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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 7 Hansard (19 October) . . Page.. 1909 ..
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY QUESTION
QUESTION NUMBER 78
Physical Education and Sport - Teachers' Qualifications
(1) How many teachers have paramedical qualifications that would enable them to deal with accidents at a sporting event.
(2) Does every school have sufficient numbers of teachers qualified to supervise all sport and physical education activity that occur in schools.
MR STEFANIAK - the answer to Ms McRae's question is:
(1) For the purposes of the question the term "paramedical" means possession of a current first aid qualification.
First aid qualifications allow the person on the scene to take appropriate action before arrival of trained ambulance officers, if required. Only those teachers leaving the school with sporting teams or a person helping to supervise the team require a first aid qualification.
Teachers supervising activities at school have access to their school's first aid officer in the first instance.
At present there are 288 employees of the Department of Education and Training who are being paid an allowance as first aid officers in schools. This is the only figure available and does not represent all holders of first aid qualifications. We would estimate this number to be about 600.
(2) All teachers have a duty of care to their students.
All teams playing sport are supervised by an appropriately qualified person. Such a person may be a teacher, or a parent or member of the community with suitable qualifications who is assisting the teacher.
A qualified person is deemed to be someone with recognised experience or a formal coaching qualification in that sport. The school principal has the authority to deem a person as suitably qualified.
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