The Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992, Crimes Act (1961), and other relevant legislation applies here. The principal has responsibility to approve those involved in support roles for EOTC. Furthermore, parents and other assistants are not just there to make up the numbers. They should have a specific role and responsibilities.
As volunteers in a specified role, parents and other assistants have a responsibility to follow all safety procedures set by the school and to notify the designated teacher in charge (TIC) of any hazards they identify. The teacher in charge is deemed as "person in charge of workplace". Therefore, the TIC has a responsibility to ensure that assistants follow all safety procedures set down by the school and a responsibility to respond to any hazards identified by them.
The TIC is also responsible for parents' and other assistants' actions. So it is imperative that the TIC satisfactorily briefs them on their role and check that they have the skills to carry it out (briefing parents and other assistants on their role and ascertaining their skill for the task, is a clearly expected procedure to be set by the school).
A question for teachers to ask themselves regularly is "Have I taken all practicable steps to ensure the safety of everyone involved?" Under NAG 5, the ultimate responsibility for the safety of students and staff lies with the board of trustees.
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