Professionally Speaking

Student safety is a shared responsibility requiring full community co-operation and involvement, but teaching professionals have a leadership role in assuring safe experiences for students in all learning environments and situations. So says the College in its fourth professional advisory, Safety in Learning Environments: A Shared Responsibility.

The advisory sets out 4Rs for Safety — recognize, respond, report and reflect — as a framework to inform professional judgment with respect to keeping students safe.

“The advisory helps our members think, act and collaborate in ways that keep students safe,” said Deputy Registrar Joe Jamieson, OCT, who led the project development. “It informs professional judgment and reminds us that safety is a shared responsibility. Everyone is accountable.”

The Ontario College of Teachers has a legal duty and ethical obligation to the public to educate its members, Jamieson said. The College has also issued advisories on professional misconduct related to sexual abuse, the use of electronic communications and social media, and additional qualifications.

The document provides a framework to help members recognize their responsibilities and potential dangers, respond professionally, report incidents properly, and reflect on incidents and situations to prevent future occurrences. Critical and expert readers from the sector vetted the document. It also reflects extensive consultation with College members and members of the larger provincial community.

College Council approved the College’s fourth professional advisory, Safety in Learning Environments: A Shared Responsibility, unanimously at its April 4–5, 2013, meeting. Acknowledging the scope of the subject, Jamieson said the document encourages greater awareness and dialogue within the entire school community, including police, parents and social service providers.

“We’re keen to keep student safety in all learning environments and situations top-of-mind with all of our members and within the greater community,” said Liz Papadopoulos, OCT, Chair of Council.

The Professional Advisory on Safety in Learning Environments provides advice within the education context and is rooted in the College’s Ethical Standards and Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession.

According to a College survey of members in 2012, about 80 per cent of respondents said they have cared for students with serious injuries such as broken bones or concussions. Most (70 per cent) said they felt prepared to deal with threats to student safety. Seventy-eight per cent said they ended a class or student activity because it posed a risk to student safety, and two-thirds modified activities because of potential threats.

Safety in Learning Environments: A Shared Responsibility provides advice within the education context and is rooted in the College’s Ethical Standards and Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession. It also points out that there are many examples of government legislation and employer policies, standards and guidelines that govern the actions of Ontario Certified Teachers with respect to student safety.

Echoing words in the advisory itself, Jamieson said OCTs should be able to confidently say that they treat students with care, respect, trust and integrity, that they’re aware of the legal parameters that guide their professional practice, that they know their employer’s policies and emergency procedures regarding student safety, and that they reflect on past occurrences, monitor ongoing situations and prepare for the unexpected.

“Safety awareness is vital to students’ well-being and to maintaining the public trust,” Papadopoulos said. “The advice is intended to get people to think, talk and collaborate so that students are safe wherever learning occurs.”

Read the printed document that was shipped with this issue of Professionally Speaking or see it online at oct.ca.

How to put safety first

Among its advice to help OCTs minimize safety risks, the advisory says:

• know and apply legislation and your employer’s policies with respect to student safety generally and, in particular, those regarding codes of conduct, reporting and responding to incidents of violence and abuse, and safe schools protocols
• ensure that your students have the necessary training, knowledge and skills to undertake an activity, to respond safely and to report unsafe activities or situations
• know the special medical needs identified for your students such as allergies and any accommodations or modifications required
• model respectful behaviour and non-violent conflict resolution skills
• encourage healthy relationship and bullying prevention skills throughout the curriculum
• identify and report deficiencies in the environment or equipment you use with students
• determine whether consent is required before beginning an activity so that parents or guardians authorize students’ safe use of tools, materials and equipment
• monitor, modify or stop an activity you think is unsafe, and
• know who to contact and where to go to get help if needed.

Taking our news on the road

Dateline: Toronto, Ottawa, London and Thunder Bay.

To support the launch of its safety advisory, the College conducted symposiums in schools in each of the four Ontario cities mentioned above in late May.

Deputy Registrar Joe Jamieson led a contingent in four three-hour sessions that provided insights into the advisory and its importance to Ontario’s teaching profession. The sessions also included research on enhanced lockdowns, violence prevention and the use of social media in school crises. Stu Auty, president of the Canadian Safe School Network, provided a thorough overview of what’s happening in Ontario schools now to keep students safe.

Session attendees included teachers, administrators, federation and government officials, parents, police, firefighters, and community agency representatives — all participating in the dialogue, all assuming the shared responsibility for student safety in their jurisdictions.