Policies & Procedures

A: When conducting Safe Sitter® courses, Instructors are asked to refrain from distributing educational material, including educational videos, not prepared by Safe Sitter®. There are two reasons for this policy: information overload and the possibility of information in the materials conflicting with information in the curriculum.

As Instructors can attest, the curriculum is already extremely fact-dense. The students have an enormous amount of new information to absorb in a short period of time. Adding extra brochures, fliers, articles, videos, etc., even though related to Safe Sitter® content and worthwhile in themselves, may contribute to students feeling overwhelmed and exhausted instead of feeling excited and motivated. Good intentions can backfire, resulting in information overload.

Curriculum conflict is another concern. The Safe Sitter® curriculum is specific to the developmental level of the young adolescent. Most other first aid and child care resources are targeted at an adult audience. Adolescents could be confused by this seemingly conflicting information and are likely to take away the message that there is no right answer. In this case, use of an educational enhancement actually detracts from the educational experience.

We ask Safe Sitter® Instructors to demonstrate their commitment to young adolescents and the Safe Sitter® curriculum by preserving the integrity of the curriculum. If you know of information that you consider so essential to the Safe Sitter® curriculum that it should be routinely included in the course content, please forward it to Safe Sitter® National Headquarters. In the unusual situation where an Instructor feels compelled to utilize additional resources (after careful examination of the resources for accuracy and appropriateness), the Instructor is to identify the educational enhancements as "non-Safe Sitter®" and not endorsed by Safe Sitter®.

A: Safe Sitter® asks that you do not schedule a expert speakers for two reasons - time and content. Keeping the course sections on schedule is always a concern for Instructors. Adding a speaker requires adding time to the course or leaving something out. The time taken for the introduction of the speaker and the speaker's introductory remarks take time that you simply don't have.

Curriculum content is also a concern. A speaker who is an expert and who is not familiar with the Safe Sitter® course material may give information which seems or is inconsistent with Safe Sitter® curriculum. This can be very confusing to the students. The expert's advice may not be geared to the developmental level of a middle schooler. The expert's advice might be appropriate for an adult but not appropriate for a 12-year-old babysitter. Handling such inconsistencies or inappropriate advice can put Instructors in a difficult and sometimes embarrassing situation.

Remember, you, the Safe Sitter® Instructor, are the expert for Safe Sitter®.

A: Schedules in the Instructor Manual were put together with both the curriculum and students' needs in mind. They were tested in student courses and honed for what worked best in order to facilitate student success. What may be more convenient for Instructors, may not be best for students.

Small and large group sections are alternated, the more active sections tend to be in the afternoon after lunch, and most importantly, there's layering of information throughout the sections. So, although there's some flexibility in the schedule, there are also some sequence requirements. For example, Mission Possible must be preceded by Injury Management.

Please do not add anything to the schedule. Email us at support@safesitter.org or call us at
800-255-4089 x13 and we'll be happy to explain any schedule or make a customized schedule to fit your situation!

A: Remember your goal is to engage, educate, and equip! So, it works best if the students sit in chairs around tables rather than in chairs in rows. No matter which section you're teaching, students should be able to see the Instructor and the Instructor should be able to see all the students. There are directions for the best seating arrangement for each section in your Instructor Manual.

A: Graphics are a powerful way to reinforce important concepts. Students enjoy large, colorful, laminated graphics so it's important to put the graphics on the classroom walls for the students to see the rest of the day.

Here are some tips for using Safe Sitter's graphics:

• Graphics used in each section are clearly identified in your Instructor Manual. All graphics are included on the disc that accompanies the Instructor Manual.
• If your courses have more than 6 to 8 students, you will want to use the larger size (11 x 17) of the graphics for large group sections and the 8 ½ x 11 size of the graphics for small group section. If all your courses are small (no more than 8 students), all your graphics can be small (8 ½ x 11) except for the Matching Poster.
• The Matching Poster should be poster size. It works best to have 4 Velcro strips in each column spaced to fit the red 3x5 cards. An alternative is to write the 3 columns on a flip chart or board.
• If your courses are large (more than 16 students), you will need an extra copy of some of the graphics. Please call us at 800-255-4089 x13 or email support@safesitter.org if you'd like help planning larger courses.
• One way to organize your teaching supplies is to assemble a separate packet for each section. Since the graphics are used in more than one section, you would need extra copies of some of them to put in the packets.
• The Ribs and Lungs graphics are used for both choking rescue sections. It is used to identify anatomical landmarks and explain how choking occurs and rescue techniques work.

