RATIONALE
 

Adequate supervision of all students in the school grounds and buildings is a requirement of the school’s duty of care.

 

PREAMBLE
 

This policy refers to International Maarif Schools of Australia/

 

The duty of care is “a duty to take reasonable measures to protect students against risks of injury which reasonably could have been foreseen…whenever there is a teacher/student relationship and not just when the teacher is assigned for supervision duties.”

 

This plan will take into account factors relevant to this school including the number and nature of students, the layout and terrain of the school grounds and how the school will manage their duty of care.  

 

Students attending scheduled activities, classes or practice/activity sessions at any time are under the direct supervision of the teacher managing the activity. The appropriate risk assessment will be undertaken for onsite and offsite activities as required.

 

Students will be instructed to seek assistance from Maarif teachers first where possible.

 

IMPLEMENTATION
 

• Supervision of students is the responsibility of all staff. The procedures required for adequate provision e.g. duty rosters will be laid out in the staff handbook and will be given to every staff member in the School. The procedures will be discussed at the first staff meeting of the year and will be repeated at subsequent meetings as required. Staff members who join the school at other times throughout the year will also be given a copy of the staff handbook and an explanation will be given by a senior staff member as part of their induction process.

• A roster system will be used to timetable staff members for the year’s supervision. The playground supervision roster will require staff members to undertake playground and bus duties before and after school hours, at recess or half of lunch or before or after school on specific days.

• Playground supervision will include before school, recess and lunch breaks, and after School until the departure of the last bus or the last student is released into the care of an adult. Bus supervision is included in the duty roster.

• Parents will be informed regularly via the School newsletter (or email) that staff members will not be rostered to undertake playground supervision before (enter time) am and after (enter time) pm or the departure of the last bus.

• The Deputy Principal will be responsible for coordinating the roster, and for negotiating specific duty times or days for individual staff members.

• The School grounds may be divided into specific areas and teachers will be rostered on to supervise these areas.

• In addition, the Deputy Principal (or their replacement) will be responsible for the supervision of the first aid room during recess and lunch times. First aid kits will be available.

• Students will be instructed about safe behaviour in the playground.

• Incident reports will be completed by the duty teacher, should the occasion arise.

• Staff members who are aware that they cannot fulfil their playground duty obligations due to appointments or excursions will be required to make a swap with another staff member after informing their supervisor.

• The Deputy Principal will provide substitute duty teachers in the case of an absent staff member.

• Staff on playground supervision must approach intruders or unknown people in the playground.

• Students will not be permitted to be in a classroom without the presence of a teacher and classroom doors will be kept locked when not in use. 

 

ATTENDANCE
 

Every student will be listed on a School roll. An assigned roll teacher will mark rolls electronically (roll books may be required if a database system is not available) before period 1 each day during a designated 10-minute roll call from 8:45am. At the conclusion of the roll call, the rolls will be electronically uploaded to the School database.  Student absence and late arrivals will be sent to parents/caregivers by SMS alert. School attendance records will be updated daily.

Students arriving late must sign in at the office. They will be given a late slip. On arrival at class, the teacher should sight the slip and update their roll on the electronic roll appropriately. The actual leave “reason” will be entered electronically onto the system by the front office staff.

 

The front office staff will generate follow-up individual parent contact letters twice a term to formally notify parents of their responsibility. Students arriving late to school will not be accepted into class without a late slip and they must be sent to the Deputy Principal.

 

Staff will be regularly reminded that rolls are legal documents and the information recorded therein must be at all times up to date and accurate. Students will be expected to bring in a letter of explanation signed by their parent/guardian for any absence.

 

The school will regularly contact the parents requesting an explanation for known absences.

 

Failure to submit satisfactory written explanations for absences, signed by the parent or carer will result in “truancy” recorded and follow-up by the Deputy Principal.

 

All students who wish to leave the School early must supply written parental consent to their class teacher before roll call each day. Students are to go to the front office with their signed note when leaving.

 

BEFORE SCHOOL SUPERVISION
 

The School will not be providing supervision of students arriving at the School prior to the half-hour before normal classes commence.  Students arriving before the commencement of lessons will be given direction about the permitted areas for play or gathering.

 

In these areas, students are supervised by staff arriving at the School (and being in and around the School) during this time. Any student with specific concerns can refer directly to the front office area. Students are to remain within the designated areas as adequate supervision cannot be provided beyond these designated areas. 

​

 

MOVING TO CLASS AND CLASS SUPERVISION
 

Students will be instructed to move immediately and promptly to class after breaks and between lessons. As the bell is sounded, students will move immediately to class. Students will be instructed to move immediately to each class throughout the day following breaks or when they have visited specialist areas for lessons. Teachers arrive promptly for class and remain with the class throughout the lesson. Students may only leave that class at the discretion of the teacher.

 

Written permission to leave the class may be given for reasons such as:

• Individual or small group work in the library, computer room or another specialist venue

• Collection or distribution of material

• In response to a written request from a staff member

• Urgent personal reasons

 

Should the normally assigned teacher be absent, the class will be supervised in one of the following ways:

• A relief teacher will be allocated

• The class will be combined, either whole or in smaller groups with other classes

• The oversight of these arrangements will be allocated to the Head of Primary. They will make arrangements as appropriate to the size of the group and age of the students.

 

Teachers will check class rolls throughout the school day and report any discrepancies seen on the data management system to the front office staff.

 

Students who repeatedly come late to class will be reported to the Deputy Principal unless they have a note signed by a member of staff explaining their lateness.

 

Maarif will endeavour to minimise the use of toilets during non-break times. Students will be strongly encouraged to go to the toilet during breaks. Outside of break times, students will be sent to the toilet in pairs.  
 

RECESS / LUNCHTIME SUPERVISION
 

It is essential that staff attend playground duty promptly, as the bell sounds for the assigned duty. Teachers must remain on duty until they are relieved or until the bell sounds for the end of recess or lunch. If the relief person does not come, teachers are asked to send a message via a student to the Deputy Principal.  

 

Staff should move around the playground and observe the perimeter as well as the out of bounds areas. No dangerous behaviour is allowed. There should be encouragement for students to keep their area clean.

 

In fine weather, students will be supervised through a teacher roster in designated areas of the playground.

 

If wet weather arrangements are declared at the beginning of recess and/or lunchtime, students will be permitted into under-cover areas. 

 

Rosters at the School will cover Before School, Recess, Lunchtime and After School for Bus Duty.

 

AFTER SCHOOL / BUS DUTY

 

Staff will be rostered to supervise the boarding of School buses each afternoon.

Apart from students who are engaged in scheduled school activities who are under the direct supervision of their teacher, no formal supervision will operate beyond (enter time) pm.

 

EXCURSIONS

 

Excursion details are sent to parents who are required to sign forms acknowledging receipt of the information and giving consent for their son/daughter’s participation.

 

Students may not attend an excursion unless the organising teacher has received a signed consent form from the parent or guardian.

 

In general, all excursions during school hours will be accompanied by a teacher who supervises students travelling to and from the venue and also while they are at the venue.

 

Weekend, overnight and extended excursions endorsed by the school will designate supervising teachers appropriate to the number of students attending and the nature of activities planned. A staff member trained in Emergency Care and CPR or the Deputy Principal will accompany all such excursions.

 

VARIATION TO ROUTINE

 

Information Evenings, Open Days, Sporting Activities and other events occur from time to time on the School premises. On these occasions where a teacher is working with a group of students, the teacher supervises their welfare and monitors their attendance.

 

 

Related Policy

 

Child Protection Policy and Procedures