THE absence of a risk management assessment for swimming activities at Bells Parade on the day Latrobe High School student Rene Levi drowned points to a serious failure on the part of the school and teachers, according to counsel assisting the coroner, Chris Dockray.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Dockray yesterday said during his submissions to coroner Rod Chandler that ``ignorance'' seemed to be an excuse for the immense oversight from the top down.
``As the guidelines existed in 2009 they were difficult to navigate. However, difficult to navigate does not mean the guidelines were not clear in their intention. It was the expectation of all staff to access guidelines and use them to ensure excursions and outdoor activities are safe,'' he said.
``The Department of Education failed to ensure teachers, including the Latrobe High School principal Phil McKenzie, understood the outdoor education guidelines.''
Mr Dockray said that the principal and teachers ``were let down'' was evident in the steps that had been taken by the department since the tragedy.
Acting for the Education Department, Paul Turner said the department acted proactively by conducting a full review following Rene's death and ought to have been commended for the procedures now in place where risk management assessments for all off-campus activities were reviewed at least annually.
The inquest into the drowning death of 15-year-old Rene while on a school sporting activity at Bells Parade on November 16, 2009, ended in the Launceston Magistrates Court yesterday with submissions to the coroner pointing to a number of failings in the supervision, organisation and structure of what was to be a lesson where water safety rules were enforced.
Mr Dockray said it was doubtful anything of educational value took place or was likely to take place on that day. He said that given Rene's emotionally immature behaviour, poor swimming ability and history of disobedient behaviour he required a level of supervision above the ``meer necessity''.
Mr Dockray said teachers Bernard Mulraney, Alex Baldock and Rebecca Clarke were not supervising swimmers and did not contribute to the cause of Rene's death. Nor did two students, who saw Rene engaging in horseplay in the water, but that it was possible to find Tim Jolly or a second teacher, Stephanie Jackson, who was supervising some students in the water, to have contributed to the cause of Rene's death.
Mr Turner said departmental guidelines, risk assessments and permission forms were irrelevant and that Mr Jolly had arrived early at Bells Parade to make sure conditions were safe for swimming.
Mr Chandler is expected to deliver a report in the New Year.
