To help enforce a better standard of martial arts instruction we rely on Instructor to Student Ratios (ISRs). This is also set by our insurers, to help us combat rising prices by mitigating risk.
Instructor to Student Ratios are a compulsory requirement set by the insurer if you make use of any BMABA instructor and/or student insurances.
Standard Ratios
If you use our group cover policy (any memberships inclusive of instructor insurance, or any student licences) you’ll initially need to adhere to the ratio of;
1:8 For Children
1:16 For Adults
The insurer will accept deviations of up to 1:35 however, provided;
You have fully risk assessed the additional supervision requirements placed upon the instructor by the class size.
You can safely manage the size of the class you plan to teach.
You have provable experience working to a class size in-excess of the standard defined limits.
You ensure there is sufficient space, equipment, PPE and other such supervisions for the size of the class being run.
You can document this decision making process in a specific ISR document for your club.
You may not exceed the ratio without written permission from BMABA or the Insurer if you plan to include any grappling and/or sparring as part of the class. In these circumstances, you must seek approval from BMABA first. If you do not plan on including grappling or sparring, you can deviate without our prior permission.
It’s important to stress that the insurer would expect you to have a good reason, well documented, for exceeding their default ratios. There are plenty of available reasonings – the class being non-contact or consisting of senior graded students are just two. The key is to think clearly about the capacity you need and to consider whether or not it is viable, as well as whether or not you can double the ratio using volunteers or assistants too (more on this below).
Unless confident producing an effective risk assessment to address Instructor to Student Ratio deviations, we would recommend you speak with our office first by email or ticket with your query or required ratio. We can help ensure it’s reasonable and within the insurer’s defined parameters.
If you have a ‘DRI’ (Direct With Insurer) policy through us, you should refer to ISRs per the policy schedule. Please speak with us if you’re unsure about this.
Increasing The Standard Limit
You can easily the standard limit by introducing an assistant instructor or volunteer to your class. For each new authorised person (instructor, assistant instructor or volunteer) the ratio continues at 100%. So, for example, for one instructor teaching children, the limit is 8 children in a class. If the instructor introduces a volunteer to aid with supervision, the capacity increases to 16. Another volunteer increases this to 24, and so on. This is subject to appropriate risk assessments and the ability of those volunteering to supervise effectively.
You can explore registering additional instructors, trainee instructors and volunteers with BMABA from here.