/or ingesting allergens.

Diapering and Toileting

Diapering and toileting routines involve some unique risks that require active supervision to maintain the safety of children. During diapering, always keep a hand on the child at all times to prevent falling. Having materials prepared before diapering allows for your hands to stay on task and for you to be actively supervising. Toileting routines expose children to water deep enough for drowning. Handwashing may involve a step stool, which children can fall from. Remember, these types of caregiving routines may be routine for you, but they are not for the young children in your care. Their motor skills are still developing. They are still learning coordination and balance, so accidents are more likely to occur. Restrooms are not easy environments to make safe, so your awareness of hazards is crucial to prevent injury.

For potty-trained preschoolers, privacy during toileting is appropriate, but you should still be nearby so that you can hear and help as needed. Young children are developmentally in a phase of exploration. Your supervision is necessary as they may use this time to explore their own bodies or their peers’, or put things in the toilets or down the drains that do not belong there (i.e., flushing small toys down the toilet, stuffing drains with paper towels). You must also supervise handwashing to ensure that each child washes their hands after toileting.

Be sure to follow your Service-specific guidance when it comes to a schedule for diapering and toileting. Knowing the diapering and toileting schedule that fits your children’s age and developmental level can help with supervision.

School-Age, Safe Environments, Lesson 4

When school-age children use the restroom facilities, they no longer need direct supervision. Your role at this time is to help children use the restroom facilities safely and independently. It is not necessary to see each child as they use the restroom, but you should be close by if needed and should check on school-age children that have been in the restroom for longer than five minutes. You should also be able to enter the restroom quickly to assist younger school-age children. Depending on the layout of your environment, a staff member may monitor the entrances to the restrooms, or your program may have a system in place such as restroom passes or a sign-out sheet to help staff be accountable for children while they use the restroom. It is important to give school-age children privacy when using the restroom. 

Infants & Toddlers, Safe Environments, Lesson 3

Nap and Rest Time

Active supervision during napping is critical. Infants should be directly observed by sight and sound. This includes when they are going to sleep and waking up. The lighting in the room must let you see each infant’s face to view the color of their skin and check their breathing. Infants must always be placed on their backs for sleeping unless there is an approved medical waiver on file. When infants and toddlers are sleeping, mirrors or video equipment may be used to support supervision in sleeping areas, but these tools don’t replace direct visual or auditory supervision. In family child care homes, children should never be placed in a back bedroom or behind a closed door. More information on safe sleep practices is available in Lesson 5 of the Infant and Toddler Safe Environments course.

Preschool, Safe Environments, Lesson 4

Preschool children still need supervision during rest time. Usually, preschool-age children rest during a set time of the day (rather than napping on individual schedules like infants). During rest time, typical ratios are relaxed for certain ages. In center-based programs, one adult can supervise all children, however, the staff member who leaves the classroom must remain in the facility and be available to assist in the event of an emergency or evacuation. Maximum group size must be maintained. Multiple full classes cannot be combined and supervised by a single adult. It is required that at least one adult stay in the room with the children during rest time. This helps monitor and support children who do not sleep, children who wake early, and children who may have sleep problems. Just like on the playground, it is critical that the supervising adult be able to call other adults for help without leaving the room. Be sure to meet with your Program Manager or Training & Curriculum Specialist to review your program’s specific policies.

Remember to take each child’s individual needs into consideration. If a child with mobility issues (e.g., a child who requires a walker or wheelchair) or special health concerns (e.g., seizures, sleep apnea, asthma) is napping in the room, additional adults should be on-call. Additionally, you should always consider the number of adults who would be required to help evacuate the children in the event of an emergency.

Supervision on Field Trips

Field trips are an excellent way to extend the curriculum. The right field trips can capture children’s interests and allow hands-on experiences children cannot get in the classroom. To ensure children’s safety, field trips should be carefully planned and carried out. Consider the following tips for active supervision when away from the center or family child care home:

