Resources
Excursion support - legal liability
A teacher owes students a duty to take reasonable steps to protect them from any injury that the teacher should have reasonably foreseen. This requires teachers and principals not just to react to situations as they arise but to engage in appropriate risk management to reduce the risks of injury.
Principals should implement risk management processes for identifying and controlling hazards and risks .They should also ensure that sufficient members of staff are trained in first-aid to an appropriate level of competency to enable first aid to be given when necessary .
School personnel have common law responsiblities and occupational health and safety obligations to conduct adventure activities safely. In a recently reported 2006 case brought against the Department of Education and Training (Inspector Kilpatrick v State of NSW), the Department was found to have breached the Occupational Health and Safety Act in a number of ways including failing to ensure that an adequate risk assessment was conducted for a school swimming excursion.
The risk assessment which had been undertaken by the teacher was inadequate having regard to the specific circumstances of the school excursion. There was also a failure to follow the Departmental guidelines for conducting such an activity. A significant fine was imposed by the court. This case highlights why, as a minimum, staff need to carefully comply with these Safety Guidelines. To discharge their duty of care, staff must proactively undertake risk management for all aspects of the activity.
More information
For more information about:
- legal liability, see: Victorian Government Schools Reference Guide - section 4.4.1
- first aid training, see: Victorian Government Schools Reference Guide - section 4.5.1.1
- a teacher's duty of care, see: Victorian Government Schools Reference Guide - section 4.6.1.2
- risk management and prevention, see: Victorian Government Schools Reference Guide - section 6.14