Creating safe and accepting schools
Learn about creating safe, inclusive and accepting school environments where everyone — children, students, staff, parents and the community — feels welcome, safe and respected.
A positive school climate is essential
A positive school climate and a safe learning and teaching environment are essential for students to succeed in school. This means that everyone feels they are safe, welcome and respected.
All students, parents or guardians, teachers, staff and community members have the right to be safe and feel safe, in their school community. With this right comes the responsibility for everyone to be accountable for their actions and contribute to a positive school climate.
Our approach to making schools safe and accepting focuses on:
- promoting positive student behaviour
- providing early and ongoing intervention
- preventing inappropriate behaviour
- addressing inappropriate behaviour with appropriate consequences
Help stop bullying
Learn what to watch for, what you can do and where you can go to get help if your child is being bullied. Use the guide to help recognize and stop bullying.
Code of conduct
Understand the Ontario code of conduct for the education sector and learn about the rules for personal mobile devices in the classroom.
Parents' guide to the code of conduct
Learn about Ontario's code of conduct which sets the standards of behaviour that school boards must follow.
Cellphones and personal devices in schools
Learn about the rules for using personal mobile devices in the classroom.
Programs for youth
Learn about youth opportunities for programming, academic supports, summer employment and leadership across Ontario.
Urban and Priority High Schools Initiative
Focus on Youth (FOY) Program
Learn about pro-social employment opportunities for high school students and community based youth engagement programming a for students in junior kindergarten to Grade 12.
Discipline, suspensions and expulsions
Understand the rules for these disciplinary actions.
Progressive discipline
Learn about the progressive discipline approach for schools.
Understanding suspensions and expulsions
Find out what can result in suspension or expulsion and what happens if your child is suspended or expelled. Learn what support is available for students.
Report incidents
Learn about reporting incidents that happen at school and how to support positive student behaviour.
Report an incident at school
As a school board employee, find out how to report student incidents that happen at school, at a school related activity or could have a negative impact on the school climate.
Occasional teachers: report an incident
As an occasional teacher you must report incidents that happen at school. Find out how to report student incidents and what type of incidents you must report.
Report an incident on school transportation
As a school bus driver, find out how you can promote positive student behaviour and how to report serious student incidents.
Urban and Priority High Schools Initiative
All students deserve an education and an opportunity to be successful. However, not all students have the same supports in place necessary to succeed in school.
The Urban and Priority High Schools (UPHS) Initiative supports the academic success of secondary school students across Ontario who may be experiencing significant numeracy and literacy challenges, together with suspension and expulsion, conflict with the law, poverty and a lack of access to community resources.
The schools offer activities and initiatives that support:
- social and emotional student well-being
- student academic achievement
- bullying prevention and intervention
- violence prevention and personal safety
- engagement and leadership for disengaged students
- family and community engagement
Benefits of the program
The UPHS initiative allows schools to work with community partners to identify and respond to issues and challenges experienced by students in a focused and immediate way. As a result, more students are engaged and attend school regularly. The program supports students to:
- improve their literacy and numeracy skills
- participate in school activities
- connect to their community
- learn valuable leadership skills
- plan for their future
Focus on youth
The Focus on Youth (FOY) program provides learning and employment opportunities for youth in select low-income neighbourhoods who face personal challenges and barriers to employment due to circumstances directly linked to systemic inequality, racism and discrimination, and their lived experiences of socio-economic disadvantage.
The program is offered to 24 school boards located in Brantford, Hamilton, the Greater Toronto Area, Kingston, Ottawa, Peterborough, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, and Windsor.
Using the FOY program model participating school boards provide high-quality program opportunities for children and youth by:
- creating high quality employment experiences for in-risk high school students
- increasing access to free/low-cost camps for children and youth (kindergarten to Grade 12) in high needs areas where such opportunities may be limited
Resources for schools and school boards
Promoting positive school climates
Find policies and resources for school boards to help keep students, parents, staff and community members feeling safe and accepted at school.
- Policy/Program Memorandum 128: The Provincial Code of Conduct and School Board Codes of Conduct
- School climate surveys
- Equity and inclusive education
Promoting school and community safety
Find policies for school boards to help keep students safe in school and in the community.
- Policy/Program Memorandum 9: Reporting of Children in Need of Protection
- Policy/Program Memorandum 120: Reporting Violent Incidents to the Ministry of Education
- Policy/Program Memorandum 123: Safe Arrivals
- Policy/Program Memorandum 166: Keeping Students Safe: Policy Framework for School Board Anti-Sex Trafficking Protocols
- Provincial model for a local police/school board protocol
- Police Record Checks: Ontario Regulation 521/01, Collection of Personal information
Bullying prevention and intervention
Find strategies designed to prevent and address incidents of bullying at school and to foster a positive learning environment.
- Policy/Program Memorandum 144: Bullying Prevention and Intervention
- Model bullying prevention and intervention plan
- Bullying Prevention and Intervention in the School Environment: Factsheets and Tools by the Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence Network (PREVNet)
- Bullying – we can all stop it – a guide for elementary and secondary students
Progressive discipline
Find strategies to promote positive student behaviours and address inappropriate behaviours that occur at school, at a school-related activity or in any other circumstances where the student's behaviour has an impact on the school climate.
- Policy/Program Memorandum 145: Progressive Discipline and Promoting Positive Student Behaviour
- Policy/Program Memorandum 128: The Provincial Code of Conduct and School Board Codes of Conduct
- Responding to activities and behaviours: Ontario Regulation 472/07, Behaviour, Discipline and Safety of Pupils
- Supporting bias-free progressive discipline in schools: a resource guide for school and system leaders
Suspensions and expulsions
Find policies for school boards and Ontario statistics on suspensions and expulsions
- Policy/Program Memorandum 141: School Board Programs for Students on Long-Term Suspensions
- Policy/Program Memorandum 142: School Board Programs for Expelled Students
- Suspension and Expulsion of Pupils: Ontario Regulation 472/07, Behaviour, Discipline and Safety of Pupils
- Understanding suspensions and expulsions
Safe and accepting schools policies
Full list of policies school boards must follow.
- Policy/Program Memorandum 9: Reporting of Children in Need of Protection
- Policy/Program Memorandum 120: Reporting Violent Incidents to the Ministry of Education
- Policy/Program Memorandum 123: Safe Arrivals
- Policy/Program Memorandum 128: The Provincial Code of Conduct and School Board Codes of Conduct
- Policy/Program Memorandum 141: School Board Programs for Students on Long-Term Suspensions
- Policy/Program Memorandum 142: School Board Programs for Expelled Students
- Policy/Program Memorandum 144: Bullying Prevention and Intervention
- Policy/Program Memorandum 145: Progressive Discipline and Promoting Positive Student Behaviour
- Policy/Program Memorandum 166: Keeping Students Safe: Policy Framework for School Board Anti-Sex Trafficking Protocols
- Provincial Model for a Local Police/School Board Protocol
- Shaping a culture of respect in our schools: promoting safe and healthy relationships
- Road map to reporting workplace violence in Ontario school boards