Injuries to children during the educational process: who is to blame and what to do to the teacher?
the stress of family members, relatives and, of course, teachers and educators. Injuries to children during the educational process.
About thousands of children are injured in every day, and the level of adolescent injuries in the world is constantly growing. Behind each "figure" is not only the deterioration of the child's health, but also the stress of family members, relatives and, of course, teachers and educators. Injuries to children during the educational process.
How to act in such situations? What provisions of official documents govern the actions of the class teacher, parents and administration? How to protect yourself from unfounded complaints? Let's understand together!
Who is at risk and how to prevent danger?
Statistics show that preschoolers are less likely to be injured than school children, as they are almost always under the supervision of parents or caregivers. With age, children have more freedom. This is normal! But with freedom comes responsibility and awareness of one's own actions. After all, schoolchildren often create dangerous situations themselves.
Children are very inquisitive, trying to actively learn about the surrounding reality and make an impression on the environment. However, they do not always know how to really assess the danger of the situation. Adolescents aged 13-15 are most often injured. At this time, the natural curiosity is superimposed on the desire to show courage, originality and authority to peers. So it is important to explain how you can show your determination and which methods are dangerous.
Children are very inquisitive, trying to actively learn about the surrounding reality and make an impression on the environment. However, they do not always know how to really assess the danger of the situation. Adolescents aged 13-15 are most often injured. At this time, the natural curiosity is superimposed on the desire to show courage, originality and authority to peers. So it is important to explain how you can show your determination and which methods are dangerous.
Many cases of student injuries occur outside of school - during travel or field trips. According to the Instruction on the organization and conduct of excursions and trips with pupils and students, the teacher (organizer) is obliged to inform the participants of the tour, travel about risk factors in the planned tour, travel (if any) and appropriate measures to prevent injuries.
Teaching a child safe behavior is the joint work of the student, parents and teacher. That is, all participants in the educational process. That is why preventive conversations, conversations, briefings and lessons on life safety should not be a formality. They should be held regularly and in the form that will be interesting and understandable to children: interactives, games, exercises, theater productions. However, just informing is not enough. It is important to check how the children have learned the rules. Communicate, be interested, take tests. Students must understand and strictly adhere to the laws .
The teacher's three steps in the case of student trauma
- Urgently arrange first aid. Important: the teacher's task is to organize the help, not to provide it. You must call an ambulance or transport the student to the nearest health facility
Remember, the main principle of home care is not to harm.This rule will help not only to preserve the health of the injured child, but also to protect the teacher. Therefore, start providing assistance only if you are completely sure of the correctness and appropriateness of your own actions!
- Keep the situation in its original (unchanged) state. Assess the situation: if the situation does not threaten the lives and safety of students and other people - fix it in the state in which it was at the time of the event. Do not allow others to rearrange objects or leave any marks after an accident.
- Immediately notify the head of the educational institution and the person responsible for occupational safety and health. If the child was injured during excursions and other activities outside the hometown or village, notify the education authority at the scene.
The teacher is not obliged to inform the student's parents and the police. This is the duty of the head of the educational institution. Of course, you can call the parents if it is the request of the injured student or the instructions of the head.
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These three steps exhaust the statutory operational actions of the teacher. Then the head of the educational institution acts.
Pay attention!
If the situation allows, notify in writing (in messengers or text SMS) or make and save a recording of the conversation, if the phone has a special program. This way you can record the appeal (take a screenshot or audio recording with the date and exact time of the dialogue) and protect yourself from possible accusations of concealing the accident.
Accident investigation: the role of the teacher and the special commission
An accident investigation commission is set up to find out the causes of the injuries. It includes:
- Deputy Head of the educational institution, who is responsible for the organization of work on labor protection, safety of life of the educational institution;
- The head of the labor protection service of the educational institution (or the person entrusted with these responsibilities);
- A representative of the primary trade union organization of the educational institution (or a person authorized by employees for occupational safety and health);
- A representative of the parent self-government body (by consent).
If the teacher is not a member of the commission, he is in no way deprived of the right to defend himself. The investigation will not take place without a witness, rest assured.
If the worries about your role in the accident are not unfounded - you should enlist the support of a lawyer and prepare written explanations with him.
Pay attention!
A teacher who witnesses an accident is not allowed to be a member of the commission. Make sure you are not accidentally included. On this basis, the conclusions of the investigation may be questioned and challenged.
Keep your hand on your pulse!
In a situation of injury or accident, this call becomes almost literal. You have the right to take an interest in the student's health. It is natural that you do not care, because this is your pet. The further participation of the teacher also depends on the child's well-being.
If a student has severe or moderate injuries, the question of criminal liability arises. Bone fractures, damage to vital organs - an unconditional reason to open a criminal case.
The intentions of the parents also have a significant impact on the case, so it is important to understand their plans. Relatives can accept the situation, challenge the teacher's actions and even initiate criminal proceedings. You must be prepared to hire a lawyer - he will protect your rights, as well as provide for the probability of receiving unfair complaints and lawsuits.
Regulatory framework
In any serious or incomprehensible situation, turn to professionals and rely on the law! We bring to your attention the regulatory framework that will be useful in resolving emergencies:
- About the statement of the Situation on the organization of work on labor protection and safety of life of participants of educational process in establishments and educational institutions.
- Regulations on the procedure for investigating accidents that occurred during the educational process in educational institutions.
- Instructions for organizing and conducting excursions and trips with pupils and students.
- On approval of the Regulations on the procedure for training and testing of knowledge on occupational safety and health in institutions, establishments, organizations, enterprises belonging to the sphere of management of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.
We hope that neither you nor your students will have to go through the trauma and deal with its consequences. But understanding your own rights and knowledge of the legal framework will allow you to fully protect your freedom and honest name!
