Question 3: Duty of Care

Question 1

Define duty of care

Answer 1

A duty of care is owed whenever and wherever a teacher-student relationship exists. Reasonable care must be taken.

Question 2

List the 5 relevant factors of duty of care (and the two extra factors

Answer 2

1. The foreseeability of harm
2. Magnitude of risk of harm occurring
3. Gravity of harm that may take place
4. Cost and practicality of preventing it
5. Justification for running the risk
6. Age
7. Maturity

Question 3

Describe and give two case examples of the foreseeability of harm

Answer 3

Could a reasonable person predict this injury/loss would happen?
* Geyer v Downes & Another High Court of Australia (1977) – 8-year-old hit by baseball bat before school hours. Principal opened the gates, knew students were on campus but did not have teachers supervising. Rule was no ball games but no one was there to enforce it.

• Syme & Syme v Minister of Education (1970) – toy planes. Had been banned only for use outside. Boy found one at the end of the year when cleaning out his tray and threw it into another boy’s eye. Determined that the teacher had not been negligent partly because the event occurred so quickly that the teacher could not have reasonably foreseen it happening.

Question 4

Describe and give a case example of the magnitude of the risk of harm occurring

Answer 4

Refers to the size of the risk. How likely is it to occur?
* Barker v the State of South Australia (1978) – Teacher left year 7 classroom briefly as she hurt her neck falling from a chair. Student was rocking on chair and injured themselves. Teacher had previously told students not to rock on their chair – previously intervened
o “Beyond primary school age” different considerations may have applied to very young children.
o Was just as likely that the students would have been swinging on their chair if teacher was still in the room.

Question 5

Describe the gravity of harm that may take place.

Answer 5

How serious would/could the injury/loss be? What is the worst that could happen? E.g. sunburn v broken arm
* The likely seriousness of that harm

Question 6

Describe and give a case example of the cost and practicality of preventing it

Answer 6

Would it have cost the school more to prevent it? Reasonable?
* Dunn v State of Victoria (1997). Only one teacher on duty instead of two - another teacher could have taken the duty at no extra cost to the school.

Question 7

Describe and give a case example of the justification for running the risk

Answer 7

Risk/benefit analysis - What was the reason for placing the safety students at risk?
* Barker v the State of South Australia (1978) – Teacher left year 7 classroom briefly as she hurt her neck falling from a chair. Student was rocking on chair and injured themselves. Teacher had previously told students not to rock on their chair – previously intervened
o “Beyond primary school age” different considerations may have applied to very young children.
o Was reasonable for her to leave the classroom briefly as she had hurt herself.

Question 8

Describe and give an example of the two extra factors: age and maturity

Answer 8

• Barker v the State of South Australia (1978) – Teacher left year 7 classroom briefly as she hurt her neck falling from a chair. Student was rocking on chair and injured themselves. Teacher had previously told students not to rock on their chair – previously intervened
  o “Beyond primary school age” different considerations may have applied to very young children.