• Supervision of children takes into account the age of children and any additional needs of the children and the activities in which they are engaged
• Staff ratios for supervision are safe at all times when children are involved in school activities or on the school premises
• While we aim to supervise our children directly for most of their day at school, we recognise that for some of the older children this is not always possible due to the scale of the site and the nature of the timetable; and also to develop a sense of independence. Constant vigilance on the part of all staff whether on duty or not is necessary to ensure the children’s safety
• Detailed Risk Assessments are carried out for all school activities or visits and staffing ratios calculated accordingly

• Ensure that the premises are designed and maintained to facilitate the supervision of children at all times while considering the need to maintain the rights and dignity of all children
• Ensure that the age and supervision requirements are maintained at all times. Any practitioner who is under eighteen years of age, student, work experience child may work at Newbridge Preparatory School, provided they do not work alone and are adequately supervised at all times by a practitioner/teacher who is over eighteen years of age
• Carefully plan rotas that ensure continuity of care and adequate supervision at all times when children are being cared for and educated in school and on educational visits
• Ensure that a Risk Assessment is carried out before authorisation is sought for an Educational Visit. The risk assessment will consider and identify the number of adults required to ensure continuous adequate supervision throughout the Educational Visit

Mandatory staffing ratios are enforced as follows:

PRE-NURSERY (CHILDREN AGED TWO YEARS OF AGE)
There is at least one member of staff for every five children All staff must hold a minimum of a full or relevant level 3 qualification

NURSERY (CHILDREN AGED THREE AND ABOVE)
1/8 1/13 teacher sight and sound For children aged three and over in independent schools (including in nursery classes in free schools and academies), where a person with Qualified Teacher Status, Early Years Professional Status, Early Years Teacher Status or another suitable level 6 qualification, an instructor, or another suitably qualified overseas trained teacher is working directly with the children:

• The ratio is 1:13
• All staff must hold a minimum of a full or relevant level 3 qualification
• The ratio for Level 3 members of staff is 1:8

RECEPTION (CHILDREN AGED FOUR AND OVER)
A qualified teacher is working directly with 20 children
The other member of staff holds a full and relevant Level Three (as defined by CWDC) and works directly with eight children or supports the qualified teacher
Occasionally the class is separated into two groups of 10; for example when in the Computer Suite. A group of 10 may be supervised by a member of staff who holds a full and relevant Level Three if a ‘suitable’ student is also present.

KEY STAGE ONE (CHILDREN AGED FIVE AND OVER)
The ratio of qualified teacher to a child is 1:20 at Newbridge Preparatory School
At times an additional member of staff who holds a relevant Level Three and works directly with a small group of children or supports the qualified teacher

The ratio of child to adult are complied with before and After School Club

There is at least one member of staff for every eight children aged Three and above

There is at least one member of staff for every five children aged Two

CHILDREN ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE

ARRIVAL

• Breakfast Club is available from 7.30am for children aged 3 and above.
• Before School Care is available for children from 8.00am
• This takes place in Pre-Nursery (for Pre-Nursery children) where they are registered on arrival
• All other children (Nursery to Year Six) are registered in the Old Hall. There are two or three members of staff on duty. There is also an additional member of staff (based in Nursery) available for duty if required; contactable by school phone
• Children attending Before School Care enter the building via the Dining Room door. Children are not allowed to enter via the front doors before 8.30am
• These children are registered and under supervision until 8.30am when they proceed to their form rooms
• EYFS children are escorted to their form rooms by Early Club staff
• Alternatively, parents may bring their children to school and wait until the school opens at 8.30am. Parents may take their child to the Lower School playground where they are greeted by a member of staff, the staff then take the children to their cloakroom and then to the form room where they are registered.
• At 8.30 am, Year Three – Year Six children are greeted at the main front door by a member of staff and encouraged to go unaccompanied to the form room where they self-register until Registration at 8.45am
• All members of staff are in their rooms from 8.30am to supervise the arrival of the children. An active meet and greet each morning is encouraged. (Staff model good manners to promoting a positive culture of classroom behaviour.) Children should be actively encouraged to completely empty their rucksacks and organise their belongings for the day.
• Any child who arrives at school after Registration must report to the main office. If arriving after 9am in Upper School, will be recorded as having arrived on the ‘Children Signing In/Out’ sheets as registration will have closed.

