Law and Ethics for Australian Teachers

Duty of care in an educational context is concerned with the safety and wellbeing of students. It is a term we hear all the time in schools. It is imperative to have a clear understanding and working knowledge of when and where the duty is owed and where it is not. Duty of care is part of the tort of negligence where typically a student becomes injured on school grounds or at a school event and his or her family wants to seek a remedy. This is usually in the form of financial compensation for the loss suffered and for any ongoing treatment costs. The circumstances in which a plaintiff is likely to proceed and win a case in the tort of negligence is now well established in law. This chapter discusses the duty of care and how it operates in schools. The discussion covers the defences used by schools to reduce or avoid their responsibility in such matters. The second half of the chapter outlines several of the significant judicial cases in school law, highlighting what they have decided about the liability and legal position of schools and school authorities.