7.5       Supervision

Schools have a duty of care to pupils. This duty of care must be exercised by all members of staff in the supervision of student activities both formal and informal. The quality of that care should be such as would be provided by a prudent parent. The level of the supervision may vary with the nature of the activity taking place and with the age and maturity of the student. Senior students should be encouraged to exercise initiative, enterprise and independence and to accept some responsibility for their behaviour. The location of the school and its physical environment should be taken into account when determining the level of supervision required.

In the Classroom

The duty of care for students in the classroom is to a great extent delegated to the classroom teacher but the Principal and the Board of Management retain overall responsibility for ensuring that the environment of the classroom is conducive to effective teaching and learning and for the safety and welfare of students and teachers. It is important to emphasise to teachers their responsibility for:

• being in time for class.
• not leaving classes unattended.
• not putting students outside classroom door during class.
• Ensuring that classroom behaviour is effective and consistent with established school rules.

Break-Time

The duty of care which is expected of school authorities includes provision of a safe environment and reasonable precautions to prevent injury or accident to students during break time. It is advisable that:

• rules of conduct during break time should be incorporated in the School’s Code of Behaviour.
• a reasonable staff presence should be maintained to ensure compliance with the Code of Behaviour.

It is essential that the teaching staff accept their responsibility for supervision, including break-time supervision, within the school and its environs. A Supervision and Substitution scheme is established to provide for the payment of teachers who engage in such supervision over and above their normal teaching duties. The details of this scheme are outlined in DES CL PPT 01/03 (link)

Outside of School

Disciplinary situations frequently occur which may be outside of the school grounds or outside of school time. The responsibility for dealing with such situations rests with the parents/guardians/civil authorities, depending on the circumstances. It may be considered important that the school code of behaviour should address the consequences of these situations in so far as they impact on the welfare of the student body in general and on the good name of the school e.g.:

–        Travelling on school buses.

–        Behaviour of pupils in local areas during breaks.

–        Behaviour of pupils outside school while wearing school uniform.

–        Behaviour of pupils while travelling to and from school.

–        Conflict in school which arises from out of school situations.

It is important that the code of behaviour should define both the extent and the limit of the school’s authority to deal with these issues. The school’s authority should be sufficient to ensure the well-being and safety of all its pupils and to protect the good name of the school. This authority is, however, subject to the jurisdiction of the appropriate civil authorities.