DEPARTURE

• Any child who departs from school after Registration during the school day will be recorded as having left on the ‘Children Signing In/Out’ sheets.
• Any child who leaves the building during the school day will be recorded as having left on the ‘Children Signing In/Out’ sheets.
• If a parent collects a child from Pre-Nursery or Nursery before the end of a session, the staff sign the child out in the Signing In/Out sheets kept in the relevant rooms
• Children at Newbridge Pre-Nursery and Nursery who attend morning sessions should be collected by 12.45pm and signed out in the relevant rooms.
• Children at Newbridge Pre-Nursery who attend after 1pm should be collected by 4.30pm. Any child not collected from Pre-Nursery after this time will be taken to After School Club and signed in there.
• Parents wishing to collect their child from Nursery may go to their room from 3.00pm until 3.10pm. Any child not collected from Nursery will be taken to After School Club. Children are registered when they attend After School Club. All children are signed ‘out’ on departure at the time they leave.
• Reception, Year One and Two are collected from their classrooms at 3.15pm unless attending a Club. Any child not collected by 3.30pm is taken to After School Club and signed in.
• A register is kept of children attending clubs electronically on the Parent Portal.
• Upper School children (Years 4 – 6) are dismissed at the lower gate by their form teacher at 3.45pm. Year 3 are dismissed through the Main Entrance door by their form tutor. Any children not collected will be taken to After School Club and registered For children who attend After School Club, a record is maintained to show when children leave.
• Children are dismissed from a club by the member of staff either supervising or taking the club. Children do not leave clubs independently.

Morning

• Children will go to their form rooms for registration at the beginning of the school day:
• Nursery –Year Six from 8.30am
• Pre-Nursery from 8.00am

Afternoon

• Children will also be registered at the beginning of the afternoon session:
• Nursery –Year Six from 1.30pm
• Pre-Nursery from 1.30pm

PLAYGROUND DUTY

The playground, gazebo, Quiet Area and main garden are outdoor play areas available for the children to use at morning and lunchtime breaks, dependent on the weather. (The Forest School Area and Artificial Grass Area can only be used under direct supervision.)

MORNING BREAK

To ensure proper playground supervision is maintained a duty rota is in operation for morning playtime and playground rules are discussed with the children at suitable times such as assemblies and form periods. Members of duty staff on duty are expected to keep an eye on all parts of the play area and take an active role in ensuring a harmonious and safe play environment. At least two members of staff are on duty at all times; one of which is a qualified teacher.

LUNCH DUTY

Pre-Nursery are supported by one or two lunchtime assistants to ensure the room remains in 1-5 ratio at all times with staff rotating their breaks

The Nursery and Reception classes are supported by four lunchtime assistants to secure the dining area stays in the 1-8 ratio at all times with staff switching their breaks and also assisting

• Year One, Year Two and Year Three are supported by three members of staff when in the Dining Room; plus three Catering Staff.
• Year Four to Year Six are supported by three member of staff when in the Dining Room; plus Three Catering Staff.
• Reception, Year Four to Year Six are supported by three members of staff when outside
• Year Four to Year Six are supported by two members of staff when outside

FOR SAFETY THERE SHOULD BE:

Two members of staff on duty to supervise children on the playground and quiet area only.

If there are three members of staff available, then the children may also use the Gazebo (for recorder practice) and main garden areas.

Staff should be appropriately positioned to allow them to observe all areas where children are playing.

Be mindful of the ‘behaviour’ hotspots: alcoves in the decking, the recess by the gate to the drive, the recess by the gateway to the tennis courts. Give regular reminders to the children about sensible behaviour, staying on the playground and not out of sight.

Due care should be taken if there is any unusual activity happening in the school grounds. Always think about reducing all risks to a minimum.

At the end of playtime, each year group lines up facing the hall and goes inside accompanied by a Form Monitor if appropriate. Members of staff are expected to be ready to actively greet/welcome the children and supervise the entry into the classroom. (Please do not continue to work on a planning task or other activity – apart from not modelling good manners, such behaviour is not conducive to promoting a positive culture of classroom behaviour.) Children do not enter rooms until an adult is present.

Outdoor play in Pre-Nursery and Nursery takes place throughout the day as part of the free flow. The nursery also have set ‘outdoor’ play in which they are supervised with a minimum of 1-8 ratio.

WET MORNING BREAKS IN LOWER SCHOOL
Wet breaks in Lower School are supervised in the New Hall by two members of staff. Milk and Water are also served in the Old Hall. Any form teacher may choose, if not on break duty, to look after her form in the form room.

