Children denied school trips over teachers' fears of being sued [Guardian.co.uk]
- Published: 02 October 2009
Children are being denied school trips for fear teachers will be sued if something goes wrong, despite the fact that only 156 recorded legal actions have ended in compensation in the past decade, new research reveals.
A culture of fear has grown up around trips, with anxious schools avoiding taking children out of the classroom because of the perceived possibility of legal action if something goes wrong. Teachers also claim the amount of time taken up dealing with health and safety concerns is a deterrent. But teachers' fear is based on the "myth" that they could be sued, the research finds.
Of the millions of individual school trips taken over the past 10 years in the 138 local authorities that responded to requests under the Freedom of Information Act, only 364 ended in legal action and in fewer than half of cases - 156 - were schools found to be culpable and ordered to pay compensation.
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