Lunchtime Assistants
Job Description and
Responsibilities
November 2014
CONTENTS
1. Job Description - Supervisor
2. Job Description - Assistant
3. Responsibilities
4. In the Playground
5. Going to the toilet
6. Wet Lunchtimes
7. Rewards
8. Preventing Problems
9. Dealing with Conflict
10. Keeping School Clean
11. Accidents
12. Coming Back into School
November 2014
1
Job Description
Post:
Mid-day Supervisor
Responsible to:
Headteacher
Responsibility to:
Supervise the work of the Supervisory Assistants within the prescribed school
area under their control.
Job Purpose
Responsible to the Headteacher to ensure the safety and welfare of pupils on the
school site during the mid-day break, and for the safe conduct of pupils leaving
and arriving at the school at the commencement and near the end of the mid-day
break and to maintain discipline at all times.
Duties
1. Day to day supervision of Supervisory Assistants
2. Supervision of pupils taking a school meal as well as other pupils on site
during the mid-day break
3. Liaise with kitchen staff to ensure that pupils with special dietary needs
are provided with the correct meal
4. Maintain discipline throughout the lunchtime break in accordance with the
Behaviour Policy and guidance given by the Headteacher and to report
back accordingly
5. Ensuring that an accurate record of incidents is maintained using
appropriate procedures, such as incident book or accident book, in order
to fulfil the LA’s legal obligation
6. The supervision of pupils returning to the premises at the end of the midday break
7. Ensure named First Aider administers first aid when required
8. Give guidance, support and advice to lunchtime staff regarding school
routines and behaviour management
9. To develop a ‘play-centred’ approach to supervision on the yard and to
ensure that the field is opened whenever possible
November 2014
Job Description
2
Post:
Mid-day Supervisory Assistant
Responsible to:
Mid-day Supervisor and Headteacher
Responsible for:
Under the direction of the Headteacher of the establishment (or such other
officer as may be designated by Inspire Multi Academy Trust) individually or
as part of a team, for securing the safety, welfare and good conduct of pupils
during the mid-day break period, in accordance with the practices and
procedures of the local authority.
The following list is typical of the level of duties which the postholder would be
expected to perform. It is not necessarily exhaustive and other duties of a
similar type and level may be required from time to time.
Duties
1. Supervision of the pupils in the dining hall, play-ground areas and
school premises
2. Ancillary duties eg cleaning up spillages, ensuring tables are clean etc
3. Ensuring the maintenance of good order and discipline
4. To follow the school’s behaviour policy consistently and develop
positive relationships with pupils and staff
5. Play with the children on the yard and teach them traditional games
6. Ensure named First Aider administers first aid when required
November 2014
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Responsibilities
Starting Work – please know your starting time. If you are ill or unable to attend
work, please try to let school know as early as possible, preferably before 9.30
am so that alternative arrangements can be made.
To collect children from the classroom (ask class teacher how many are in class
today) and escort to toilets for hand washing etc in preparation for lunch.
Regulate the flow of children into the dinning hall to the hatch to collect their meal
safely.
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Line up the whole class at the hall door where possible maintain a calm,
assertive manner to control the children
Children’s hands washed before they enter the dining hall
Ensure children sit at tables
Ensure children stay where they first choose to sit and don’t move around
the hall
Ensure children do not linger in cloakrooms unsupervised
Gently encourage the children to eat their meals. Any concerns regarding this
matter should be reported to the Mid-day Supervisor who in turn will inform the
Headteacher.
Supervise children eating packed lunches. Encourage the children to eat the
food they have brought in and not other people’s food.
Any minor accidents or incidents should be dealt with, where reasonably
practicable, using the school’s behaviour policy. Serious incidents should be
reported immediately to the Mid-day Supervisor who will then speak to the Head
or Deputy Headteacher.
4
In the playground
Play with children and supervise their play
Dealing with disagreements
Try to keep calm, don’t shout. Listen to both sides of any story. Check if there
were any witnesses. Try and help children resolve their dispute.
5
Going to the toilet
Children should be encouraged to use the toilets before and after lunch in order
to reduce the need to come back into school.
November 2014
6
Wet Lunchtimes
In the event of wet lunchtimes only lunchtime activities should be left out for the
children. Activities such as games and pictures are supplied for wet playtimes.
The only times children should leave their rooms are to go to the toilet and:
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7
To report a problem in the unlikely event of no adult being in the room
At the request of an adult
Rewards
Children who should be rewarded are
 Children who always behave well
 Children who behave exceptionally well
 Children who are trying hard
Rewards include
 Verbal praise
 Lunchtime certificates
 Stickers
 Informing class teacher about good behaviour
8
Preventing Problems
Encourage a happy relaxed atmosphere
Happy children find it harder to be angry. Enjoy being with children and show it;
talk, smile, be friendly, praise children, especially difficult children, who are doing
what is expected of them. If children are pushing, choose children who are
standing well to go in first, saying “Well done you were standing well, you can go
in”. Ask yourself “What else can you praise children for?”
