The claimant was injured, being hit in the face by a football in a school playground. It was before school started. There had been accidents, and there were rules which had not been enforced. The school appealed a finding of negligence.
Held: ‘a school owes to all pupils who are lawfully on its premises the general duty to take such measures to care for their health and safety as are reasonable in all the circumstances. It is neither just nor reasonable to say that a school owes no duty of care at all to pupils who are at school before or after school hours.’ The governing principle is that the school is required to do what is reasonable in all the circumstances. There was a finding by the judge that if the teachers had sought to enforce the ban, the pupils would have taken note. That inference was properly drawn.
Judges:
Lord Justice Dyson, Lord Justice Schiemann, Lady Justice Arden
Citations:
[2002] EWCA Civ 1539
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Woodbridge School v Chittock CA 27-Jun-2002
A child on a school skiing trip, had been injured whilst skiing on-piste, but unsupervised. The school appealed a finding of liability.
Held: The teachers and supervisors owed the same duty of care as a reasonably careful parent with some . .
Cited – Geyer v Downs and another 1977
(High Court of Australia) A pupil suffered injuries when hit by a softball bat by a fellow pupil at playing the game in the school playground before school. There was no supervision. The jury awarded the appellant damages. The verdict was set aside . .
Cited – Hippolyte v London Borough of Bexley CA 1995
In many cases the trial judge is in a better position than an appellate court to make the correct finding as to inferences from the facts found: ‘It is in my judgment very important to bear in mind that this is an appeal on issues of fact, albeit . .
Cited – Phelps v Hillingdon London Borough Council; Anderton v Clwyd County Council; Gower v Bromley London Borough Council; Jarvis v Hampshire County Council HL 28-Jul-2000
The plaintiffs each complained of negligent decisions in his or her education made by the defendant local authorities. In three of them the Court of Appeal had struck out the plaintiff’s claim and in only one had it been allowed to proceed.
Cited – Wilson v Governors of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic School CA 5-Nov-1997
A nine year old pupil was injured by a fellow pupil whirling an anorak around his head. The accident occurred when they were on their way from the school buildings to the school gates at the end of school day. There was no member of staff on duty to . .
Cited – Saunders v Henry Adderley PC 24-Jun-1998
(Bahamas) In the absence of other recorded reasons for a decision of an appellate court a contemporaneous note taken by junior counsel and exhibited on affidavit would be taken as evidence of the reasons given. When the question is what inferences . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Negligence, Personal Injury, Education
Updated: 06 June 2022; Ref: scu.178400