What is Middle Level Physical Education?
Grades 6 to 9 physical education is a compulsory subject throughout the province of Saskatchewan. It provides students with the opportunity to participate in regular physical activity (recommended 150 minutes per week), to develop sport skills for use throughout their lives and to develop positive attitudes towards physical activity as a part of day-to-day living.
Why is Physical Education Important?
Society today presents significant challenges with respect to lifestyle choices of Canadians. One of these choices is regular physical activity. There is an important link between regular physical activity, healthy self-concept and quality of life. Through middle level physical education programs, teachers have the opportunity to have an impact on Saskatchewan children at an early age by educating and exciting them about pursuing active, healthy lifestyles. Parents and teachers appreciate the role physical education programs play in the development of students who will be physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually prepared to meet society's vigorous demands.
What will Students Learn?
Students will develop skills in the following activity areas:
Lessons will be planned so that all students, regardless of natural "athletic ability", can participate in activities which match their comfort and ability levels.
How will Students be Evaluated?
Students will be evaluated in three main areas:
A variety of methods will be used to arrive at a mark. Presentations, demonstrations, written assignments, self-assessment, peer assessment, action plans and rating scales are some of the assessment and evaluation methods physical education teachers employ.
How Can I Support Middle Level Physical Education?
At home, offer support when the student is working on written assignments, projects and action plans. Participate with the students in sporting and leisure activities. Be a role model for healthy living so that the student can pattern himself or herself after you.
NOTE: The information in this section is to be taken as general information only. It is not to be considered as legal advice. School personnel are encouraged to consult a solicitor regarding specific concerns.
Safety
A physical education program provides an excellent opportunity to promote good health practices as well as to develop suitable attitudes towards regular physical activity. Following are sound suggestions for establishing and maintaining such an environment. Teachers of physical education are encouraged to contact their administration about policies relating to suitable attire, personal hygiene, illness and injury and general safety regulations. This information should be made known to students and their parents.
Adequate first aid supplies should be kept in every school. Teachers and students should know where these supplies are kept and how to use them. The school should have an accident procedure policy. Schools wishing to arrange for further instruction in first aid might contact organizations such as St. John Ambulance or the Canadian Red Cross.
A Student Information Sheet and a Sample Illness/Injury Report Form are included in this section.
Information Sheet
Student Name:_____________________________________________
Teacher Name: ____________________________________________
Date: ____________________________________________________
Age:______________________________________________________
Address___________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Phone: __________________________________
Name(s) of parent(s)/guardian(s): ________________________
__________________________________________________________
Address:__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Phone:(Home)________________ (Work)_________________
Ask for: ___________________________________________________
Family Doctor Name: ______________________________________
Phone: _______________________________
Hospitalization Number: ____________________________________
Other medical coverage: __________________________________
Significant allergies, illnesses, injuries, medications:__________________________________________________
Illness/Injury Report Form
School __________________________________ Phone # _______________________
Principal _______________________________
Teacher _________________________________
Doctor __________________________________ Phone # _______________________
Dear Doctor:
Our school's physical education program is geared towards student participation on a regular basis. We offer a wide range of activities from traditional sports such as volleyball and basketball to cross country skiing, cycling and hiking. Each class contains a warmup and a cooldown.
The Canadian Medical Association recommends that doctors handle student or parent requests in such a way as to promote the student's continued participation in physical education classes. You can assist our program and contribute to its importance by avoiding blanket statements which would excuse this student from all parts of the class unless necessary.
Please answer the following:
1. Name of Student _____________________________
2. Date of Appointment _________________________
3. Activities student may participate in:
Comments:
Stretching_____________________________________________
Light cardiovascular___________________________________
Moderate cardiovascular____________________________________
Strengthening (eg. sit-ups,____________________________
push-ups)
Running________________________________________________
Jumping________________________________________________
Throwing_______________________________________________
Please indicate how long this is in effect: from __________ to _____________
4. Other Comments: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Student's next appointment date ______________________________
Doctor's signature ________________________________
Preventive Safeguards
NOTE: The information in this section is to be taken as general information only. It is not to be considered as legal advice. School personnel are encouraged to consult a solicitor regarding specific concerns.
All students require physical activity. Attainment of objectives as set out in this document and careful adherence to safety procedures established by the school will provide both a safe environment and the opportunity for physical activity. There are general implications relating to injury prevention that are applicable to all grades. If the following basic measures are taken, chances of injury will decrease:
By its very nature, physical education is at a high risk for student injury. Because activity is vital to the normal growth and development of every student, avoid eliminating activities from the program because of a fear of injury. Instead, use wisdom and prudence in the selection and supervision of activities and choice(s) of instruction.
