15. ECB Guidelines on Supervising Children at Cricket Sessions

HARTLEY WINTNEY CRICKET CLUB
ECB Guidelines on Supervising Children at Cricket Sessions

Clubs have asked for clarification on ratios when working with children and the following guidelines apply to all cricket sessions.

It is important for clubs to remember when planning children’s cricket, or general, sessions, sufficient adults must be present to adequately supervise all participants and manage any incident that may arise.

It is a basic requirement of all sessions and matches involving children that a minimum of two responsible adults will be present in all circumstances. Clubs should always plan accordingly and coaches must feel confident in raising concerns if they find themselves placed in a position where they are expected to work alone and unsupervised. In matches there must always be at least two adults present and responsible for the team.

The ECB provides two different sets of ratios for working with children. It is vital coaches, and other key club personnel, understand the distinction between these two types of ratios. They are each explained below:

Qualified coach ratios required for coaching sessions

The ECB Community Coach Education department has produced appropriate ratios based on the number of qualified coaches required to run different technical disciplines within the game. The ratios of qualified coaches to children are as follows:

• Net Coaching: 1 coach : 8 children
• Group Coaching: 1 coach : 24 children
• Hard Ball Coaching: 1 coach : 16 children

These coaching ratios are very different to the child supervision ratios, which are required at all sessions regardless of where these are held or which activities the children are doing. Details of supervision ratios are shown below:

Supervision ratios

Supervision ratios relate to managing groups of children and ensuring sufficient adults are present to deal with any issue or incident that may arise. For single sex groups, there must be at least one same gender member of staff. For mixed groups there must be at least one male and one female supervising adult.

There must always be a minimum of two adults present

Clubs must also factor in any further issues that the risk assessment of the facilities may have highlighted. For example, if the changing rooms are located several minutes walk from the training venue then the club may have to increase the number of supervisors in light of this additional information.

The supervision ratios that must be adhered to as a minimum for clubs looking after groups of children are as follows:

Aged 8 and under – 1 adult : 8 children Aged 9 and over – 1 adult : 10 children

It is also important for clubs to note that these ratios relate to adults and children i.e. those over 18 looking after those under 18. Volunteers who are under 18 years of age must not be used in the calculations for supervision ratios.

Drinks breaks

As part of our responsibilities in supervising children, it is vital all players drink appropriate amounts of water to avoid any possible risks of dehydration during matches and practice sessions.

The tips below are provided from the ECB Coaches’ Safety Pack (Hard Copy).

Coaches, teachers, managers and umpires are encouraged to:

• Ensure regular intervals for drinks are arranged, particularly in matches of more than 20 overs per innings, or in hot weather
• Plan drinks breaks in practice sessions and matches every 20-40 minutes on warm sunny days. (This may sound excessive but on hot days players can need up to two or three litres each to stay fully hydrated)
• Avoid waiting for children to say they are thirsty before planning a drinks break as thirst is an indication of dehydration. The ECB Sports Science support pack (via e-learning portal) reminds us that children tend to dehydrate more quickly than adults.

Reviewed: April 2023. Next review April 2025.