School Climate Surveys

The government's new bullying prevention strategy will help to prevent bullying and tackle its causes. Bullying is an underestimated and pervasive problem. It is often a precursor to other violent behaviour that is never acceptable in Ontario's schools or communities. The climate surveys are part of a comprehensive bullying prevention strategy to reduce incidents and fundamentally change attitudes toward the phenomenon of bullying.

In its recent report, the Safe Schools Action Team recommended that schools conduct a climate assessment to collect student, staff and parent perspectives on safety. A positive school climate makes negative behaviours such as bullying unacceptable and empowers the members of the school community to contribute to eliminating these kinds of behaviours. The surveys will help in-school teams determine school needs and make decisions on bullying-prevention programming. Sample climate surveys are now available:

• Safety at Your School: Sample Survey for Students in Grades 4 to 6 About Bullying (PDF, 229 KB)
• Safety at Your School: Sample Survey for Students in Grades 7 to 12 About Bullying (PDF, 201 KB)
• Safety at Your School: Sample Survey for Parents About Bullying (PDF, 83 KB)
• Safety at Your School: Sample Survey for Teachers About Bullying (PDF, 99 KB)

Schools may choose to make use of these samples or continue using surveys already in use or currently being developed locally.

A school climate survey is one tool that can help school teams identify the nature and extent of bullying problems. The survey should include not just students and teachers, but also school staff, parents, and others in the community to ensure that the school has the full context in developing its bullying prevention strategies. Initial assessment provides a baseline. Ongoing assessment helps determine whether programs are effective at reducing bullying and improving the school climate, and whether they continue to be relevant for schools over time.

A Registry of Bullying Prevention Programs is also available on the ministry’s web site to assist schools in identifying which resources might best meet their needs. Although there are many different bullying prevention programs available, it is important that schools choose programs that respond to the issues highlighted in the school climate assessment to ensure that they meet specific school needs.