Education

It has long been established that schools owe a duty to look after the physical health and safety of their pupils. The duty imposed on schools has since been extended to taking care of the ‘educational needs’ of pupils. This has led to the imposition of liability in cases of ‘educational negligence’. These cases have tended to involve a failure to diagnose and treat learning difficulties, though the courts have made clear that schools are under a general duty to ensure that reasonable care is taken in the provision of education. As Lord Browne-Wilkinson noted in X v Bedfordshire County Council, ‘the education of the pupil is the very purpose for which the child goes to the school’ and the school thus has a duty to ensure that the child’s educational needs are met, and not just that he or she is physically safe while at school.