The Western Australian Department of Education (WA DoE) Duty of Care for Students Policy

1692 Words4 Pages

Introduction

This report aims to provide a better understanding of the Western Australian Department of Education (WA DoE) Duty of Care for Students Policy by discussing its rationale, the issues covered, its importance and who is subject to its requirements. It will also discuss the implications and applications of the policy in relation to three scenarios.

Discussion

1. The Policy

Rationale for writing the policy:

The rationale for writing the WA DoE Duty of Care for Students Policy is to provide clear guidelines for teaching staff to follow to ensure the duty of care for students has been met. Tronc (as cited in Newnham, 2000, p. 50) argues “Teachers have a legal responsibility for the safety of their students”. The WA DoE Duty of Care for Students Policy was designed to enable teachers to meet their legal obligations by protecting students from harm where the risk of injury is reasonably foreseeable. Furthermore, the policy provides a point of reference for teachers when using their professional judgement to make day-to-day decisions and assess risks associated with student activities.

What issues does the policy cover?

The leading issue of the WA DoE Duty of Care for Students Policy is stated in Section 1.A “Teaching staff owe a duty to take reasonable care for the safety and welfare of students whilst students are involved in school activities or are present for the purposes of a school activity” (WA DoE, 2007, p. 3). This means teachers are legally responsible to protect students from reasonably foreseeable risks of harm whenever a relationship exists between a teacher and a student. Some examples include in the playground, the classroom or during a school excursion.

The second important issue addressed in the...

... middle of paper ...

...7

Western Australian Department of Education. (2007). Duty of care for students. WA: Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www.det.wa.edu.au/policies/detcms/portal/

Western Australian Department of Education. (2009). Protocols for working with WA police. WA: Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www.det.wa.edu.au/policies/detcms/policy-planning-and-accountability/policies-framework/guidelines/protocols-for-working-with-wa-police.en?oid=com.arsdigita.cms.contenttypes.guideline-id-3743688

Western Australian Department of Education. (2010). Occupational Safety and Health. WA: Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www.det.wa.edu.au/policies/detcms/policy-planning-and-accountability/policies-framework/policies/occupational-safety-and-health.en?bbp.s=9&bbp.e=select&bbp.v=4&bbp.i=d0.1&bbp.8.policyID=10918572&g11n.enc=UTF-8&bbp.9.pane=0

Open Document