Summer Day Camp Staff Shifts, Breaks and Backup Cover
Map staff cover from setup through final pickup and cleanup. Include lunch breaks, toilet support and time away from the group. Plan cover for illness before camp opens so supervision does not depend on everyone being available.
Write shifts in time blocks. Include setup, arrivals, activity changes, lunch, toilet support, pickup, and cleanup. Mark actual breaks, not breaks that depend on no child needing help.
For each block, answer: Who leads the group? Who can step away? Who takes over? Where is the director? Who watches the entrance?
Do not treat an office worker as permanent emergency cover if that worker is also the only person answering parents and managing the gate. Decide which task stops when they are called away.
Train staff in the real site. Practice the routes and radios. Use a fake roster and act out a missing child, an unapproved collector, a spill, and a fire alarm. Staff should know which record is the current one.
Prepare a substitute folder with the day plan, group needs, safety rules, and contacts. Share private health details only where the role needs them. A substitute should not discover the allergy plan during snack time.
If a staff member is absent, use the approved backup. If safe cover cannot be restored, delay, reduce, or cancel the affected service under your plan. Do not hope that a quieter activity makes a staffing gap disappear.
Do this next: Test the rota with one staff absence and one child needing prolonged help.
