Tennis In Lambeth & LTA Supervision Guidance

Supervising Children & Young People

What happens if a child needs to go to the toilet during a coaching (or other club) session?

Venues and park sites should ensure that children are supervised during coaching and other club sessions.  Situations where a child has to leave a session, for example, to use the toilet, should also be supervised.  Coaches should plan for such situations in their risk assessment and we recommend that you create guidance/policy on how to manage child supervision whilst responsible for them. This will ensure that all coaches, staff and volunteers are aware of their responsibilities, and do not allow children to go to the toilet or leave a session on their own.  Coaches, staff and volunteers should not go into the toilet with children. 

What age can children be left unsupervised at a tennis venue?

We recommend that children under the age of 13 are supervised by their parent/carer whilst at a tennis venue and outside of any venue sessions, such as coaching lessons or tennis camps.

However, you should conduct a thorough risk assessment of the venue, including access to its facilities, the location and security measures to help inform this decision.

Coach / Player Ratios

There are many considerations when setting coach / player ratios. Ultimately the responsibility lies with coaches and their tennis venues. When setting ratios, the coach and venue must ensure;

• On court activity is safe
• On court activity is delivered with quality
• On court activity represents good value for money
• Supervision of children will not be compromised in the event of an emergency (or other situation) that requires the coach to leave the court/club
• Supervision of children will not be compromised in the event of an emergency (or other situation) that requires the child to leave the session/court

In situations where a child has to leave a coaching session, for example, to use the toilet, they should continue to be supervised. Coaches and venues should plan for such situations in their risk assessment and we recommend that you create guidance/policy on how to manage child supervision whilst responsible for them.

This will ensure that all coaches (and any other staff and volunteers) are aware of their responsibilities, and do not allow children to go to the toilet or leave a session on their own. Coaches, staff and volunteers should not go into the toilet with children.

Coach / player ratios will vary depending on the following factors;

• The age of players
• The facilities available
• The activity taking place
• The level & experience of coach

It is not possible to give definitive guidance on coach / player ratios due to the considerations above. However, as a useful starting point the table below provides general guidance on coach / player ratios for recreational coaching delivered at optimum quality.

When working alone, as a minimum all coaches should be Level 2 qualified and in possession of a valid DBS check.

More information on supervision guidance for coaches can be found at –

https://www.lta.org.uk/about-us/safeguarding-protection/

https://www.lta.org.uk/globalassets/coach/documents/resources/coach-player-ratios.pdf