Hatch before September 1970 had no family-type groups. Children there were in eight divisions according to ages and (for those over about age 10) by gender. The Nursery was over by the primary school. In the main house the young "Junior Study" boys and girls shared a playroom. Older ones had separate playrooms (the oldest boys had one in the first part of the Colt House from 1958). Boys and girls also had separate dormitories. From 1956 there was a family-type group for about 14 or 15 children at the Paddocks (moving to Lacton Hall in 1965).
Groupings at Hatch were transient, mostly with children of about two school years. Roughly half of them would generally move at the end of each school year to the next most senior group, hence there tended to be entirely different children from those two years or so previously in that part of the Community.
In the early 1960's there would be one mature staff member in charge of each grouping. Sometimes there would be a younger assistant, but it was not uncommon to have one adult looking after over a dozen children. In practice, some children often might be in parts of the building or the grounds with minimal oversight. In 1961 there was one TV in the 'Prep Room' at the school courtyard and one TV for Miss Leila. Most of us only rarely watched TV at Hatch before 1964.
Activities such as housework, schooling, meals, recreation and chapel gave opportunities to interact with others at the Community.
By 1984 family-type groups each had several staff members looking after children that tended to remain in the same group for well over two years, perhaps only moving when old enough to go to the group for older adolescents (at Lacton Hall from September 1983). Groups had become semi-independent, for instance with their own breakfasts and teas / suppers, also TV's, washing machines etc.