Industry News
Schools pay out £2m in compensation
Posted on 17th July 2007
English schools paid out a collective £2 million in compensation last year to pupils, including a number of individual payouts in the thousands.
Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that local education authorities (LEAs) paid £1.3 million in damages to pupils across 247 claims, in which they preferred to settle rather than let the case go to court.
The largest payout was £21,500 given to a pupil who suffered back strain while partaking in a drama class. Other payouts included £5,000 for a pupil who was hit by a cricket ball and £6,000 to a pupil who was injured while trespassing at a school after hours.
A spokesperson for the National Union of Teachers states that increased claim payouts will have financial repercussions on a school.
"There may be circumstances where injury could not be avoided and in such circumstances it is likely that the pupil will be awarded compensation," it was stated, according to the Times.
"This will inevitably mean higher insurance premiums for the school."
Northern Irish education boards paid almost £1 million in compensation over the past financial year, reports News Letter.