All of the rescue skills sections involve physical activity. For Choking Child Rescue, having the students get up to go sit in a circle on the floor not only facilitates the most effective practice of the skill but allows a break from the more sedentary sections. 

A: Timing is one of the most frequent challenges we hear from Instructors, especially new Instructors. Suggestions include pacing yourself, teaching from the Instructor Manual (vs. the Babysitter's Handbook), sticking to the curriculum and not adding extra material or bringing in an expert guest, paying close attention to the clock, using a kitchen timer to give yourself a 5-minute warning, and adding an additional Instructor to help with testing.

Pace yourself so you don't talk too quickly, but invite and enjoy brief and relevant comments, anecdotes, and questions from students. Be careful not to get sidetracked. Your Instructor Manual has suggestions for time allotments for each section. Pacing is particularly important when testing students. If you know the number of students you need to test and the time you have to accomplish testing, then you can calculate the time you have to spend with each student.

If you are teaching Safe Sitter® (2-day) you may choose to test the students on Injury Management or Behavior Management, rather than both of these sections.

A: The best way is always through word-of-mouth. Invite a potential Instructor to observe one of your student courses.

Other ideas include:

• Post fliers in your organization's break rooms, in the elevator, or just outside of the cafeteria. (Forms)
• Recruit student nurses who need public health experience.
• Recruit school nurses who may be available on the same school breaks when you teach courses.
• Recruit volunteers to handle student registration, coordinate supplies, set up the classroom, handle crowd control at the Ceremony, etc. These volunteers may become Instructors!
• Recruit the parents of your graduates at the Ceremony.
• Ask someone you know - someone you'd like to teach with!
• Recruit new moms from your prenatal classes.
• Use one of the online volunteer recruitment sites such as volunteermatch.org.

A: In addition to being at least 18 years old, each Instructor should have the following characteristics:

• Has a love for children of all ages, but especially enjoys working with young adolescents.
• Is nurturing, enthusiastic, and has a spirit of fun.
• Can serve as a role model for young people.
• Enjoys teaching and sharing information that is relevant and medically accurate.
• Is comfortable dealing with diverse students.
• Feels called to the cause of protecting children today and training tomorrow's parents.
• Is willing to maintain the integrity of the program and is committed to teach the number of courses a year your site would require.
• Wants to make a difference in the lives of young adolescents - building confidence, instilling responsibility, and empowering them to be safe and nurturing babysitters.

Safe Sitter® is committed to being available and affordable. To help ensure the inclusion of students from all income levels, there is a national scholarship program. National Headquarters provides FREE Handbooks  for students who cannot afford the normal class fee.

How to apply for the scholarships:

• Your site will receive one FREE The Official Safe Sitter® Babysitter's Handbook and Completion Card for each scholarship granted.
• To request scholarships for your students, click on Forms and complete the Student Request Scholarship Form.
• One form may be used for all scholarships requested for a course. The form should be submitted by the Site Coordinator - not the student's parent. Student's names do not need to be submitted. There is no predetermined limit on the number of scholarships a site may request per year.
• There are several ways to identify the need for a scholarship, such as the student's participation in the school subsidized lunch program or comments from the parent/guardian indicating financial hardship.
• Submit the form when you order supplies. Along with your other supplies, we will ship a Handbook for each scholarship granted. If you are unaware of a student's need at the time of ordering, you may submit the form after a course and we will ship a Handbook for each granted at that time.
• Because the scholarship only covers the cost of a Handbook and Completion Card, sites are encouraged to seek local sources for additional funding. Possible sources of funds are hospital auxiliaries, foundations, local service clubs, or local businesses. Students receiving scholarships can be charged a reduced fee. Sites are urged to charge at least a nominal fee to encourage participant investment and follow-through.
• Advertise the availability of scholarships to prospective students, using words such as "Scholarships are available based on need".