Apparent Rationale for Writing the Policy
According to Groves (2004) the apparent rationale why the department of education came up with the duty of care policy was to ensure that all teachers across the country are aware of the relevant legal issues pertaining to the duty of care they owe to the students who are under their custody (p. 3).
For proper clarification the document defines what the duty of care is, the definition of other legal terms, offers the legal implications which revolve around the duty of care, and explains the role of other policies and regulations which are concerned with the provision of duty of care to the students.
The duty of care students’ policy document is a legal document which was formulated by applying the policies and law so as to safeguard students while they are in the custody of their teachers (The Department of Education, 2010). This policy acts as a guideline to the rules and policies which schools have set up. It merely states the definition of duty of care, what situations the teachers owe a duty of care to their students and under what circumstances do the non-teaching staff owe a duty of care to the children.
Issues covered by the policy
The policy of duty of care was put in place so that teachers and other members of the school staff could protect students from the risk of harm when they are under their custody by exercising the duty of care (Preston, 1993). Children while in school engage in many activities, some of which might be dangerous or hazardous. It is therefore the duty of the teachers and other members of the school staff to ensure that the activities which the students are involved in do not cause harm or injuries to them.
According to this policy, teachers will only owe a duty of care to the students while they are in the school premise or undertaking a school activity (Tronc, 2004). The duty of care does not extend to the activities which the students conduct while they are outside the school unless stated otherwise. This policy therefore explains in detail what the duty of care is, when should it be exercised, who should be responsible for the care and once the law has been breached, who will be held responsible.
According to this law, teachers owe a duty of care during their journey to and from the school if it is authorized by the school, students who arrive to the school ground before the commencement of studies, students who are found at the school grounds after the school day ends and students who leave school when the classes are still going on (Ikeda and Gustafson, 2002).
However, the teachers, volunteers and the non-teaching staff owe a duty of care to their students if the above situations are conducted according to the guidelines and standards set by the school. When harm occurs to a student and the school guidelines were breached then the school does will not take responsibility (Killen, 2005).
Subjects to the Policy Requirements
The school management, the school staff and the parents are subject to the policy requirement. This is because the students are always in the custody of the school or their parents almost all the time. The subjects of this policy therefore need to work together to ensure that the safety of the students is maintained at all times, in and out of the school (Marlone, 1999).
The policy is very important since it assures that students are safe and free from harm while they are at school or they are involved in other school activities (Ewing et al., 2007). This gives both their teachers and their parents a peace of mind because they know that the safety of the students is guaranteed.
This is because the teacher is expected to exercise a reasonable care to the students, an act which will prevent an act of harm which was foreseen to happen from happening. The fact that there is an adult supervising the students all the time guarantees that reasonable care is being exercised at all times.
Importance of the Policy
The duty of care policy is a document of great importance especially in the management of student affairs while they are under the school custody. Through its implementation, teachers have known in details what duties they owe to their students, when to exercise these duties and the methods which can be used in the application of reasonable care while mitigating the issues which can cause harm to students.
As a result therefore, teachers have become even more cautious in the handling of students and ensure that the students are safe at all times. This has reduced the chances of harm occurring (Ewing et al., 2007).
The document has also stated the situations under which the duty of care of students is owed by the school and when it is not. This has made it easy to solve disputes which arise when harm occurs on a student and neither the school nor the parent wants to take responsibility.
The document is thus used for reference to avoid further dispute and a solution to the problem is arrived at easily. This is because the school, the parents and the students have their rights which should be respected at all times. This came as a solution to the problem of blaming one another in the event when harm has occurred (Groves, 2004).
The document is also used as a guideline which the school uses while conducting its operation. Every other policy concerning the safety or the security of the students has to be consistent to this policy. The schools therefore come up with good policies which aim at ensuring the safety of the students while at school is maintained and guaranteed (Ewing et al., 2007).
Hypothetical Situations
Normally students arrive in school at around 7.40 am while the teachers arrive around thirty minutes later. During this time when there is no staff supervision, students might be exposed to a lot of harm and hazards. If harm happens on the students during this time then the school will be liable (Whitton et al., 2010). The school therefore should develop a roster system whereby there will be a teacher on duty who will be present at the school before the start of teaching to supervise the students who arrive early.
The school should also set the time before which no student is allowed to be at the school premise. This information should be sent to all parents through the news letter. During this time students should be directed to a specific place where the teacher on duty can easily supervise what they are doing (The Department of Education, 2010).
There are students who remain behind after school hours to engage in sports or any other co-curriculum activities. The duty of care for these students therefore falls under the coaches and patrons of these activities.
It should be however be noted that these people will only assume the duty of care if the activity they are involved in is authorized by the school. If the activity is not authorized by the school then the supervisor will be working privately and in the event when harm occurs the principle of vicarious liability will not apply (Crouch, 1996).
The fact that the name of the team which these students were being referred to or the uniforms and the costumes they were putting on concur to the school does not mean that the activity was authorized by the school. Parents should therefore be aware which activities are authorized by the school.
There are situations when students leave the school during school hours. This is because it is a general rule for schools not to allow students to leave the school grounds before the end of the day unless the parent of the student grants the permission. A school can only allow a student to leave the school where parental permission has been given.
To ensure that the safety of the student is guaranteed, before leaving the school premise, a student should have a note from the parent which specifically states the reasons for the student to be excused from classes. The note should clearly state the reason why the student should be absent from school, the duration of the day when he/she is going to be absent and the period which the trend is going to continue.
In addition a written acknowledgement should be made to the school by the parent who should state that the school shall not be held liable if harm happens to the student while being outside the school. The school should also ensure that the student will be safe once he/she is out of the school premise. Once out of the school premise legally, the school does not owe a duty of care to the student (The Department of Education, 2010).
References
Crouch, R.W. (1996). School Sport and the Law. The Practising Administrator, 3, 26-28.
Ewing, R., Le Cornu, R. and Groundwater-Smith, S. (2007). Teaching Challenges & Dilemmas. South Melbourne: Thompson.
Groves, S. (2004). Duty of Care: Good Practice Guidelines for Academic and Administrative Staff. South Melbourne: Thompson.
Ikeda, M., & Gustafson, J.K. (2002). Heartland AEA 11’s problem solving process: Impact on issues related to special education (Research Rep. No. 2002–01). Johnston, IA: Heartland Area Education Agency 11.
Killen, R. (2005). Programming and Assessment for Quality Teaching and Learning. South Melbourne: Thompson.
Marlone, M. (1999). Education Policy and Law. The Witness. Web.
Preston, B. (1993). Teacher professionalism: Implications for teachers, teacher educators and democratic schooling. Independent Education, 23(4), 4-12.
The Department of Education. (2010). Duty of Care for Students. The Department of Education. Web.
Tronc, K. (2004). Schools and the Law. The Practising Administrator, 1, 22-24.
Whitton, D.B., Nosworthy, K., Sinclair, C. and Nanlohy, P. (2010). Learning for Teaching: Teaching for Learing. South Melboune: Cengage Learning.