Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 1/40

Education Outside the Classroom

Auckland Primary Principals’ Association

3 March 2004

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 2/40

EOTC - Liability issues

Cathye Haddock

Senior Adviser

Ministry of Education

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 3/40

The question of liability

• The “Le Race” Conviction

• Panic waves around the recreation, sport and education sectors

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 4/40

Implications of “Le Race”

• Are school principals more susceptible to prosecution now?

• The judge said

“… no reason to suggest people involved in organising events have cause for alarm due to this case”

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 5/40

Le Race

• Commercial venture• Judge said

– series of flawed decisions– race organiser had duty as person in charge of

dangerous thing– to take reasonable pre-cautions and

reasonable care

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 6/40

Relevant legislation where liability can arise

• The Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992

• The Crimes Act 1961

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 7/40

New Legislation

• HASE Amendment Act 2003

• Crown Organisations (Criminal Liability) Act 2003

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 8/40

What and Why?

• HASE Amendment Act

– codifies OSH case law

– prohibits offering or providing indemnity for fines and infringement fees

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 9/40

Therefore

• The Ministry is prohibited to offer or provide indemnity to principals, boards or board members

• The Health and Safety Code of Practice has been up-dated accordingly

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 10/40

Crown Orgs (Criminal Liability) Act

– came about in response to Judge Noble’s report on the Cave Creek tragedy

– enables crown organisations to be prosecuted for offences under HASE and Building Acts

– lifts corporate veil protection

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 11/40

Incidents

• Does a death or serious injury in an EOTC event automatically invoke a prosecution?

• No

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 12/40

OSH enforcement policy states

• there must be a clear breach of duty

• practicable steps are known to the person

• these steps are not taken

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 13/40

Negligence requires

• that a duty of care is owed

• that the person failed to take all reasonable steps

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 14/40

EOTC Incident File

1998 - Nine year old boy drowned in swimming hole whilst on a school camp in Henderson.

2000 - 11 year old boy seriously injured when hit by a 4WD during a cross country run near Ohakune.

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 15/40

EOTC Incident File

2000 - 2 boys (14yrs and 15yrs) drowned during a school trip to a swimming hole near Waimate.

2000 - 2 boys (11 years) drowned in a swimming hole on an outdoor education camp near Thames.

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 16/40

EOTC Incident File

2001 – boy died as result of injuries received from fall during school ski trip to Turoa Ski Field.

2001 - Two girls (11 - 13yrs) drowned during a canadian canoeing outdoor education activity in the Clarence River near Hanmer.

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 17/40

Lessons Learned

• inexperience of supervisors

• ratios inappropriate

• inadequate supervision

• risk analysis inadequate

• lack of sequential programme

• lack of sound educational objectives

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 18/40

Best protection

• Take all reasonable practicable steps– this does not mean all possible steps

• Follow relevant guidelines such as Safety and EOTC

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 19/40

More info about liability

• Liability FAQs

www.tki.org.nz/e/community/eotc

• Education Gazette 23 February 2004 “Managing the risk, enjoying the experience”

• NZPF legal opinion (available from kelsq@nzpf.ac.nz

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 20/40

Challenges

• … for schools managing the risks to students • and staff in EOTC

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 21/40

Metaphor

of the ocean voyage

- Acknowledgement:Rick Curtis, www.outdoored.com

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 22/40

Challenges

• supporting students and staff is a huge task

• involving many different players inside and outside the school (staff, students parents, outdoor providers,)

• often hard to make sure all jobs get done and done well

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 23/40

The Challenge

• Is to provide a robust framework to manage risks

• to support students and staff

• that can weather some storms

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 24/40

Ocean voyage metaphor

• Is to provide a robust framework to manage risks

• to support students and staff

• that can weather some storms

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 25/40

Ocean voyage metaphor

The challenge is to: • Design a boat that is correct for

your school and the activities

you do.

• Build the boat to the best of your ability - consult experts.

• Select and train a crew for the voyage.

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 26/40

Cont’d

• Send the voyage out– support it from shore – bring safely back into harbour

• Evaluate the performance of both boat

and crew

• make necessary changes for the next voyage

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 27/40

Building the boat

• Lay the keel or foundation– define the goals of the programme

• Add the cross frames– define the activities and practices to

be used to accomplish goals

• Add the planks– build the policies and procedures necessary to operate effectively and appoint competent staff

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 28/40

All boats leak

• A fundamental fact of all boats and programmes

• all sorts of wild cards (unpredictables) can be thrown at the boat

• Some may cause it to leak or take on water

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 29/40

If the boat leaks

4 Options:

• Plug the leak - – identify the problem and solve it

• Pump or bail the water out -– minimise the risks to a reasonable level

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 30/40

Storms

• Head back to port -– get out of the bad situation that your

boat/crew/students are not prepared for

• Sink -– if the boat goes down,

can the crew rescue the

passengers and themselves?

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 31/40

Help available

• Safety and EOTC• PD to support Safety and EOTC• EOTC professional bodies• Local experts• School Support Services• Principal cluster groups

… to assist schools with EOTC safety

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 32/40

Aims of Safety and EOTC

• Reduce the proliferation of documents schools have to refer to – one stop shop

• Clearly outline legal and best practice requirements for schools

• Provide practical safety management tools

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 33/40

Professional Development

Two workshops, a school term apart, are being offered to all New Zealand Schools

Phase 1: July 2003 – June 2004

Phase 2: July 2004 – June 2005

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 34/40

Professional Development for Who?

• The Principal

• A Board of Trustees Representative

• The EOTC Co-ordinator

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 35/40

Issue/Concern

Low ‘strike rate’ for BOT representation

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 36/40

Attendance / satisfaction

• 635 schools attended first round (2003)

• 75% of schools invited

• 97% participants satisfied (especially with attention to health and safety standards)

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 37/40

New Learning and Affirmations

“Still confident in my ability and ‘desire’ to run school camps.”

“Clearer understanding of legal obligations.”

“I need to tighten up procedure and policy.”

“Our school does a lot right but docs need to be improved on.”

“That it is still okay to have great EOTC experiences.”

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 38/40

Issues and Developments

• Principal liability since “Le Race” case

• Cross-sector initiatives/collaboration, eg,

– National Incident Database

– Update Outdoor Pursuits - Guidelines for

Educators

– Launch of OutdoorsMark, quality assurance scheme

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 39/40

EOTC Reference Group

• NZ Principals’ Federation• NZ School Trustees’ Association • Secondary Principals’ Assn NZ• Outdoors NZ• Education Outdoors NZ • NZ Mountain Safety Council• Water Safety NZ• Te Runanganui o Nga Kura Kaupapa Maori o

Aotearoa• Independent experts• Ministry of Education• School Support Services

Presentation to the Auckland Primary principals’ Association by Cathye Haddock, Ministry of Education, March 2004 40/40

Resources

• www.tki.org.nz/e/community/eotc– FAQs, resources, links

• www.safeoutside.org

• www.eonz.org.nz