Duty Of Care
The Duty of Care Policy in Western Australia for Primary School’s
INTRODUCTION: A Brief Outline
The policy that will be examined is the Duty of Care policy . The purpose of this report is to analyse the Duty of Care policy of the Western Australian Department of Education.. This policy will be discussed in the context of the Local Primary school in Western Australia. Three scenarios will be illustrated in relation to the Duty of care policy. The first scenario relates to a number of students who arrive to school before any of the staff. The second scenario relates to a student who has after school music classes, and has to wait an …show more content…
hour for her mother to pick her up. And the second scenario relates to two students that get into an argument , which later develops into a fight.
The Policy – Duty of Care
The duty of care is “ A duty imposed by the law to take care to minimize the risk of harm to another” (Department of Education).
The Duty of Care policy is important for all schools. And without the policy the schools would not be operating successfully. The apparent rationale for writing the policy is to protect the students and teachers of the school, from risks or harm in the school environment. The following are covered in the policy: * Safety and welfare of the students involved in school activities * Protect students from harm * Reasonable care which is a duty to take reasonable care to avoid the harm being suffered * Medical Conditions is when students with medical conditions will need special care. It is always beneficial for the staff to have knowledge of the medical conditions that the students that they teach. * Behavioral characteristics * Nature of the school activity and also the environment in which the activity to be undertaken in. * Probability of risk occurring, the teachers will need to assess the possibility of any risks …show more content…
occurring.
Teachers, parents and students are subject of the policy.
Scenario One – Early Arrivals.
A number of students arrive early to school at about 7:40am each morning. The first teachers usually arrive about thirty minutes later.
A school owes Duty of Care to all the students who arrive to school early, and the school’s main responsibility is to ensure that the students are supervised and protect them from harm. Hence the reason some schools today offer before and after school care programs. However not all students can attend these programs. To ensure the safety of the students, the teachers will need to develop a roster, wherein the teachers are required to arrive to school at a particular time. The teachers will need to determine the arrival times of the students. Once a time has been determined, the parents will need to be notified by the school newsletter advising them that the school will be supervised from a particular time.
If the school does not have staff that are willing to arrive to school early, then the school will need allocate a place where all the students that arrive early should meet. The students will be required to stay in the same place until the teacher arrives. The student’s cannot participate in any play. The students cannot move to another area of the school without supervision. Once the student has entered the school grounds, they will not permitted to leave the school grounds. This ensures the safety of the students.
Scenario Two - Late Leaver
A five year old student remains at the school every Wednesday to participate in an after school music program. The class ends at 6:30pm, and the student’s mother arrives an hour later.
The school will owe the student Duty of Care, as the student is still in the school grounds.
The after school program ends at 6:30pm each day. So in this instance the student is unable to participate in the program. The parent’s will need to be notified of the closing times of the school. If the parent’s are still unable to reach the school at the specified time, then other measures will need to be taken. The parent will need to organise an alternative person to pick up the student from school. If this is not possible then a teacher will need to stay with the student until the parent arrives. This is to ensure the safety of the
student.
Until the student’s parents or alternative person arrive to pick up the student from school the school owes the duty of care to the child. If the child was older then they would not necessarily need someone to pick them up from school. However as the child is only five years old extra precautions will be made.
An alternative solution for this situation can be to hold the classes during lunch time or even before school starts. This would ensure that the student is safe and the student does not have to wait for an hour after school waiting. The probability of any harm occurring will be decreased.
Scenario Three - Arguments
Two students have an argument in class, this later leads to a fight in the school grounds.
“The duty is owed to the students is not only a duty to ensure that no harm will ever occur, but rather a duty to take reasonable care to avoid harm being suffered”(Department of Education). The teacher on duty will need to accompany both the students to the principal’s office. The principal will then need to clarify with the students what had happened and obtain both sides of the story. The students’ parents will be notified, by a letter asking them to arrange a meeting with the principal . If any of the student’s parents fail to contact the school to arrange a meeting, the school will then need to contact the parents by telephone and explain the situation and arrange for a meeting. The classroom teacher should have assessed this situation. And it would have not resulted in a fight. It is the teacher’s duty to ensure that the argument between the two students is resolved and not developed into anything further as it is the schools duty of care to ensure the safety of the students and to protect students from harm.
CONCULSION:
A duty of care is very important for schools today. It provides the parents with confidence that their children are in a safe environment. The three scenarios described provide examples of the duty of care that is provided by the schools and teachers to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the students. The first scenario describes how some students arrive to school before any of the staff members, and the duty of care provided to these students. There are two options that are provided. Scenario two is similar to scenario one, this scenario is about a five year old student who stays back at school once a week for music classes. The parent does not arrive an hour after the classes conclude. As the student is very young, the school has to provide extra duty of care towards this student. The third scenario involves two students that get into a fight after a class discussion. The duty of care provided is reasonable care and probability. The teacher needed to assess the situation and determine the probability of the argument developing into anything harmful. No matter the situation, the Duty of care ensures that the school, the teachers, the students and the parents that the school is a safe place for students.
