Duty of Care
 

Some General Principles

In general terms, teachers have three duties:

• A duty pursuant to the terms of employment to comply with regulations, rules and lawful instructions.
• A moral/social duty to provide the pupils with the best education possible and;
• A legal duty to take all reasonable precautions to protect the pupils from injury.

When any of these three duties come into conflict, then the third duty must be paramount. Click for more information.

Inside The Classroom

A teacher’s “duty of care” within the classroom includes a duty to instruct, supervise and maintain discipline to a degree which enables them to perform the function of a teacher. Click for more information.

Excursions/Camps

Excursions and camps require special consideration. Given that teachers owe to their students a duty to take reasonable care that students are not exposed to unnecessary hazards in the course of their school activities, teachers who are organising excursions/camps should be aware of the potential dangers and assess whether it is reasonable to provide additional safety measures. Click for more information.

Sporting Activities
 

The fact that balls are being struck with bats and boots, that high levels of competitiveness often apply, and that physical contact and force are permitted within defined limits, all lay the foundation for injury. Click for more information.

Errands

Teachers often send students on errands. Some parents may complain that these are non-educational and not part of the curriculum. It can also be argued that such responsibility is a valid and valuable part of any student’s educational process. With this in mind, what then should a teacher bear in mind when considering sending a particular pupil on an errand? Click for more information.

Transporting Students
 

Journeys to and from school and journeys made in connection with school activities can result in actions for personal injury to students. Teachers have a duty of care to take reasonable steps to ensure that the mode of transport utilised to take students to and from school-related activities is safe and reliable and that the students are adequately supervised. Click for more information.

Supervision During Breaks
 

Unfortunately there is no fixed adult/student ratio for playground supervision which can be stated. Most playground risks would be eliminated if most of the staff were on duty there all the time. However, this is impractical. What is required is ‘reasonable’ supervision of the playgrounds. Click for more information.

Outside “School Hours”
 

The temporal ambit of the duty of care depends upon whether the particular circumstances reveal that the relationship of ‘schoolmaster’ and pupil was or was not then in existence. “School hours” are not necessarily the hours during which the school is officially open. They are the hours during which the school accept students onto school property and the student placed beyond the control and protection of his/her parent. Click for more information.

Provision of First Aid

A duty of care obliges teachers to attempt to assist children who are injured or sick. You are not expected to exercise the skill of a doctor. Similarly, the circumstances of emergency are quite different to the calmer and more objective appraisal of events one would expect in a non-emergency situation. You will have fulfilled your duty of care if you do what a reasonable person would do under the circumstances. You are not required to expose yourself to risk of infection. Click for more information.

Duty of Care – TAFE Teachers
 

TAFE teachers have a duty of care to ensure that nothing the teacher does, or does not do, results in students being injured. Click for more information.

Defamation and Report Writing

Any time a teacher writes or speaks about a student, she/he must exercise some caution. This need not only applies to reports to parents, but also to documents for internal confidential purposes. People have a right to access their own records and files (or those of their children) held by government. Click for more information.

Teacher Assistants and Legal Responsibility 

Increasingly, school activities involve teacher assistants working with students which raise questions relating to legal responsibility. It is vital that members of the educational team understand the ramifications of such involvement. Click for more information.

Workplace Bullying - Handbook 2007

Teachers and Family Law

The relevant legislation is the Commonwealth Family Law Act (1975).

Teachers have no responsibility to ensure that Court Orders (residency, parenting, warrants and injunctions) are being obeyed but they are (i) expected to comply with them when brought to their attention and further, (ii) teachers have the responsibility to correctly identify and acknowledge the person(s) who have a legal right to deal with the educational welfare of a child (see S.65N and s68B). Click for more information.

Child Abuse

The Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1997, has major implications for all persons who work as employees or volunteers in schools and colleges. Click for more information.

Allegations – Teacher Vulnerability 

It is an unfortunate fact of life that allegations of improper conduct such as assaults (physical and verbal) and sexual impropriety, against teachers occur. Click for more information.

Members of the Public on School Premises

Occasionally, teachers, and more specifically principals, are troubled by members of the public who enter school grounds without permission, especially when their presence/actions create disturbances, aggravation or damage. Click for more information.

Search and Confiscation

Where there is good cause or reason, teachers may conduct searches and confiscate student property. Such right is limited; hence care must be exercised when doing so. Click for more information.

Educational Negligence 

Education authorities and education workers have become increasingly concerned that student, who have failed to achieve the educational outcomes which they (or their parents) desired, might sue them. There is a growing perception that they (the system/school/teacher) will be seen as incompetent/negligent, and as a result, the student will be awarded compensation for loss/injury suffered. Click for more information.

Employment Law 

It is not the intention of these guidelines to provide the reader with a detailed overview of Employment Law as it relates to education workers. Given its breadth, complexity and continuous and often radical changes a brief synopsis is the aim of this chapter. Click for more information.

Jury System

With limited exceptions all persons enrolled on the State roll for election purposes are liable for jury service. In all instances this duty will not prejudice an employee in her/his work. Deliberation of guilt or innocence in criminal matters is the primary role of a jury; however a jury might also be constituted to deliberate on the merits of some civil trials or hearings. Click for more information.

Membership Welfare Officer 

Contact Details:

Mal Upston

To contact Mal via email malcolmu@aeutas.org.au

Top