When working with groups of children and young people there must be enough adults to provide the appropriate level of supervision.
Staffing and supervision ratios can sometimes be difficult to judge. You need to make sure you have enough staff and volunteers to ensure children are safe – and that these adults are suitable to undertake various tasks as needed.
We’ve put together some information to help you decide how many adult supervisors you need when you’re carrying out a range of activities in different settings.
Supervision levels will vary depending on the children's age, gender, behaviour and the abilities within your group.
They will also vary depending on:
Carry out a risk assessment of the activities you are planning, taking these issues into consideration. This will help you make decisions about how many adults you need and what skills and experience they should have.
> Find out more about running safer activities and events
You need to know whether adults are eligible for a vetting and barring check and be clear about any additional safeguards which need to be put in place. For example:
If you’re working within the performing arts and children are being chaperoned you should make sure the relevant licences are in place.
> Find out more about safer recruitment including vetting and barring checks
> Find out more about safeguarding in the performing arts
Staff and volunteers need to have:
Parents who attend activities with their children should not be used to supervise other children unless they have been recruited into the role, undergone the necessary checks and had the relevant child protection training.
> Find out more about safeguarding procedures
> Look at our example behaviour code
> Learn more about child protection training requirements for education and early years sectors
> Find out more about our introductory child protection training
Schools are expected to carry out their own risk assessment at the beginning of each academic year to determine appropriate levels of supervision for each class except the Early years and foundation stage.
The National Education Union (NEU) provides guidance on class sizes and advises schools to consider children’s emotional, behavioural and special needs when determining staff to child ratios (NEU, 2019).
Schools also need to carry out a risk assessment to determine appropriate adult to child ratios at breaks and lunchtimes. Things to consider include:
For children in the Early years and foundation stage there is specific guidance about supervision ratios.
In England, the Department for Education (DfE) publishes guidance for early years providers which sets out statutory requirements about adult to child ratios (DfE, 2023). The required adult to child ratios vary depending on the setting and the age of children.
Key points for all early years settings include:
Pages 28-32 of the guidance set out the statutory staff to child ratios for all providers and then specific guidance for: early years providers other than childminders; those providing before and after school care; those providing holiday care; and childminders.
In Northern Ireland, the Department of Health, (DoH) has published minimum standards for childminding and daycare for children under 12 (PDF) (DoH, 2018). Standard 11 sets out the minimum staff to child ratios for children of different ages in different settings.
In Scotland, there is guidance from the Care Inspectorate for early learning and childcare settings (Care Inspectorate, 2018). It sets out adult to child ratios and the rationale behind them.
In Wales, the Welsh Government has published National minimum standards for regulated childcare. Standard 15 sets out staffing ratios including for childminders and day care.
There is no specific guidance about supervision ratios for organisations that are not in the education or early years sectors. We’ve put together some best practice guidance to help other organisations work out how many adults are needed to supervise children safely.
We recommend having at least two adults present when working with or supervising children and young people. We recommend the following adult to child ratios as the minimum numbers to help keep children safe:
Depending on the needs and abilities of the children, and the nature of the activity, you may need to have more adults than the minimum.
We recommend having at least two adults present, even with smaller groups.
If young people are helping to supervise younger children only people aged 18 or over should be included as adults when calculating adult to child ratios.
If you are working with children and young people who have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) you may need more supervision than the minimum ratios above.
For each activity you should undertake a risk assessment to help you decide on supervision ratios. The assessment should take into account children and young people’s behaviour, ability and mobility. As far as possible, include input from children and young people and their parents and carers in risk assessments to ensure children’s needs are met.
> Learn more about protecting d/Deaf and disabled young people
If the group has both boys and girls there should be at least one male and one female responsible adult supervising visits to the toilet.
Adults who haven't previously volunteered and haven't had the necessary vetting checks shouldn't be left alone with children or take them to the toilet unaccompanied.
In larger groups of children, encourage groups to take a comfort break together with one responsible adult while the other adult(s) supervises the remaining children and keep a head count.
We recommend that at least one adult is trained in first aid.
If you're running one-off events you will need to carry out a first-aid and medical risk assessment. Many organisations provide medical services but ensure the organisation you select is competent, trained in first aid and able to cope with the demands of your event.
When travelling with children and young people the recommended adult to child ratio can vary depending on:
If you are travelling in a vehicle it is recommended that there is one adult driving and one adult supervising the children. Larger groups and vehicles will require more adults to ensure adequate supervision. Think about having one adult driving and at least one adult supervising the children, depending on the size of the group.
Care Inspectorate (2018) Guidance on adult to child ratios in early learning and childcare settings (PDF). Dundee: Care Inspectorate.
Department for Education (DfE) (2023) Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework. [Accessed 17/08/2023].
Department of Health (DoH) (2018) Minimum standards for childminding and day care for children under age 12 (PDF) Belfast: Department of Health (DoH).
National Education Union (NEU) (2019) Class sizes. [Accessed 17/08/2023].
Welsh Government (2023) National minimum standards for regulated childcare for children up to the age of 12 years (PDF). Cardiff: Welsh Government.
Our elearning courses will help develop your understanding of how to protect children.
Introduction to safeguarding and child protection
Safer recruitment in education training
Safeguarding policies and procedures
Safeguarding and child protection in schools
Supervising children and young people's sport and activities
Access our wide range of safeguarding resources including guidance on managing allegations of abuse, photography and sharing images and writing a safeguarding policy.
Read our guidance to help you think about and mitigate the risks involved with making and sharing images of children and young people.
Provides advice on keeping groups of children and young people safe during activities, events, visits, outings and overnight stays whether they’re regular or one-off.
