What does a playground aide do?
Playground aide responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real playground aide resumes:
- Supervise children's recreational activities in a designate play area during baseball games.
- Ensure safe use of playground equipment.
- Set up, take down and store playground equipment.
- Organize and participate in recreational activities and outings, such as games and field trips.
- Plan activities base on assign student's IEP to encourage appropriate independence and facilitate/support student's participation in all activities.
- Collaborate with other teachers or administrators to develop, evaluate, or revise kindergarten or elementary school programs.
Playground aide skills and personality traits
We calculated that 67% of Playground Aides are proficient in Safety Rules, Lunch Periods, and Cafeterias. They’re also known for soft skills such as Instructional skills, Patience, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Playground Aides that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Safety Rules, 67%
Assure all safety rules and guidelines are being followed and keep the campus safe.
- Lunch Periods, 26%
Provide safe playground supervision of students during recess and lunch periods.
- Cafeterias, 3%
Supervised students in classrooms, halls, cafeterias, school yards and gymnasiums, or on field trips.
- K-5, 2%
Worked with public elementary students K-5 and overseeing recreational and sports activities during lunch hour, provided guidance to ensure safe organize
- Social Development, 2%
Confer with professionals to develop individual educational plans designed to promote students' educational, physical, and social development.
"safety rules," "lunch periods," and "cafeterias" are among the most common skills that playground aides use at work. You can find even more playground aide responsibilities below, including:
Patience. Another essential skill to perform playground aide duties is patience. Playground aides responsibilities require that "childcare workers need to be able to respond calmly to overwhelming and difficult situations." Playground aides also use patience in their role according to a real resume snippet: "provided customer service, exhibiting patience and critical thinking to determine the appropriate measures required to diffuse certain situations. "
Interpersonal skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of playground aides is interpersonal skills. This skill is critical to many everyday playground aide duties, as "childcare workers need to work well with people in order to develop good relationships with parents, children, and colleagues." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "gained effective interpersonal and customer service skills while assisting more than 8 patients an hour. "
Communication skills. A big part of what playground aides do relies on "communication skills." You can see how essential it is to playground aide responsibilities because "childcare workers need good speaking skills to provide direction or information effectively and good listening skills to understand parents’ instructions." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical playground aide tasks: "maintain confidentiality and open communication with parents and guardians. "
The three companies that hire the most playground aides are:
- Humboldt School District4 playground aides jobs
- Kelly Services1 playground aides jobs
- CARE1 playground aides jobs
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Compare different playground aides
Playground aide vs. Nursery attendant
A Baby Sitter is responsible for the welfare and safety of children while their parents or guardian are away. The tasks will vary on the age, behavior, or needs of the children. However, most of the time, a Baby Sitter must supervise the children's activities in a friendly and fun manner, prepare meals, assist in bathing or dressing, and get them to bed. There are also instances when the Baby Sitter must do some light chores, such as cleaning up after the kids or washing the dishes.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, playground aide responsibilities require skills like "safety rules," "lunch periods," "emergency situations," and "student safety." Meanwhile a typical nursery attendant has skills in areas such as "child care," "excellent interpersonal," "cpr," and "aed." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Nursery attendants tend to reach similar levels of education than playground aides. In fact, nursery attendants are 2.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Playground aide vs. Baby sitter
A vocational childcare teacher teaches vocational subjects at a secondary school level, in either public or private schools. Their duties include preparing materials for classroom activities, assigning and grading classwork, and designing assignments. They are also expected to instruct students, making use of different teaching methods like discussions, lectures, or demonstrations. They generally have to instruct students in the specific knowledge and skills needed for a specific occupation.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real playground aide resumes. While playground aide responsibilities can utilize skills like "safety rules," "lunch periods," "emergency situations," and "student safety," baby sitters use skills like "child care," "kids," "nutritious meals," and "cpr."
Baby sitters may earn a higher salary than playground aides, but baby sitters earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $48,994. On the other hand, playground aides receive higher pay in the education industry, where they earn an average salary of $28,970.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Baby sitters tend to reach similar levels of education than playground aides. In fact, they're 2.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Playground aide vs. Vocational childcare teacher
Kids club attendants are employees who are responsible for supervising the operations of children's play facilities that are present in fitness centers, resorts, shopping centers, and other businesses. To provide safety and a place of fun, these attendants should supervise the kids who are left by their parents while doing other activities in the establishment. They must organize fun activities while keeping track of the arrival and departure of children into the kids club. Kids club attendants must also handle complaints and concerns by reporting them to the supervisor or service manager.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, playground aides are more likely to have skills like "safety rules," "lunch periods," "emergency situations," and "student safety." But a vocational childcare teacher is more likely to have skills like "cpr," "customer service," "child development," and "child care."
When it comes to education, vocational childcare teachers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to playground aides. In fact, they're 2.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Playground aide vs. Kids club attendant
Types of playground aide
Updated January 8, 2025
