Ensuring students are safe at school is our top priority. Launched in 2022, the work of the Safer Schools Action Plan has made our staff more aware of, and accountable for, student safety.
All staff in schools are trained every year on recognizing when children might need protection, reporting to authorities, and supporting children who have made disclosures. This training is tracked and documented.
Other adults who are involved with students, such as coaches and school board and council members, are also offered training.
In addition, government-wide policies are in place to ensure coordination of responses to incidents. There are processes to follow when there are disclosures or accusations of abuse or inappropriate behaviour by staff. These processes include seeking legal advice as required.
There’s always more we can do to improve safety, and we will continue to work to make our schools safer for students.
The Safer Schools Action Plan was initiated in response to the Hidden Valley Elementary School Independent Review Report. It was launched in February 2022 and fully implemented in June 2023.
The action plan contains 23 commitments linked to the 7 recommendations in the independent review report. The 23 action items emphasize creating safe and caring environments, transparency, accountability, victim-centred approaches, collaboration and reconciliation in education settings.
The action plan focused on improving the safety and wellbeing of students and government’s ability to respond effectively to critical or serious incidents.
- Student Protection Policy, updated September 29, 2022
- School Procedures Handbook (Under review): Section 9.11 Procedures for Preventing and Responding to Harm by Adults. Section 9.11 was updated in 2022
- Safe and Caring Schools Policy was updated as part of the Safer Schools Action Plan
- Volunteers in the Schools Policy
- Supporting students at school and Supports for families and students
- Protecting students from harm by adults
- Report child abuse
- Get support for child victims of crime and Support for a child or youth victim of harm or crime: a guide for parents and caregivers