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 Home Industrial
Taking the risk: Non-Teaching Employees on playground duty
Duty of CareThe duty of care is prescribed by common law - that is the law made by judges in court when deciding cases - rather than by an Act of Parliament. There are a number of precedents from the Courts that clearly establish that the school owes a duty of care to students under its care. The School's Duty of CareThe school's duty of care is broader than an employee's and includes:
When is the Duty of Care Owed?Schools have a duty of care to students whenever the school is exercising control over the students' actions. The duty is owed throughout the whole school day. Before and After SchoolCourt cases have decided that the duty of care can arise before school, but they have not indicated a precise starting time for this duty. Courts have, however, made it clear that once the school asserts authority over students (such as making rules about behaviour in the playground before school, or setting supervision times, or supervising a bus stop) then the duty of care has arisen. Adequate supervision should then be provided. Each school should adopt a supervision policy and communicate it to parents. The policy should:
Duty of Non-Teaching StaffNon-teaching employees do not owe the extensive duty of care to students that teachers owe. This is because the training and subsequent experience teachers have provides them with knowledge and skills about students not expected of non-teaching employees. The Courts have established that a duty of care does exist between a supervising adult, delegated this duty by the employer, and a student at the school. Non-teaching employees have a duty to protect children from harm. Utilising Untrained StaffThe utilisation of untrained staff, including non-teaching employees places the school and the individual staff member at risk of litigation. Whilst teachers engage with students on a daily basis, most non-teaching employees have little or no previous experience in the supervision of students and contact with students has previously been one on one or small group contact and in come cases in a clerical context. Often in a classroom environment their experience is centred on assisting in preparation of materials for teachers and not instruction or supervision. Very few non-teaching employees have had experience in direct supervision, giving instruction to students in groups or intervening in student disputation. As identified above, it is acknowledged that schools have a legal obligation to protect their students from injury and harm. The underlying principle to the level of duty of care is "that the standard of care and skill required is that of the ordinary skilled person exercising or professing to have that special skill". The principle here is that teaching staff are skilled professionals and that teachers accept the consequences of decisions made arising out of this special knowledge and skills. It could be argued that non-teaching employees who have been directed to undertake playground duty and do not have such special skills nor experience may not be able to foresee the possibility of potential harm to a student and as such place themselves and their employer in a position whereby they are in breach of their duty of care. TrainingIn situations where non-teaching employees are directed to undertake playground duty the TCEEA advises them to advise the school, in writing, that they do not possess the required skills, knowledge and experience for playground duty supervision and that this poses a potential risk to the personal welfare and safety of the students. If the principal still directs the non-teaching employees to undertake playground supervision, at the least the school should provide training in procedural matters that will help them undertake the required duty. If the principal does not initially provide this training the employees concerned should make a request in writing for training that covers.
Upon completion of training non-teaching employees should be presented with documentation listing the areas of training. AuthorityA key concern of non-teaching employees when they are directed to undertake student supervision is that the students may not recognise or accept their authority to give direction to students. Communication from school to students and parents regarding the playground supervision arrangements is essential if non-teaching employees are to be in a supervisory role with students. The absence of this step could lead to an undermining of the authority of the non-teacher employee in the minds of students and parents. WorkloadWhen non-teaching employees are directed to undertake playground supervision quite often issues of workload become apparent. Problems can arise when the employee is expected to complete his or her normal workload as well as playground supervision. Members have found that it is very helpful if they document any problems regarding workload issues during a set period e.g. two weeks. At the end of that time, the employee should arrange to meet with his or her immediate supervisor and request a review of the working arrangements. This will assist the employee and the school in overcoming any problems with workload and the expectations of others. CommentWhilst individual non-teaching employees might feel confident to undertake student supervisions such as playground duty, it is imperative that the following steps are taken to ensure that employees are trained and afforded appropriate protections from litigation:
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