School boards might require that physical educators hold proper qualifications for instruction in the physical domain. These qualifications might include professional training in the core areas of the curriculum. Simply having teaching certification is no guarantee of the skills necessary to teach physical education. Hiring practices and local regulations can improve the qualifications of teachers of physical education. Local regulations can include required teacher inservice programs and regular teacher up-grading.
Limitations of Liability
Because physical education often involves taking students out of the classroom and into situations differing from more traditional school patterns, the matter of legal responsibility for injury to students is of more than passing interest. Keep in mind that there is a degree of hazard involved with merely participating in the activities of life. This cannot be avoided and except where the law finds someone else legally liable, each individual must bear his or her own loss or injury. Nothing, including the law, can guarantee that a person will be completely safe at all times from loss or injury.
This basic principle also applies to school affairs and without it, school activities might grind to a halt due to an over-abundance of caution. The law will, under some circumstances, find a school board or teacher liable for loss or injury suffered by a pupil or other individual. It would be impractical in this document to review the whole law as it relates to these circumstances. What this document does contain are general guidelines as to the manner in which the school board and teachers can minimize the possibility of being found liable but, if found liable, how they might have the subsequent financial responsibility assumed by an insurance company.
NOTE: The information in this section is to be taken as general information only. It is not to be considered as legal advice. School personnel are encouraged to consult a solicitor regarding specific concerns.
The Immunity of the Teacher
Saskatchewan teachers, to whom The Education Act applies, are given a wide degree of immunity from personal financial responsibility for school accidents. The Education Act provides that a teacher or any other person responsible for the conduct of pupils shall not be liable for injuries suffered by pupils or property damage caused by pupils during activities approved or sponsored by the school board, principal or teacher during school hours or at other times. This does not exempt teachers from being sued for negligence or being held responsible for an accident; however, it should prevent a court from levying damages against a teacher personally.
This provision may not be as all-encompassing as it first appears. It is difficult to foresee what a court might conclude, for instance, if injury to a pupil was maliciously caused or permitted by a teacher or if the activity was so bizarre as to fall clearly beyond the scope of what anyone might expect to be an appropriate school activity. Fortunately, no such situation has been recorded to date; nevertheless, what seems to be clear is that a teacher is normally protected from financial liability for certain damages or injuries occurring during approved or sponsored school activities. Once again, check school board policy regarding authority; that is, who is authorized to sanction activities. Then make sure to follow those procedures and regulations so that immunity can apply.
The immunity of a teacher does not necessarily mean that a pupil who has been injured as the result of negligence on the teacher's part has no legal recourse. In general, employers are vicariously liable for the torts (a civil as opposed to criminal wrong) of their employees when these employees are acting within the scope of their duties. The school board, as employer, may be held liable for damages even when teachers are personally protected from the effects of their negligence.
Standard of Care
Where a student is injured while participating in school activities, the pupil has no claim for damages against the teacher or the school board unless there has been negligence on the part of the teacher or the board and the student has been injured. (Note: For the purposes of this document, any question of malicious or intentional injury will be disregarded.)
Negligence exists only if the teacher or the school board has failed to meet the standard of care which the law prescribes under those circumstances. The standard of care the courts are most likely to apply is that exercised by the careful parent (although in some cases lower courts have applied the standard of the competent coach or qualified instructor). There are less rigorous standards related to the duty of an owner or occupier of property toward an invitee or with the duty a driver of a motor vehicle owes to a gratuitous passenger. Depending on the circumstances, these standards might be held appropriate by the courts; however, it would be prudent to expect the courts to apply the higher standard because of the vulnerability of children and due to the teacher's professional qualifications. Because of this, the school board, the administration and teachers must attempt to put themselves in the place of careful parents and make decisions accordingly.
The Function of Insurance
In planning and executing physical education programs, the knowledge that adequate insurance is carried permits a degree of flexibility and confidence that would not otherwise be possible. Insurance cannot and must not be viewed as a satisfactory substitute for care and foresight and can never erase the pain, embarrassment and grief of an accident; however, it can in some circumstances shift the financial burden
from the shoulders of the school board, the teacher, a pupil or vehicle operator to an insurance company that, for a premium, is prepared to take the risk.
NOTE: The information in this section is to be taken as general information only. It is not to be considered as legal advice. School personnel are encouraged to consult a solicitor regarding specific concerns.
With regards to physical education, there are two types of relevant insurance:
on their automobiles and sickness or accident policies.
Note: The law varies somewhat from the ordinary with regards to motor vehicle accidents and negligence as contrasted to other types of accidents and negligence.
