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Ratios
To supervise and run activities safely you need to have a sufficient number of workers.
Your organisation should have written rules about the number of workers and leaders needed to run an activity safely and if these are not met then the activity should not go ahead.
You should have at least TWO adult workers for each activity or group that you run. If one needs to respond to an issue, then the other can remain with the group. This also ensures accountability and transparency for workers.
All workers should be recruited following your safer recruitment policy and have received a sufficient level of safeguarding training.
There are legal requirements to follow for certain activities involving children aged 8 and under in registered childcare settings. These vary slightly across the 4 nations of the UK.
Recommended Ratios:
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Children aged 0-2 years - 1 adult to 3 children
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Children aged 2-3 years - 1 adult to 4 children
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Children aged 4-8 years - 1 adult to 6 children
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Children aged 9-12 years - 1 adult to 8 children
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Children aged 13-18 years - 1 adult to 10 children
Following a risk assessment of the activity you may need to reassess the number of workers that are needed. More workers may be needed depending on the group size, the needs of the children, the location or the type of activities being run.
Things to consider
You should have clear processes and expectations in place for workers to communicate if they are able to work, and for communicating with those who attend your activity, or their parents/carers, in the event that your activity has to be cancelled or you have to restrict numbers if there are not enough workers.
It is often helpful to ask people to pre-register for the activities you run so that you can plan ahead for the number of workers you will need to run the activity safely.
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Page last updated: 05 November 2025