A recent court case, Woodland v Essex County Council (ECC), has shone a spotlight on duty of care and the relationship between schools and third party contractors. The case hinged on the question: do schools owe pupils a “non-delegable” duty of care? In other words, where a school brings in a third party to carry out certain functions, can the school be held liable for the negligence of the third party?
In Woodland v ECC, the school engaged a contractor (Direct Swimming Services) to organise swimming lessons for its pupils. The contractor had in turn appointed a swimming instructor to conduct the lessons during school hours with a lifeguard in attendance at an off-site swimming pool. A class attended the swimming pool with a teacher, who handed the children over to the swimming instructor.
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