Yard duty roster template
A yard duty roster template for the staffroom wall
Each break down the side, each area across the top, one teacher in every box. Print it for the staffroom and the front office, or download it to edit for each term.
Preview: Yard duty roster: Week A
| Day | Break | Oval | Courts | Undercover area | Bus line (3:00–3:20) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Recess 10:50–11:20 | Ms Nguyen | Mr Abara | Mrs Doyle | |
| Monday | Lunch 1:00–1:40 | Mr Patel | Ms Fraser | Mr Kaur | Ms Ellis |
| Tuesday | Recess 10:50–11:20 | Mrs Doyle | Ms Ellis | Mr Patel | |
| Tuesday | Lunch 1:00–1:40 | Ms Nguyen | Mr Kaur | Mr Abara | Ms Fraser |
The printed version has 16 blank rows under the example ones. The download opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
Areas across, breaks down
Yard duty is about coverage: every area of the school watched at every break. Putting areas across the top makes a gap jump out, because an empty box sits right where an empty part of the playground would be. Put the break times in the second column, since recess and lunch often differ between junior and senior years.
The example is Week A at Wattle Grove Primary, with 14 teaching staff and four areas. Many schools run a Week A and Week B so duties don’t land on the same days each week; print one sheet for each.
Making duties feel fair to staff
| Watch for | Why it matters | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Lunch versus recess | Lunch duty is longer and eats into the main break | Count lunches separately from recesses |
| Part-time staff | Two days a week shouldn’t mean two duties a week | Roster by days worked, not by name |
| Back-to-back | Duty straight after a double class leaves no break | Check the timetable before you place someone |
| Bus line in winter | Cold, dark and nobody’s favourite | Rotate it by week, not by day |
Release staff and the leadership team usually take a share too. Agree that with the principal before term, so it’s not decided one name at a time. The yard duty tips guide covers relief staff and excursion days.
When staff change mid-term
Term 2 brings a long-service leave, a new graduate and a teacher dropping to three days, and the printed roster needs a rewrite. In a FairTurns yard duty roster, each break becomes a repeating date with the areas as its positions, and the bus line, which runs after school, is its own team. Fill gives each empty place to whoever has had the fewest turns, and leaves off anyone marked away that day, so part-time staff mark their non-working days as Away regularly (“Every week on Friday”). When staff change, Redistribute shares the duties out again and shows who gains or loses one before it changes anything. Staff see their next duties on their phone. Free for the whole school.
Questions
Is this the same as a playground duty roster?
Yes. Yard duty, playground duty and teacher duty roster all describe the same thing. Rename the heading to whatever your school uses.
How many teachers per area?
One per area for most primary schools, two for a large oval or for areas out of sight of the main buildings. Your school’s supervision policy has the final word.
Can I add before-school and after-school duty?
Yes. Add rows for each, with the times in the Break column. The bus line column in the example is one way to show after-school duty.
What happens on wet days?
Most schools collapse to one or two undercover areas. Write the wet-day rule in the note line so the rostered staff know where to go.
Read next
Teacher yard and playground duty
Before school, recess, lunch and bus duty shared across the staff, with one link everyone can check.
Yard duty roster tips
Share yard duty fairly across a school: areas, part-time staff, leadership, wet days and changes mid-term.
Duty roster template
A duty roster format with each duty in its own column: open up, lock up, first aid, cash-up.
Make your roster free
Click a day, add people, share one link. No card, no limit on people or dates.