  • Do your research. All trips should be planned as part of your overall curriculum. However, you should ensure a field trip is necessary: is it possible or more appropriate to bring the experiences to the center? Once you decide on a field trip, visit the location first. Make sure the location is safe and age appropriate. Decide on your route and mode of transportation (walking, buses, etc.). Identify emergency resources at the destination.
  • Know your ratios. Always maintain the appropriate adult-to-child ratios. When on a field trip, it is best practice to have additional adults along for safety and security. Be sure to make group assignments, so all adults know who they are responsible for, and children have a consistent adult for guidance.
  • Stand out. Make sure you will be able to identify the children in your group quickly. Use a sticker with the program name and contact information of your program. The child’s name should never be used. Provide children and staff with matching T-shirts or hats to wear on the field trip.
  • Review safety rules. Program professionals and volunteers should meet to review the safety rules, regulations, and procedures. Make sure children know and understand how to be safe on trips outside the building. Review the rules and practice them. Tell children exactly what to do and where to go if they get separated from the group.
  • Use your roster. Always have an accurate roster with you. Use it to conduct a name-to-face check before you leave the center, in the vehicle (if utilized), as children exit the vehicle, and when you get to the destination.
  • Match names to faces. Count children frequently by matching names to faces. Double count children at strategic times and throughout the trip. Make sure all children are accounted for at all times.
  • Take a head count. Count the total number of children before you leave the center, in the vehicle, and when you get to the destination, and match your count to the total number of children. If your count is off, first ask another professional to count again, then conduct a name-to-face check to identify the child that is not present.
  • Check the vehicle. After arriving at the field trip destination, conduct a visual sweep of the vehicle to ensure that no child is left behind on the vehicle.

Supervision of Internet and Technology Use

Training & Curriculum Specialist, Safe Environments, Lesson 3

Technology has changed the nature of our day-to-day lives. While the internet, tablets, watches, and applications or “apps” provide children and adults with new and exciting learning opportunities, they also come with safety and supervision challenges. It is essential that you familiarize yourself with your program’s guidelines for the supervision and use of technology by children. Your program may have certain protections in place, such as software that limits access to explicit material on the internet, but this should not provide a false sense of safety. While such programs are a good starting point, active supervision of children’s internet and device use is best, and you should provide the same level of supervision for children’s online activity while in your program as you do with any other type of activity. Consider the following questions to assess your supervision of children’s online activity and technology use.

  • Is internet and technology use intentional, planned, and linked to learning goals?
  • Am I familiar with the websites, apps, or games children are using while in the program?
  • Are privacy settings and adult controls in place?
  • Are children protected from websites, apps, and games used during program time contain content that is sexually explicit, promotes hate or violence, or encourages users to buy something or provide personal information?
  • Are children interacting with others online? If so, who?
  • Am I engaging with children during their online activities?
  • Do I recognize and act on signs of potential abuse or bullying online?

Maintaining Accountability

Preschool, Safe Environments, Lesson 4

Families have trusted you with their children, therefore, you must ensure the safety of each child from the time they enter the program until the time an approved parent or guardian has signed them out. Children move very quickly, and it is not uncommon for children to attach themselves to another group, slip out an open door, or hide during a transition. There are several important strategies for ensuring that all children are accounted for at all times, according to Caring for Our Children:

  • Conduct name-to-face recognition during transitions.
  • Count on a scheduled basis, at every transition, and when leaving one area and arriving at another. You should count children approximately every 15 minutes.
  • Be sure you can always state the number of children in your care.
  • Record the count on an attendance sheet or pocket card.
  • Note any children who leave the group (e.g., those who are picked up early).
  • Know the location of children when they have permission to be out of sight and check on them at regular intervals.
  • Have a system for knowing where children are as they move from room to room or from inside to outside.

More information on active supervision and resources to support professionals and programs in promoting a culture of safety can be found in the References & Resources section of this training.

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Training Requirements:

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Complete each pause and reflect exercise. Note: Your responses are not saved or submitted but are required before unlocking the assessment. You may use the print button at the end of the page to save-as-pdf or print your responses if you wish.

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Additional Virtual Lab School Support:

The strategies reviewed in this training, when applied consistently, help program professionals to actively supervise children and youth and keep children safe from harm. The materials from this training are drawn from the following VLS lessons. You can find additional strategies, tools, and resources related to active supervision in these lessons:

References & Resources

American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education. (2019). Caring for our children: National health and safety performance standards; Guidelines for early care and education programs (4th ed.). American Academy of Pediatrics. https://nrckids.org/CFOC

American Nurses Association. (2016). Culture of safety. https://community.ana.org/pages/cultureofsafety

Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority. (2018). Active supervision: Ensuring safety and promoting learning. https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-04/QA2-ActiveSupervisionEnsuringSafetyAndPromotingLearning_1.pdf

Bryans, A., Topping-Tailby, N., Shuman, S., & Beltran, M. (2018, September 12). Creating and enhancing a culture of safety. [Webinar]. Office of Head Start. https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/video/creating-enhancing-culture-safety

Clear-Sandor, K. & Dacus, S. (2022, May 18). Introduction to active supervision. [Webinar]. Office of Head Start National Center on Health, Behavioral Health, and Safety. https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/video/introduction-active-supervision

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