Legal responsibility of teachers

[angstybaby]

Are teachers legally responsible for a child while they are in their care? My son's school let him leave school unaccompanied (he's 6, yr 2). They say that because the teacher had told the class at the beginning of the year to wait with the teacher until a parent/guardian arrived, then they had discharged their duty of care and so hadn't done anything wrong. It was my son's fault for either not being aware of what he was supposed to do or disobeying it (he says he didn't know he was supposed to stay with the teacher).

Does anybody know what the legal position is please? Many thanks

I think OP definitely needs to raise the problem with handing over procedure. That's what I think most important in this case. Not about who was legally responsible.

Yes, I agree that the school followed the procedures they had, but despite this it happened that a pupil slipped past.

I would like to think that after what happened the school would be interested in reviewing their own procedures to see whether they need to be improved or not, and how, so that a similar incident does not happen again where a child might put himself in a position of danger unknowingly.

Whether that be by tightening policy and procedures, changing the handover system, or leaving everything the same but making sure they reinforce the message to their own students that they are not to leave by themselves if they cannot see their adult. I see it as a two way job, the parents do their part and the school also, both working as a team with the common goal of safeguarding the child.

I'd suggest a handing over policy of teacher stands in the doorway greeting parents while DC all sitting at desks. DC are then called up to the door one by one.

If I stood at the doorway where I could see the parents, I would be unable to see any of my class because of where the door/classroom/cloakroom are. I would imagine this the case in many schools.

angstybaby

the school and teachers have a duty of care equivalent to that of reasonably prudent parent (as per the Children's Act 1989). They failed to discharge this duty of care sufficiently as they allowed a child to be placed in danger. Teachers are in loco parentis (as per common law) until they hand over responsibility for the child to the parent/guardian. As such, they are legally responsible for the child's welfare. Allowing a child to leave school premises unaccompanied constitutes a failure to act as a reasonably prudent parent would and therefore constitutes a failure of a teacher's duty of care.

how about that?

How about the parents that lose their one child in a supermarket, in the street, at the beach, in their own garden?

Are these people not "prudent parents"?

According to a huge amount of other parents that come on to MN they are still "prudent parents" as most seem to have lost a child when they are looking after fewer children than the teacher.

By all means complain, but the legal response would be to review the current situation and adapt it if necessary.

I suspect that there will be follow up posts complaining about the length of time it takes to pick up children as the teacher is unable to let them go unless the parents take them from the teacher.

Have you also had words with your Year 2 child, op? Does he now understand what should have been drummed into him two and a half years ago?
This should be your main priority right now.

Teacher here with primary two this year. I open my door at 3:15 and remind them if no one is there for them then come back. I wait 5 minutes or so then go in if no children return. It is your responsibility to be there on time, or to call and say you are late in which case I'm happy to hold on to your child until you arrive.

I haven't worked with children quite so young, but when I was working in a Junior School (so yr3 upwards) our policy was not to follow absconding pupils for fear of "chasing" them into the road.

OP said they had to collect two children at two different exits - so invariably even if on time to collect child 1, they'd be late for child 2 despite being on school grounds! Happens to me and other parents of siblings daily.
I'm surprised the gate isn't staffed - schools I know all have two staff per external gate to help check no child escapes (usually a preschooler)

But not only did the child presumably leave the classroom without permission, he then left the playground too. It is difficult to comment sensibly without a map/diagram but it seems, unless I have read it completely wrong, that the teacher didn't consciously release the child but that the child slipped past unseen. Obviously that is unacceptable and there does need to be a tightening of procedures on the school's part but a child in Yr 2 should be aware of the procedures to follow.

Perhaps we need to have all the parents lined up in alphabetical order so the children can be dismissed one by one

I think the vast majority of reponses you've had have been less than supportive, because of the way you phrased your quetion / title, and then your OP.

You have stated, as we've gone through the thread what you actually want, but a lot of posters won't read 5 pages of posts.

You are right, it would be good if the system can be reviewed, as your ds did manage to get past the teacher and head off to the exit. Therefore it would be good to review the system.
All the posters saying that 2 full years plus 3 months in to school, even at 6, your ds ought to know if he can't see you / dh / whoever is collecting, then he goes back to the teacher.
In the same way that that failed, it seems what seems like a perfectly good system for releasing children also failed. Same as, of course the person collecting ought to be there, it happened (as these things do, once in a blue moon) your dh wasn't there.

I think you will get a far better response from the school if you ask to speak to someone calmly, in an 'acknowledging all the above points' way, and ask if the system might be reviewed, and that all the children might be regularly reminded what to do if they can't see their 'collector', than if you start off with "What is the legal responsibility of the school" way, which starts everybody on the defensive.