Safe Schools


Information for Parents on Safe Schools

The Ontario government is committed to a safe and inclusive school environment because we believe that safe schools are essential for student success and academic achievement. Students thrive in an environment where they feel safe, welcome and respected.

The Safe Schools strategy includes:

  • a safe schools team in every school,
  • training for teachers and principals, and
  • information for parents about the ways that schools have become safer places to learn.

To learn more about safe schools, you can:

  • Download any of the resources below, or
  • Order printed copies through Service Ontario.
  1. Bullying: We can all help stop it
    This brochure for parents explains what to watch for, what to do and where to get help.

  2. Making Ontario's Schools Safer: What Parents Need to Know
    This offers parents a concise overview of progressive discipline, Ontario's approach to discipline.

  3. Reporting and Responding: Keeping Our Kids Safe at School
    New legislation that came into effect February 1, 2010 affects how all school board employees handle incidents at school. It will require all school staff to report, and those who work directly with students to respond, to incidents that happen in school.

  4. Ontario's Code of conduct
    Ontario's provincial code of conduct sets clear standards of behaviour for individual school boards to follow, so that they can develop their own codes of conduct.

  5. Progressive Discipline: A new approach to help make schools safer
    Progressive discipline promotes positive student behaviour and enables the principal to choose the appropriate consequences to address inappropriate student behaviour.

  6. Promoting a Positive School Climate: A Resource for Schools
    To help build a positive school climate, boards and schools should actively promote and support positive behaviours. They should also involve parents and members of the broader community.

  7. Suspension/Expulsion
    This guide explains what can lead to suspension or expulsion, what factors will be considered before students are suspended or expelled and what programs are now available to help students  keep learning and get back on track.