Tort

School's duty of care towards pupil - no duty to prevent bullying outside school premisesBradford-Smart v West Sussex County Council: QBD (Garland J): 8 November 2000The claimant had been bullied by fellow pupils while a pupil at a maintained primary school for which the defendant council was responsible.

The bullying had occurred on the estate where the claimant lived and on the bus going to and from school.

The claimant brought a claim in tort against the council for damages for psychiatric injury caused by the bullying.Augustus Ullstein QC and Nicholas Bowen (instructed by Teacher Stern Selby) for the claimant.

Edward Faulks QC and Andrew Warnock (instructed by Vizards) for the council.Held, giving judgment for the council, that it was generally accepted that a school owed a duty of care to a child on the school premises to safeguard his physical well-being; that even if a school knew that a pupil was being bullied at home or on the way to and from school, it would not be practical let alone fair, just and reasonable to impose upon it a greater duty than to take reasonable steps to prevent that bullying spilling over into the school; that a school's duty went no further than a duty to take effective, defensive measures to prevent the bullying actually happening inside the school; that if a school chose, as a matter of judgment, to be pro-active that was a matter of discretion not obligation; and that since the claimant's class teacher had taken reasonable steps to safeguard her while she was actually at the school the claim must fail.