Insurance Protection for Teacher and/or Vehicle
Physical education programs may require transportation from place to place by school bus, public bus, taxi or by the teacher's vehicle or that of a pupil or parent. There is no reason to believe that the immunity granted teachers under Section 228 of The Education Act would not extend to injuries occurring while a teacher or another authorized person were the driver of the vehicle.
There is, of course, the possibility that in some situations the courts might hold that a student was injured in the teacher's vehicle while travelling to or from an activity but not as part of the activity; or it may happen that someone other than the teacher (for example, a spouse or a pupil) was the driver of the car and does not have the protection of The Education Act. Under those circumstances, the type of automobile insurance carried by the teacher or on the teacher's behalf is critical.
A feature of the law relating to vehicular accidents must be considered at this time. Normally, a driver or owner of a vehicle is not legally liable for injuries suffered by a passenger unless there has been gross negligence on the part of the driver; however, the courts have frequently required a higher standard of care with respect to students and we must consider the possibility of the careful parent principle being applied here. This is especially true if teachers are relying on Section 228 for immunity.
Every school board is required to carry general liability insurance. Teachers and the school board are jointly liable for torts including negligence, providing teachers were acting within the scope of their duties (for example, chaperoning a team trip). The board's general liability insurance would protect it and, indirectly, the teacher as well if the teacher was found legally liable in the operation of the vehicle. This means that if teachers were driving their own vehicles on a school activity and were found negligent, an injured passenger's claim would likely be made against the teacher and the school board jointly. This is of no help if the spouse was driving the vehicle; there might also be some question as to whether a school activity was actually involved even if teachers were driving.
There is another gap which may not be filled by the general liability insurance carried by a school board. There is a special limitation period under The Education Act during which actions against a school board must begin (that is, within one year of the cause of action, with a possible extension of one year). The limitation period for automobile claims under The Vehicles Act is also one year but where a fatality eventually occurs, it may be much longer under The Fatal Accidents Act. This means there could be situations where there has been delay to the extent that the plaintiff may not be able to claim against the school board as the employer and will subsequently lay claim against the teacher alone.
NOTE: The information in this section is to be taken as general information only. It is not to be considered as legal advice. School personnel are encouraged to consult a solicitor regarding specific concerns.
At least one insurance company offers an extension on non-owned automobile insurance to cover not only teachers but parents, pupils or anyone else regardless of whose vehicle was being used (excluding school board vehicles), provided that the claim arises out of an accident occurring during authorized school activities. This is a new type of coverage. It is not known how many school boards carry it and again there is the problem that some activity may, in the future, be ruled not to be an authorized school activity.
Many school boards, as employers, carry standard non-owned automobile coverage that, in effect, puts a floor (often $500,000) on the protection against third party liability. This includes an employee driving someone else's vehicle while on school business. Again there is the difficulty that the accident may have occurred on what is held not to be a school activity or when someone other than a teacher was operating the vehicle. It has no effect if the teacher's own car was involved.
Taking everything into consideration, there seems to be only one sure way for teachers to be thoroughly protected. Carry an automobile package policy. Under the compulsory license plate insurance, the third party liability coverage for injury or death is not adequate to cover any serious accident. The compulsory insurance does not give any passenger hazard coverage; in the event of liability for injuries to a passenger, the driver would have no protection. A package policy raising the third party liability to $1 million, reducing the deductible on collision coverage and including some accident benefits might be worth considering. Apart from any question of student transportation, a person relying entirely on the compulsory coverage is assuming a serious financial risk.
Insurance Protection for Teachers and School Boards
With respect to injuries to pupils during school activities not involving transportation, the teacher seems to have adequate protection as a result of The Education Act. Most school boards carry employer's liability insurance to cover claims by employees for damages suffered as a result of the negligence of the school board. As the employer, the school board must not expose the teacher as an employee to unnecessary risks. This would certainly cover situations where the facilities provided by the school board are defective; however, the normal rule -- that the employer (the board) is liable for the torts of its employees (teachers) -- does not necessarily always apply.
Under the doctrine of common employment, if the person causing and the person suffering an injury are fellow employees engaged in common employment for the same employer, the employer -- provided it has taken reasonable care in the selection of employees -- is not liable for the consequences of the injury. This means that a teacher injured through another teacher's negligence may not be able to recover from that school board's insurer. Certainly teachers could purchase a personal liability policy to protect themselves in the event of a claim by another teacher; however, this is a hazard to which almost everyone is exposed and comparatively few insurance policies of this type are written. Teachers are not normally exposed to the effects of other teachers' negligence but in certain types of outdoor environmental educational programs, the risk may be more substantial.
