SEND: Your legal duties

The legal duties relevant to staff working in the SEND sector are manifold and can be a source of anxiety. The key to being comfortable with your legal duties is to have access to just the right level of information: a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing but too much information can lead to paralysis.

We all have a duty to take reasonable care to avoid causing harm to those around us, and we may find ourselves liable to pay damages if a breach of this duty causes harm.

For schools, the established duty of care goes further: education professionals have a duty to create and maintain an environment which is not only physically safe for pupils, but which also meets their educational needs. Teachers therefore owe a duty of care to all pupils in respect of the way they discharge their teaching responsibilities. Should they fall below the standard expected of them they could face a complaint, or even find themselves in court defending a “failure to educate” claim.