People working with children and young people have a special duty of care to them. This is an element of the tort of negligence, which states that if a child or young person suffers injury as the result of the negligence of another person, they should be compensated for the loss and damage caused by this. To successfully claim for negligence, it must be established that, on the balance of probabilities:
- A duty of care was owed to the person harmed at the time of the injury
- The risk of injury was foreseeable
- The likelihood of the injury occurring was more than insignificant
- There was a breach of the duty of care or a failure to observe a reasonable standard of care
- This breach or failure was a cause of the injury.
It is important that people working in caregiving roles provide a high level of care to children and young people and take all reasonable steps to reduce risk, such as:
- Provision of suitable and safe premises
- Provision of an adequate system of supervision
- Implementation of strategies to prevent bullying
- Ensuring that medical assistance is provided to a sick or injured student
- Managing employee recruitment, conduct, and performance.
