Whether we are evaluating school safety, climate and culture for client school districts and non-public schools, making custom school safety training videos or serving as a school safety expert witness, one of the most common and critical issues in school safety today is student supervision. Improving student supervision is usually very inexpensive, easy to accomplish and can significantly improve student safety. The specific techniques for improving student supervision are often simple and can be easily adapted to fit the unique environment of a school without much difficulty.
We have been providing structured training on techniques for improving student supervision for a number of years now and have found that most educators have never had any formal training on the topic in the past. We have also found them to be very receptive to the concepts since they usually involve relatively easy to implement adjustments to what teachers are already doing.
Student supervision can help to reduce the risk of a variety of hazards for students and staff including:
- Bullying
- Weapons assaults
- Fights
- Sexual assault
- Abduction of students
- Theft
- Vandalism
- Substance abuse
- Arson
- Medical emergencies
Focusing on student supervision can help reduce the chances of serious injury and death to students and staff while improving school climate and the connection between schools and the students they serve.