Health and Safety for Teacher Assistants: Understanding Your Duty of Care
Practical Guidelines and Legal Responsibilities in Student Supervision
As an education assistant, you have a responsibility to ensure the safety of students, yourself and your fellow staff members. Your duty of care extends to all situations where you are supervising children including excursions and camps. You also have a duty of care for the equipment being used by yourself and the students under your supervision.
What you need to do- Ensure that you follow and enforce the rules, policies and systems
- Wear and use PPE properly
- Use equipment and machines properly
- Report hazards and incidents promptly
- Report injuries and health problems
- Constantly scan for hazards and act appropriately if you identify a hazard
What you need to remember
- Work is not a game (even if volunteering)
- Follow the safety rules at all times
- Report all hazards and incidents immediately
- Seek help if unsure and ask questions
When and how it applies
- It applies wherever there is special relationship (such education assistant and child)
- It applies to all circumstances of that relationship (even if you share supervision)
- Generally, an individual's duty of care cannot be delegated but roles and functions may (for example, a teacher may ask you to supervise students on your own, however the teacher will always have a duty of care to those children (even if not present).
- It applies to all risks that are foreseeable and preventable
A teacher aide's duty of care is to keep others safe from harm. Their main priority is protecting the children in their care, while also considering the safety of other adults around them. This involves staying alert to surroundings, identifying potential hazards, and taking reasonable steps to prevent injury. This responsibility applies to all teacher aides during any work-related tasks, whether on or off school grounds.
