Our goalposts were damaged during a recent storm. Is the cost of replacing the goalposts covered under our insurance?

State indemnity will apply in respect of any claims for personal injury and third party property damage, arising from the negligence of the School, its servants and/or agents. However, it is important to note that State indemnity does not cover accidental damage /loss/theft or criminal damage to third party or State owned property. e.g. Goal posts.

Damage to school owned property from the likes of storms, floods etc. would not be covered under State indemnity however there are means for the school to apply for funding for repairs under the emergency works scheme and/or make an application to avail of state indemnity to the Department of Education via the ACCS.

The Governance Manual for Community and Comprehensive Schools outlines the procedure to follow if such a situation were to arise. You should refer to Section 25 – Insurance Arrangements for Community and Comprehensive Schools, in particular Section 25.3 and the associated application form that can be found in Appendix 12, which once completed should then be forwarded to the ACCS who will advise you of the outcome of the application to avail of the State indemnity.

We advise that the school take immediate action to control the access to this area and while we accept this may not be achieved easily, it is essential to do so, given the very real risk of injury/damage, until funding is available to make the necessary repairs/replacement.

Please refer to Goal post safety in schools on the SCA website for further information on goal post safety.