Wadoe Duty of Care Background

1. Introduction

With origins entrenched in common law, the concept of duty of care, whilst not holding a specific legal definition, relates to the legal obligation to do everything practicable to protect others from harm. Within the school-based context, a duty of care for students refers to the responsibilities of both teaching and non-teaching stakeholders to ensure the health, safety and well-being of all students, as far as is reasonably foreseeable.

The Western Australia's Department of Education Duty of Care for Students policy document ("The Policy") establishes the responsibilities that all teaching staff, non-teaching staff, volunteers and external providers hold to ensure all reasonable actions are taken to provide a safe environment for students, free from foreseeable risk and harm. The guidelines outlined in The Policy provide all stakeholders a clear framework of the action required to ensure their duty of care is fulfilled.

The purpose of this report is to analyse The Policy and it's relevance in the current teaching context. This report will discuss the aim and rationale of The Policy and it's intended outcomes. In discussing the relevance and necessity of The Policy in today's social climate, The Policy will be analysed in relation to two common school-based scenarios: 1) classroom behaviour management and discipline and 2) playground supervision.

2. Discussion

2.1 Background

The aim of The Policy is to define duty of care in the schooling context and identify the persons within the school community that owe a duty of care to the students. The Policy provides clear guidelines for teaching staff, non-teaching staff, volunteers and external providers to follow in order to successfully discharge their duty of care.

Created to ensure all student's in the school community are provided with an environment that is free from foreseeable harm, The Policy provides strategies to identify and reduce potential risks to students. It is important to note that The Policy extends beyond the school boundaries, outlining a duty of care owed in many external school-based applications.