Teachers may negligently injure some third party (not a pupil) during a school activity. The school board's comprehensive general liability policy normally would give teachers protection against financial responsibility, subject to the limitations mentioned earlier with respect to vehicle accidents.
Note: Sick leave provisions, short and long term Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation disability plans and personal life insurance coverage are considerations teachers might wish to pursue on their own.
NOTE: The information in this section is to be taken as general information only. It is not to be considered as legal advice. School personnel are encouraged to consult a solicitor regarding specific concerns.
Insurance Protection for the Pupil
Claims for damage due to negligence are not likely to be made against pupils, teachers or other persons suffering injury. There is no reason to suggest that pupils should carry liability insurance. The greatest benefit of insurance from the pupil's point of view is when school boards, teachers, vehicle operators, and others involved in the school program carry sufficient liability insurance so that in the event the pupil is injured through someone else's negligence, the pupil has an adequate remedy at law.
Liability insurance has its limitations. All liability insurance is based on the concept of legal fault, usually negligence on the part of the school board, teacher or driver. For the pupil who has, for instance, lost an eye in a school accident, the important issue is that an eye has been lost and the pupil will be permanently disabled. Whether someone has been negligent or not is only important to the pupil in that society may or may not award him or her a sum of money to help offset in part the effects of the disability. The term society is used because even if the money comes from an insurance company, society has contributed in the form of premiums. For the pupil who acquires a disability, the extremely fine and sometimes arbitrary line between the fact of negligence or otherwise on the part of some insured person can make a vast and sometimes tragic difference.
Many school boards carry and pay for a form of school accident insurance for their pupils that provides modest payments as a result of injury or death. They are paid on a no fault basis. The question of negligence is immaterial. If the loss is suffered, the benefit is paid. As mentioned, the benefits payable under the usual type of school accident policy carried for the pupils by school boards is modest. Where pupils are not covered under a general accident benefit policy and a somewhat hazardous activity is planned, it might be advisable to take out a special short-term group accident policy effective for the duration of the activity only.
Bus Driver's Liability
This is liability coverage a board may wish to carry for additional protection of its employees or independent contractors operating school buses. Like non-owned auto insurance and its extensions, it does not afford extra protection to school boards but is designed to protect employees or independent contractors. Directly, it is of benefit to pupils in that in the event of an accident, adequate insurance is carried, and this might be of interest to boards.
Many school boards also carry a no fault type of accident policy providing modest benefits for pupils injured or killed during school activities. This is not liability insurance. The benefit is paid regardless of whether there has or has not been negligence on anyone's part.
Insurance for School Boards
This coverage insures a board against liability for loss of injuries to pupils or other persons (excluding employees) by the negligence of the board itself or of its employees (including teachers) arising during authorized school activities on school premises or elsewhere. It does not cover accidents involving vehicles belonging to the board. There are other minor exclusions.
This coverage insures a board against liability for loss or damage suffered by employees of the board due to the negligence of the board.
NOTE: The information in this section is to be taken as general information only. It is not to be considered as legal advice. School personnel are encouraged to consult a solicitor regarding specific concerns.
This coverage does not give the school board any additional protection but as a matter of employer-employee relations might be considered a benefit to school boards. It gives employees a greater degree of liability protection when operating vehicles other than employee or board-owned vehicles.
An extended coverage is available and may be attractive to boards for the same reason as non-owned auto insurance. It gives additional liability protection to anyone operating any vehicle (other than a board-owned one) on school business.
This coverage gives liability protection to the owner or operator of a board-owned vehicle supplemental to that provided under The Automobile Accident Insurance Act (license plate insurance).
Other Aspects of Liability and Insurance
Recovery by a Board from a Teacher
The teacher's immunity provided under The Education Act exists whether the claim is by a pupil injured as the result of the teacher's negligence or by the school board which, as employer of the teacher, has been held liable for the teacher's negligence. A teacher's negligence may give rise to a claim by some person other than a pupil or may be in regard to property damage not caused by pupils. As employer of the teacher, a board may be held liable in damages under such a claim.
Claims by an employer to recover from an employee damages the employer has been required to pay as a result of being held vicariously liable are extremely rare. Generally speaking, the employee has a good defence against such a claim provided the negligent action occurred only within the scope of the duties the teacher presented himself or herself as being qualified and competent to perform. If the teacher went beyond that scope, an employer might be able to recover from the employee.
Guest Insurance
Although no legal decisions are on record regarding a school board's liability for injuries or damages arising from the negligence of a guest instructor, it is thought the school board would be held to have the same liability as for the negligence of an employee.
Waiver Forms, Permission Slips
Consult the school board regarding its policy about the use of parent waivers and permission slips.