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...
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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
A teacher’s most important duty is to protect the students they are in charge of. This duty includes both reasonably protecting students from harm and, when a student is harmed, reporting it to the proper authorities (Gooden, Eckes, Mead, McNeal, & Torres, 2013, pp. 103-109). There have been many court cases that reiterate this duty of school staff. One such case is Frugis v. Bracigliano (2003) where many staff at a school failed in their duty to protect students and allowed abuse to continue for years.
Legislation in schools is put in place to promote equality and to make sure there is no discrimination against pupils staff or visitors. Legislation makes sure children's basic needed whilst in school are met and it is a safe environment for child to learn in, with the people working in the setting having strict CRB checks against them ensuring the safeguarding of all pupils.
It I to ensure the safety of children who practitioners are working with. This guide will benefit professionals within school, social services who are closely with a child. WTSC (2015) ‘This guidance aims to help professionals understand what they need to do, and what they can expect of one another, to safeguard children.’ Each and every policy changes for improvements or after a major incident that may have occurred. Changes are vital within all policies/legislations as it is important that changes are made to improve yourself whilst working together to safeguard a child. Safeguarding is an important aspect and it vital therefore services are provided for professionals so they work alongside children and have guidelines to follow. These help to shape children’s services as they give practitioners a way of looking at different aspects of safeguarding. It challenges a practitioner as you have to do certain things to make sue a child is protected. WTSC (2015) ‘all professionals who come into contact with children and families are alert to their needs and any risks of harm that individual abusers, or potential abusers, may pose to children.’ This shows that communication is vital with children’s parents as it helps you to keep a child safe from
Lane, Kenneth, Mary Jane Connelly, Julie Mead, Mark Gooden, and Suzanne Eckes, eds. The Principal’s Legal Handbook. 3rd ed. Dayton: Educational Law Association, 2005. 34-57.
As a society it is our duty to protect others from harm, especially children and young people, and as aduls who work with children we need to be doubly aware of this responsibility. No-one, whether child, young person or adult deserves to suffer from abuse; whether physical, sexual or emotional; or be subject to neglect. If we safeguard our children and young people they are more likely to grow into confident members of society. As practitioners we have a duty to ensure that the children and young people who are in our care are protected, and that as practitioners we recognise the signs and symptoms of harm and abuse. “School policies and procedures need to be such that parents and governors are aware of them and that staff are fully trained with regard to safeguarding.” School policies will need to cover:
When working practitioners must not only protect the children they work with when in the school setting and off site, but also themselves. Whether in school or off-site the school safeguarding policy should be referred to, to give guidance and adhered to at all times.
This includes physical education, technical education, family and consumer sciences, science classes that include laboratory projects, and technical courses where special needs students are present. Not only are teachers in these areas responsible to hold the same standards of supervision, but also are responsible for explaining the uses and mechanics of the machine and tools with which students will engage during the course of the class (Seitz, 1971). Beyond those special interest classrooms, there are also special situations that administrations should pay extra attention to, which include field trips, movement between classes, activities at school-sponsored activities, dances, athletic contests, and the school bus (Seitz, 1971). These types of situations would clearly fall into negligent liability, since the teacher doesn’t prepare for risks “inherent in certain activities” (Ripps, 1975, p.
Ministerial Order 90. (2011). [e-book] Education and Care Services National Law,. http://www.education.vic.gov.au [Accessed: 19 Mar 2014].
Answer: Certainly, safety is a major concern when it comes to every student. However, there comes a time when we are put in situations that are unavoidable due to extreme behavior. Cases like this one have allowed us to document, and therefore show proof, that inclusion is not in the best interest of a student, for their safety, and the safety of those they are in class with. When dealing with parents who want full inclusion and do not want to hear reasons why inclusion may not work, cases like Light v. Parkway have given the district the ability to “overrule” those
The first level involves the “Ontario Government and the Education Act” as an “education is a provincial government responsibility in Canada” (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2009). Those with...
Parents and carers have the responsibility of duty of care for their dependent to avoid risks or harm to the dependent. This duty of care can be shifted depending on the situation. For example, if a parent is constantly aware of their dependent’s actions and surroundings, it is indicated that the dependent’s need
Noddings, Nel. (1992). The challenge to care in school: An Alternative Approach to Education. Teachers
An education support worker is responsible to take reasonable care for the safety and welfare of students in the relevant institutions wherever the teacher is working. This duty of care involves
The Department of Education Western Australia issued the Duty of Care for Students(2007) policy in order to protect students welfare and safety from foreseeable risks whilst in the supervision of teachers and schools within the state of Western Australia.
...feguarding ensures everyone working with students are responsible to respond to their needs, that includes children's ages 0 to 18 and vulnerable adults. All teachers are responsible for maintaining a safe learning environment, that not only evolves keeping learners safe form physical, emotional, sexual and neglect abuses but also covers Health and Safety and others policies and procedures. If a student discloses something inappropriate has happened '' You CANNOT promise to keep this information secret or confidential'' , you have a duty to respond (do not ask questions), record and report it to a student advisor team or your line-manager.