WET MORNING BREAKS IN UPPER SCHOOL
In Upper School, after Milk and Water, children will return to their Form Rooms and stay there unless they wish to visit the toilets. Doors to all classrooms must be kept open. Children are allowed to play with classroom games or toys. The teacher on duty will supervise the corridors and classrooms along with all of the Year Six monitors to ensure that the children are behaving sensibly. Any form teacher may choose, if not on break duty, to look after her/his form in the form room. Additionally, the duty staff may decide to use the New Hall if it is available.

WET LUNCH BREAKS
Wet lunch breaks are held in New Hall and supervised by the duty members of staff. The central location is essential in case of fire; as potentially members of staff may be offsite.

The arrangements for the supervision of children during holidays and trips out of school are described in our policy Visits out of School which includes EYFS children.

Parents are responsible for ensuring that their children travel safely to and from school.

For the safety of all children, everyone who visits the school is required to sign in at the front office and will be required to wear a Visitor Badge. Visitors will be accompanied at all times in without a DBS.

Lower school children wishing to leave a lesson for any reason must ask permission. Children are allowed to leave during lessons to use the toilets, but they are encouraged to wait for the end of the lesson. Lower School children are not allowed to move around the school unsupervised, except for taking the Register to the school office in ‘twos’ from Year Two.

Upper School Children in the Upper School have to move between parts of the building independently to get from one lesson to the next. At these times they will not be supervised directly but will always remain on the school’s premises. All staff are encouraged to keep a watchful eye on children as they move around the site at these times.

Children remaining for after-school activities are entered into an electronic register. Parents will be informed if the event is cancelled, but if, at short notice, it is impossible to contact a parent the child will be supervised at school until the planned end of that activity in After School Club. Lower School Activities are supported by Lower School staff in addition to the extra-curricular staff.

Members of staff are allocated to supervise the beginning and end of Extra Curricular activities and oversee dismissal of the children. Any uncollected children are taken to after school club and signed in. This is an active handover and includes passing on any messages to the After School Club staff team.

Children waiting to be picked up due to illness or injury are kept safe, comfortable, and under close supervision. Arrangements will be appropriate to both the age of the child and their medical fitness at the time.

The same general principles of care apply during PE as to other school activities. It is essential that the teacher should consider factors such as:

• Safety apparatus being used
• The condition of the floor
• Suitability of children’s clothing. Children are not allowed to wear watches and jewellery for any PE lesson. (Religious bangles should be covered by a wrist band.)
• Whether the exercises and activities are within the capability of the children
• Staff supervising activities on Tennis Courts must take a mobile telephone with them. (This can be a personal mobile phone for emergency use only.)
• The TA should support reception and Key Stage One children in addition to the PE teacher in case of emergency and toileting

Staff will: This Policy applies to the whole school including the EYFS.

• Display awareness – a skill that requires a knowledge of children, including knowing each child’s range of skills, interests, ability to interact with others and the developmental stage
• Implement positioning – a skill that requires being able to see all of the children. Staff position themselves to be aware of the entire environment and to see as many children as possible. All children are monitored by sight or sound at all times
• Implement scanning – a skill that involves regularly glancing around the classroom and playground to see children’s involvement and what is happening
• Use redirection – a skill used an as an aid in preventing undesirable and unsafe behaviour. Children are redirected to other areas/activities when unacceptable behaviour is imminent or occurs. This technique helps ensure the safety of all children
• Provide supervision for all children in areas that are near equipment where injury may occur. This requires the use of the above methods and being close to the children
• Implement quality Interactions – staff will engage in meaningful interactions with children to promote learning during play and lesson times
• Implement consistent supervision strategies and not perform other duties while responsible for the supervision of children

Staff who have concerns about the supervision arrangements must raise it immediately or as soon as possible so that the situation can be risk assessed for safeguarding and Health & Safety.

23/04/2013 – SAF
11/01/2015 – SLT Review
23/01/2017 – SLT Updated
19/01/2019 – SAF Review
30/01/2019 – SAF/RM/JC Edit
29/09/2021 – SAF Review and Edit
18/10/2021 – Reviewed SLT
20/09/2022 – Reviewed SAF
13/11/2023 – Revised by SAF (2 year old ratio 1:5)
10/09/2024 – Revised by NBB
23/07/2025 – Updated by NBB (Level 3 qualification in EYFS)