Supervision in your School
The Rule
1.1 Rules 121 (4)and 124 (1) of the Rules for National Schools and Section 23 (2) of the Education Act 1998 oblige teachers to take all reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of pupils and to participate in supervising pupils when the pupils are on school premises, during school time and /or on school activities. Accordingly, the responsibility of all teachers individually and collectively to provide a duty of care at all times towards the pupils in the school in which they teach, including periods of supervision remains.
[Primary Boards of Management Information Manual – Department of Education and Science, Nov 2007]
The Problem
But parents have told us…….
“My son is picked up by bus each morning and dropped at school at 8.50am but the doors of the school don’t open until 9.20am. He is unsupervised all this time”
Parents have been sent letters which state “Please note that the Board of Management does not accept responsibility for pupils on the premises before 9.20am (the official opening time of the school) or after 3pm. These new arrangements will prevail irrespective of the weather.”
Parents have also told us:
We have approached the Board with regard to this issue and are told it’s insurance, there’s nothing we can do, we can’t let the children in because they wouldn’t be insured.
Insurance
The insurance company Allianz have advised their clients that “cover under the Allianz Custodian School Protection Policy in respect of accidental injury or damage, as defined in the policy will, subject to the policy terms definitions, conditions limitations and exclusions, operate where the school is held to be legally liable whether such injury or damage occurs before, during or after official school times.”
They are however advising schools to issue a letter in the form of a disclaimer to all parents advising them when the school can and cannot accept responsibility for pupils. They accept that this letter would not provide protection in law but they are hoping it would be a deterrent against claims being made.
The Dilemma
The Board of Management (BoM) is responsible for the safety of children in their charge including periods of time where children are on the school premises outside of official 5 hours and 40 minutes contact time.
However
The staff of the School are not required by their contract to provide supervision outside of the official 5 hours and 40 minutes contact time.
The Irish Primary Principal Network (IPPN) says
The school is officially open for 5 hours and 40 minutes. This breaks down as:
§ 4 hours 10 minutes secular instruction
§ 30 minutes religious instruction
§ 30 minutes lunch break
§ 20 minutes assembly
§ 10 minute roll call.
3.1 One 10 minute or two 5 minute breaks maybe taken daily from within the overall 5 hours and 40 minutes.
3.2 Depending on the custom and practice of the school, the 20 minutes allocated for assembly time which can be used for whole-school or in-class assembly, is in many cases integrated into the normal contact day for addressing issues such as homework, parent - teacher communication, pastoral care etc. It is not a period which is considered external to the contact day.
3.3 Based on Case Law precedence and the advice of Allianz Insurance, it appears that it can be reasonably expected that children will be on school premises for up to 10 minutes before and after school, allowing for normal access and departure in an orderly fashion.
3.4 Once the school allows access to the premises, the School authorities have a duty to supervise. The same applies to pupils staying on after school.
3.5 It is not reasonable to leave children standing on the sides of busy roads in inclement weather where the traffic poses a danger.
3.6 The geography of every school is different, but regardless of design, the BoM’s responsibility relates to the entire premises and not just the school building or designated playgrounds
Some Solutions suggested by the IPPN (Irish Primary Principals Network)
4.1.1 Engage the Parents’ Association (PA) in discussion re. Before & After School Children’s Safety. Outline the BoM’s difficulty in relation to this matter i.e. the BoM has a duty of care responsibility but does not have the personnel or the finance to provide supervision cover (schools’ staff are contractually not obliged to supervise during these periods and there is no grant aid available for such supervision).
4.1.2 Engage the PA in discussion re. the link between the school opening time and the pattern of children being on school premises for lengthy periods in advance. Having consulted with parents through the Parents’ Association & individually and having consulted with staff, the BoM should consider the feasibility of altering the school opening time to minimise the amount of time children spend unsupervised on the school premises.
4.1.3 The BoM to engage the PA in discussion re providing a rota of parents to supervise the safety of children before & after school.
4.1.4 The BoM and the PA should negotiate with transport providers and seek more practical collection and drop-off times for children. Where transport providers are either unwilling or unable to show flexibility, encourage parents to engage in car pooling.
How parents can support their school
1. Know your facts
All schools must carry out a risk assessment in order to comply with health and safety legislation. The following points must be considered;
§ Teachers are in In loco parentis –civil duty of care
§ Do what a reasonably careful parent would do
§ Assess risks of each period –layout, activity, numbers
§ Children with special needs
§ Children dropped off in mornings
§ Breaks
§ Children waiting to be collected
§ Children not collected
2. Parent Association co-ordinate the parents’ point of view
3. Work positively with Principal and Board of Management to seek a local solution
4. Parents should abide by agreed protocol