MEMBER

MEMBER

We are committed to providing resources that are: 

preventative in nature, 

protective in practice & 

proactive by design.

Why should educators invest in quality safety training systems?

It is to be noted that a teacher’s ‘duty of care’ is a higher standard than that of a reasonable person. In the workplace, ‘due diligence’ means taking every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to protect the health, safety and welfare of all persons. Evidence of due diligence is one of the two defenses available to a person, charged with an offence under an Occupational Health and Safety Act.

 

Due diligence requires that you address 'identified risks' in your workplace through a properly functioning and documented health and safety system. The more harmful or serious are the potential dangers, the more you must guard against them to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses. Whether an individual acted diligently, depends on whether he/she took every precaution 'reasonable in the circumstance' for that particular case.

 

To prove due diligence, employers (directors, managers and supervisors) must be able to demonstrate that not only was sufficient health and 'safety instruction and training' provided, but that recipients understood the training and successfully applied it.

 

The duty holder must show that it was not reasonably practicable to do more than what was done or that they have taken ‘reasonable precautions and exercised due diligence’. Failure to comply with workplace safety training regiments, including 'mandatory record keeping and registration', may lead to legal implications such as the term ‘negligence’. If this unfortunately becomes the case, and as a teacher you are charged as ‘negligent’, the plaintiff action (your injured student) will surely follow through in the common law courts.

 

Regiments (rigid discipline and systemisation) also provide a positive defence to any action brought by a plaintiff, if schools and teachers are able to demonstrate their training and ability to care for the safety of their students to the standard of a reasonable teacher.

 

Both the school and its teachers will have to rely on their safety training policy, the safety training program, enforcement of the safety training procedure, and the overall ability of the teachers to exercise a high standard of ‘duty of care’.

Technology, Construction, Science,

Physical Education and Sport.

Use technology.    Engage your students.