Protect your status
Children have to know you are in charge. Think about a teacher who inspired
confidence, how they stood, the look on their face, the way they spoke and copy
them. Exaggerate looking around, stand up tall, make eye contact and give
children “the nod”. Don’t argue with children.
Be consistent
It’s the only way children learn what to expect. Letting children off and giving
second chances, only teaches children you don’t mean what you say. Don’t
make exceptions to rules for good children or children who argue. Everybody
must have the same standards or children will play one person off against
another to get what they want.
November 2014
Give orders only when necessary
Orders can lead to confrontation. Scan well and try to intervene by walking
towards the child and having a quiet word when you are close. Say less (not
more) tell the children what to do. Don’t use questions to give orders, this
confuses some children and others may give the wrong answer!
Try not to shout
Shouting at an angry or upset child makes things worse. Shouting is exhausting,
makes people feel bad tempered and creates a bad atmosphere. Shouting
shows children the adult is losing control. Children who are shouted at a lot
behave worse over time.
Never lose your temper
It only shows you have lost control. If you do, get someone else to deal with the
situation until you have calmed down. Adults who show they are calm are able to
calm children more quickly. The way to show you are calm is to lower the tone of
your voice and speak more slowly. If you have to shout at first, make sure that
you quickly begin to speak quietly, slowly and with a lower tone of voice.
Label the behaviour not the child
Never say to children “you are naughty, bad, nasty, cheeky, a liar, a
troublemaker” etc. They will come to believe you and act that way all the more.
It is better to say, “That was a ………… thing to do”.
9
Dealing with conflict
Be in charge and be consistent
Keep calm, think quickly, act slowly. Think about how you will stand, look and
speak. Stick to your point. Comments like “What’s all this about?” Tell me
what’s happened” give you a chance to think what to do next.
Don’t try to reason with angry children
Give the child a way out. If children are very angry saying “I can see you are
very angry”, might calm things. Try also “I can see this is a problem for both of
you - we will talk about this after you have calmed down”.
Discuss what happened after the children have had time to calm down
Would you like to tell me what happened|” Asking children to start by saying how
they feel about what happened can take some of the tension out of the situation.
Try using “may be you did but I”.
Get a brief explanation from each child
Make sure the children do not interrupt each other.
November 2014
Discuss and check solutions
Ask the children to put things right – if necessary, make a couple of suggestions
and ask the children to choose. “What do you think we should do now – how can
you sort it out”? If necessary try “Do you think you deserve a playtime? What is
the rule about fighting? What will I have to do next?
A
Sanctions
Use a sanction appropriate to the situation
Pushing in line, child goes to the back of the line
Give short “time out” (3-5 minutes)
Report incidents to supervisor
Inform Headteacher of major incidents
B
Persistent offenders
Be consistent with the use of sanctions for all children. If a child is not
responding, inform the Mid-day Supervisor who will discuss the matter with the
Headteacher. Use the lunchtime Nurture group.
C
Running out
Do not run after any child who runs out. Your responsibilities are for the children
who remain in school. If a child runs out, please inform the Mid-day Supervisor
immediately who will then inform the Headteacher.
D
Specific Problems
Children with behaviour problems need consistent, firm, fair, positive handling
(look for their strengths not their weaknesses). These children respond best if
they are given attention when they behave well rather than being ignored until
they misbehave
Information about children with behaviour problems need to be shared by all
members of staff including lunchtime staff. If lunchtime staff are experiencing a
problem with a child please ask what strategies work best with the child.
E
Restraint
Physical intervention should only be used as a very last resort and should not be
considered unless all other methods of calming have been found to be unhelpful
for the pupil. Follow the LA guidelines.
Physical intervention
Must only be used in an emergency; where a real danger to personal safety is
perceived. Either to yourself or to the pupil, or other persons; or where there is a
risk of causing significant damage to property:
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Must be the minimum necessary to prevent harm
Must not be used as a punishment
Must assist the pupils to regain control
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Must not cause the pupil harm
Must only be used until the pupil has calmed
Must not be a substitute for positive behaviour management strategies
Must be recorded in writing
Must be reported immediately to the Headteacher who will inform the
parents as soon as possible
10
Accidents
Minor accidents are dealt with by the Lunchtime staff and the named First Aider
on duty. If you feel a child need to go home or to hospital, please refer to the
First Aider on duty or Mid-day Supervisor immediately; then remember to inform
the class teacher when the class is collected. A record must be kept of accidents
requiring first aid.
11
Keeping school clean
Remind children to put litter in bins, to eat their packed lunches in the hall. Put
paper towels in bins, toilet tissue in toilets. Encourage children to pick up litter if
they see it.
12
Coming back into School
Line children up in the yard do a head count escort the children back into the
classroom and stay with the children until the class teacher arrives. Inform the
teacher of any incidents that have happened over the lunchtime period.
November 2014