Lakes death teacher is the first to be jailed for manslaughter of pupil

A teacher was jailed for 12 months yesterday for the manslaughter of a boy who drowned during a school trip to the Lake District, the first custodial sentence to be imposed in such a case.

Paul Ellis, 42, a geography teacher at Fleetwood High School in Lancashire, was told by the judge at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester that he had been "unbelievably foolhardy and negligent" in the care of 10-year-old Max Palmer. The boy died trying to cross a 10ft-wide stream, swollen after heavy rain, on 26 May last year.

Teachers' leaders described the sentence as "disproportionate" and warned that it could mean the end of school trips for pupils if staff became too afraid to run them.

Max, a primary school pupil, was attending a trip with older pupils from the comprehensive where his mother, Patricia, 37, worked as a teaching assistant. Mrs Palmer, who was also on the trip, watched in horror as Max was swept away and almost drowned herself while trying to save him. Ellis, of Cleveleys, near Blackpool, pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Headteachers said Max's death could have been avoided if Ellis had followed government guidelines. They argued that, while it was impossible to guarantee that no pupil would be harmed, youngsters were often safer on a trip than a family holiday.

Detective Chief Inspector Bill Whitehead, of Cumbria Police, said he had some sympathy with Ellis. "We were not dealing with a career criminal here but a schoolteacher who had made a severe error."

David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: "This demonstrates all too clearly the very vulnerable position teachers are in if they act recklessly and without due regard for the safety of pupils in their care." He added: "I think the danger is that teachers might be deterred from running school trips if they feel they are at such risk that they could end up in the criminal courts."

John Dunford, general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association, described the sentence as "disproportionate". "Prisons were built to house criminals, not teachers who have made tragic errors. This will regrettably make teachers think twice about leading school trips, a great pity because many children have had their horizons widened by school trips, particularly children whose families aren't able to venture very far.

"But accidents still happen and, in the end, schools can do no more than be as vigilant as a good parent."