REFERENCE
Department of Education Western Australia, retrieved from http://www.det.wa.edu.au/policies/detcms/policy-planning-and-accountability/policies-framework/policies/duty-of-care-for-students.en?oid=au.edu.wa.det.cms.contenttypes.Policy-id-3783072
INTRODUCTION: A Brief Outline
The policy that will be examined is the Duty of Care policy . The purpose of this report is to analyse the Duty of Care policy of the Western Australian Department of Education.. This policy will be discussed in the context of the Local Primary school in Western Australia. Three scenarios will be illustrated in relation to the Duty of care policy. The first scenario relates to a number of students who arrive to school before any of the staff. The second scenario relates to a student who has after school music classes, and has to wait an …show more content…
hour for her mother to pick her up. And the second scenario relates to two students that get into an argument , which later develops into a fight.
The Policy – Duty of Care
The duty of care is “ A duty imposed by the law to take care to minimize the risk of harm to another” (Department of Education).
The Duty of Care policy is important for all schools. And without the policy the schools would not be operating successfully. The apparent rationale for writing the policy is to protect the students and teachers of the school, from risks or harm in the school environment. The following are covered in the policy: * Safety and welfare of the students involved in school activities * Protect students from harm * Reasonable care which is a duty to take reasonable care to avoid the harm being suffered * Medical Conditions is when students with medical conditions will need special care. It is always beneficial for the staff to have knowledge of the medical conditions that the students that they teach. * Behavioral characteristics * Nature of the school activity and also the environment in which the activity to be undertaken in. * Probability of risk occurring, the teachers will need to assess the possibility of any risks …show more content…
occurring.
Teachers, parents and students are subject of the policy.
Scenario One – Early Arrivals.
A number of students arrive early to school at about 7:40am each morning. The first teachers usually arrive about thirty minutes later.
A school owes Duty of Care to all the students who arrive to school early, and the school’s main responsibility is to ensure that the students are supervised and protect them from harm. Hence the reason some schools today offer before and after school care programs. However not all students can attend these programs. To ensure the safety of the students, the teachers will need to develop a roster, wherein the teachers are required to arrive to school at a particular time. The teachers will need to determine the arrival times of the students. Once a time has been determined, the parents will need to be notified by the school newsletter advising them that the school will be supervised from a particular time.
If the school does not have staff that are willing to arrive to school early, then the school will need allocate a place where all the students that arrive early should meet. The students will be required to stay in the same place until the teacher arrives. The student’s cannot participate in any play. The students cannot move to another area of the school without supervision. Once the student has entered the school grounds, they will not permitted to leave the school grounds. This ensures the safety of the students.
Scenario Two - Late Leaver
A five year old student remains at the school every Wednesday to participate in an after school music program. The class ends at 6:30pm, and the student’s mother arrives an hour later.
The school will owe the student Duty of Care, as the student is still in the school grounds.
The after school program ends at 6:30pm each day. So in this instance the student is unable to participate in the program. The parent’s will need to be notified of the closing times of the school. If the parent’s are still unable to reach the school at the specified time, then other measures will need to be taken. The parent will need to organise an alternative person to pick up the student from school. If this is not possible then a teacher will need to stay with the student until the parent arrives. This is to ensure the safety of the
student.
Until the student’s parents or alternative person arrive to pick up the student from school the school owes the duty of care to the child. If the child was older then they would not necessarily need someone to pick them up from school. However as the child is only five years old extra precautions will be made.
An alternative solution for this situation can be to hold the classes during lunch time or even before school starts. This would ensure that the student is safe and the student does not have to wait for an hour after school waiting. The probability of any harm occurring will be decreased.
Scenario Three - Arguments
Two students have an argument in class, this later leads to a fight in the school grounds.
“The duty is owed to the students is not only a duty to ensure that no harm will ever occur, but rather a duty to take reasonable care to avoid harm being suffered”(Department of Education). The teacher on duty will need to accompany both the students to the principal’s office. The principal will then need to clarify with the students what had happened and obtain both sides of the story. The students’ parents will be notified, by a letter asking them to arrange a meeting with the principal . If any of the student’s parents fail to contact the school to arrange a meeting, the school will then need to contact the parents by telephone and explain the situation and arrange for a meeting. The classroom teacher should have assessed this situation. And it would have not resulted in a fight. It is the teacher’s duty to ensure that the argument between the two students is resolved and not developed into anything further as it is the schools duty of care to ensure the safety of the students and to protect students from harm.
CONCULSION:
A duty of care is very important for schools today. It provides the parents with confidence that their children are in a safe environment. The three scenarios described provide examples of the duty of care that is provided by the schools and teachers to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the students. The first scenario describes how some students arrive to school before any of the staff members, and the duty of care provided to these students. There are two options that are provided. Scenario two is similar to scenario one, this scenario is about a five year old student who stays back at school once a week for music classes. The parent does not arrive an hour after the classes conclude. As the student is very young, the school has to provide extra duty of care towards this student. The third scenario involves two students that get into a fight after a class discussion. The duty of care provided is reasonable care and probability. The teacher needed to assess the situation and determine the probability of the argument developing into anything harmful. No matter the situation, the Duty of care ensures that the school, the teachers, the students and the parents that the school is a safe place for students.
REFERENCE
Department of Education Western Australia, retrieved from http://www.det.wa.edu.au/policies/detcms/policy-planning-and-accountability/policies-framework/policies/duty-of-care-for-students.en?oid=au.edu.wa.det.cms.contenttypes.Policy-id-3783072