Supervision

Within school settings the safe use of equipment provided for the physical development of pupils relies on adequate arrangements for supervision and control being established and followed within the school. For public play areas parents need to provide adequate supervision to children

Supervising staff must be familiar with the equipment, the rules for its use and the levels of response which may be expected from children in its use.

The number of persons required to supervise should be determined by the risk assessment. As a rule, the younger children are the greater the level of supervision required.

The more hazardous the equipment the greater the level of supervision required. The risk of injury increases with the increasing fall height of the equipment.

Equipment requiring close supervision should only be provided if it is possible to provide adequate supervision for it on a regular basis. This may have significant staffing implications. An example of equipment requiring close supervision is overhead hand ladders or “monkey bars.”

Within school settings pupils only be allowed to use the equipment when playground supervision is provided in the area in which the equipment is located.

Pupils using the equipment must wear suitable footwear and clothing. Pupils should be shown the correct usage of the equipment.