Duty of supervision in kindergarten: These are the rules

Who is responsible for supervision in the kindergarten?

The kindergarten staff is responsible for supervising the child during the period that your child is in the facility. This is recorded in a contract that you conclude with the provider after you have registered and been admitted to the kindergarten. The duty of supervision begins when your child enters the kindergarten and ends when it is picked up by an authorized person. It is also insured on the way to kindergarten.

Duty of supervision in kindergarten: what does that mean?

Duty of supervision in the kindergarten means that the educators have the duty to supervise the children entrusted to them. They should protect the children from sources of danger, harm to themselves or harm by other people. On the other hand, they should prevent the supervised children from harming other people. The duty of supervision in the kindergarten extends both to children from the group and from outside the group who are in the care of the facility, as well as to visiting and probationary children.

The duty of supervision in the kindergarten also includes education about dangers. This should enable the children to deal with the demands and risks of everyday life. When doing handicrafts, for example, they learn how to use scissors. The children are also taught that they should not harm other people or break other people’s property.

If something happens to my child in kindergarten

Despite the obligation to supervise in the kindergarten, it can easily happen that your child injures himself, for example if he stumbles while playing or falls while romping around. In such cases, your child is covered by statutory accident insurance when it attends kindergarten. If the accident occurs on the way to the kindergarten, this statutory accident insurance also applies here. In any case, it is advisable to record the exact course of the accident. In kindergarten, the educators do this. If the accident occurs outside the facility, for example on the way to the kindergarten, you must have this documented by the doctor so that the incident can be settled by the kindergarten accident insurance.

Liability insurance in kindergarten?

When children romp or play, something can quickly break. According to the law, however, a child of kindergarten age is not to blame if they damage something. Since the educators have to look after several children at the same time and it can happen that damage occurs unnoticed, special regulations also apply to the care staff with regard to liability. Taking various factors into account, the kindergarten therefore assumes liability in many cases if something breaks. The following factors influence this decision:

• Skills of the child: Factors such as the physical, mental and cognitive abilities of the child are decisive when it comes to the obligation to look forward to kindergarten. As a rule, younger children require more intensive supervision than older ones, as they do not yet have the same experience. Therefore, case law assumes that small children up to four years of age have a special need for supervision.
• Group size: Within the kindergarten group, the mood can change surprisingly. Therefore, educators must monitor them closely in order to be able to react appropriately to such fluctuations. The number of children supervised by an educator depends on the respective occupation. More educators are used on trips to go swimming or to the museum than when playing in the kindergarten rooms.
• Environment: Particular vigilance is required if the spatial and local conditions indicate a high risk potential, regardless of whether it is crossing a busy street or a trip to the zoo. The duty of care must then be adapted to the respective situation.
• Abilities of the educator: The abilities, for example the training and the experience of the educator are decisive for the supervisory duty in the kindergarten. The longer the educator does his job, the more you can expect him to be able to correctly assess sources of danger or critical situations.