LawSense School Excursions, Camps & Trips

Register

Program

12.00    LawSense Welcome

12.05    Chairperson’s Remarks

Ben Foley, Legal Counsel, EREA Colleges

12.10    Case Study: How a School Has Changed Policies Following Recent Coronial Cases and a School Prosecution

Following the inquest into the tragic death of Lachlan Cook, a student from another school who died on a school trip to Vietnam, Barker College, began a comprehensive review of its excursions, camps and trips policies and processes.  Barker will step through the process of change, including a significant overhaul and updating of its policies and processes.  This presentation examines Barker’s new policies, the reasons for the changes and how you can transfer these learnings to your school:

• Examining learnings from the coronial cases and the recent prosecution of a school under WHS laws.
• Outlining the process Barker went through to review policies and processes and implement change, including managing challenges that emerged in privacy, confidentiality and data governance.
• Examining the changes made to policies and their rationale, including changes regarding
  • information requirements and sharing
  • improving risk assessment approvals and standardising them across school activities
  • dealing with medical conditions, including specific guidance regarding high-risk medical conditions such as anaphylaxis issues, diabetes, epilepsy, severe coeliacs
  •  dealing with mental health issues of students
  • training of non-clinical staff

Bernadette Fay, Director Legal Risk and Compliance, Barker College

1.10      Break

1.20      Implementing Effective Risk Warnings and Consent Forms and Navigating Waivers for The School and From External Providers

Limits of Legal Protection of Risk Warnings, Waivers and Disclaimers

• Outlining the legal effect and protection offered by risk warnings, waivers and disclaimers in consent forms.

Collecting and Including Adequate Information

• Collecting information to assist in risk management and the development of appropriate consent forms, risk warnings and waivers for the school
• Exploring what information about the activity and risks should be provided

Best Practice Wording, Examples

• Exploring best practice wording of risk warnings, waivers and disclaimers
• Learning from examples showing the extent of information required about the activity and risk

Waivers and External Providers

• Risk warnings or consent forms from external suppliers and venues – understanding how these should be considered and incorporated into what the school provides to students and families
• Exploring when you should “push back” on waivers from external providers and exploring work-arounds
• Learning from examples

Jodie Vella, Partner, Makinson d’Apice Lawyers

2.20      Break

2.30      Staffing Camps and Trips: Navigating Risk, Obligations and Pay Issues

Assessing Risks for Staff, Including Psychosocial Hazards

• Exploring best practice in assessing and managing particular hazards for staff, including psychosocial hazards

Staff Ratios

• Implementing best practice approaches to assessing required staff ratios for different types of excursions, camps and trips and different student cohorts
• Understanding and managing particular considerations in having volunteers such as parents in the staff mix

Staff Skills and Assessment

• Exploring the extent of your obligations:
  • evaluating staff fitness to participate in the relevant activities, including navigating privacy obligations in collecting medical information
  • assessing the staff skills mix required and evaluating the relevant skills and experience of school staff and volunteers
  • implementing staff training and induction

Assessing and Managing Staff from External Providers

• Understanding the extent of your obligations in assessing, managing and supervising staff from external providers

Staff Pay

• Determining staff hours on a domestic or overseas trip – what time can reasonably be claimed as time at work
• Understanding pay obligations, including possible obligations to pay overtime at an hourly rate
• Exploring options to optimise staff pay arrangements to maintain the financial viability of domestic and overseas trips

Ben Tallboys, Principal, Russell Kennedy; Legal Counsel, Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA)

3.30      Break

3.40      Student Disability and Medical Conditions: Navigating the Extent of Reasonable Adjustments Required and Understanding When You Can Decline a Student from Participating

Outlining the Relevant Legal Framework

• Outlining current laws affecting students with a disability or significant medical conditions participating in excursions, camps and trips
• Examining the school’s rights and obligations to require information about students and staff

Extent of Reasonable Adjustment Required

• Outlining your obligations to provide reasonable adjustments and consultation
• Exploring optimum information collection – what information should you seek from whom
• Responding to reasonable adjustments requested by experts retained by parents – what are your obligations in following these and when should you seek your own expert advice
• Exploring to what extent you are required to modify student activities on camps, excursions or events

Declining Participation Based on Reasonable Adjustments and Unjustifiable Hardship

• Examining when you can decline student participation based on inability to make reasonable adjustments or unjustifiable hardship. What is ’unjustifiable’?
• Balancing the impact on:
  • other students – to what extent does this factor into ‘unjustifiable hardship’ or ‘reasonable’ adjustments?
  • impacts on staff – understanding what to consider
• factoring in limitations on resources as a result of already supporting a number of students with a disability

Parents Not Disclosing or Providing Adequate Information

• Exploring your rights and options to decline participation where you consider the parents/guardian are not cooperating or providing adequate or correct information

Managing Particular Challenges – Diabetes and Mental Health

• Learning from particular scenarios and examples, managing:
  • students with diabetes
  • students with mental health issues, including self-harm

Implementing Effective Documentation to Defend Your Legal Position

• Examining best practice documentation and communication to support your decision to decline participation

Tracey Jessie, Principal, Jessie Lawyers; Former School Principal, Education Queensland

4.40      Chairperson’s Remarks

4.45      Close of Event  

Presenters / panelists include:

	Ben Tallboys provides sector-specific, practical legal solutions to schools across Australia. Ben is a passionate and effective advocate for principals dealing with complex matters relating to parents, staff and students, as well as their own employment.
	Jason Newman's practice includes the defence of claims in the education sector. He has advised many insurers, schools and teachers on claims and potential claims against them. His clients include Catholic Church Insurances, several major brokers and Lloyds Syndicates.
	Nevena Brown brings a common-sense confidence to her work, and more than 25 years’ experience. Her experience with liability claims is enhanced from having worked as a senior solicitor at NZI/CGU Insurance Ltd for five years. Nevena has advised and defended claims for GIO General Ltd, Vero Insurance, NZI/CGU Insurance Ltd, QBE Europe and other major insurers.
	Leighton Hawkes commenced his career in claims management and other technical roles with a major Australian insurance, working on claims for the NSW Treasury Managed Fund (TMF). Leighton has acted for the NSW Department of Education for a significant number of years. Presently he acts in a diverse range of matters, including claims arising from public liability, property damage to NSW schools, historical sexual abuse, discrimination (employee and disability), and Coronial enquiries.

Terms & Conditions