Safe and Caring School Communities

Date came into force or revised

In force, 2004; revised and expanded, 2007 and 2012, revised May 2017, September 2024

Status

Current

Policy statement

This policy guides boards of education and schools in their efforts to create safe, caring, and inclusive learning environments for all students and to develop prevention and intervention strategies for addressing worrisome behaviours including threats or risks of violence.

Rationale or purpose of policy

Every child deserves an education free from discrimination, bullying, harassment, intimidation and other forms of violence. Student safety is paramount and can only be realized through ongoing focus on fostering safe, caring, and inclusive school communities and ensuring that schools have appropriate prevention and intervention strategies in place.

Authority

• School Act (PDF) - Preamble, Sections 2, 6(1), 73 (1b), 75(1), 76(2)(3), 85(1)(1.1)(2)(3a), 90, 91, 92, 169(3), and 177.
• Provincial Standards for Codes of Conduct (PDF)
  E-87.1 October 23, 2007 Authority: School Act, sections 85(1.1), 168 (2) (s.1)
• Statement of Education Policy Order (PDF) (OIC 1280/89) Mandate for the school system.
• School Regulation (PDF)
  Sections 4 (b) and (c), 5 (7)(g), 6 (1)
• Appeals Regulation (PDF)

Also:
The Constitution Act (1982)
(a) The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
(b) The Rights of Aboriginal Peoples
The Multiculturalism Act (RSBC 1996)
The Human Rights Code (RSBC 1996, c 210)
The Employment Equity Act (1995)
The Official Languages Act (1985)

Policy in full

British Columbia boards of education and schools have prevention, intervention, and response strategies in place to support safe, caring, and inclusive school communities. Boards are committed to developing positive and inclusive school cultures and fostering optimal environments for learning. A key part of this work includes fostering school connectedness and developing protocols for preventing violence, intervening in instances of inappropriate or worrisome behaviours, and providing support to school communities during critical incidents.

Members of these school communities share a commitment to maintaining culturally-appropriate and trauma-informed safe and caring schools. They are striving to:

• develop positive school cultures and focus on prevention
• use school-wide efforts to build community, fostering respect, inclusion, fairness, and equity
• foster trauma-sensitive schools and apply a trauma-informed lens to student behaviour
• set, communicate, and consistently reinforce clear expectations of conduct
• teach, model, and encourage positive social behaviours that contribute to the school community, solve problems in peaceful ways, value diversity, and defend human rights
• in partnership with the wider community, assume responsibility for resolving critical safety concerns
• develop multi-disciplinary (multi-agency) community protocols for threat assessment
• work together to better understand issues such as bullying, racism, discrimination, and other worrisome behaviours and respond effectively and appropriately
• respond consistently to incidents in a fair and reasoned manner, using interventions that repair harm, strengthen relationships, and restore a sense of belonging
• maintain and strengthen district and school policies and procedures, including all hazards emergency preparedness, to ensure the safety and well-being of all students and staff
• ensure that all board members and staff are familiar with and have access to current legislation, policies, and procedures as related to safety, student well-being, and information sharing
• engage in continuous learning and professional development to foster safe school communities and address emerging safety concerns
• monitor and evaluate school culture for evidence of continuous improvement
• recognize and celebrate achievements, while acknowledging areas that need improvement

Boards of education should use the following to address efforts to achieve safe, caring and inclusive schools:

• District Safe School Coordinators and teams
• Codes of conduct
• Online student reporting tool
• Community threat assessment protocols

These are described in the “procedures related to policy” section, below.

Procedures related to policy

District Safe School Coordinators and Teams

All boards of education should have a District Safe School Coordinator who is responsible for district-wide safety initiatives, including monitoring the online reporting tool, liaising with school administrators regarding student reports, building the capacity of school personnel to prevent and respond to safety concerns, and liaising with the Ministry of Education and Child Care.

All board members and staff should be familiar with and have access to current legislation, policies, and procedures as related to safety, student well-being, and information sharing. Each board should have a team in place that supports district-wide safety initiatives. The composition of the district team may vary in terms of how boards organize internally to proactively support students and address safety concerns. The district team should include the following:

• at least one senior district official – superintendent, assistant superintendent, director of instruction or district principal
• other district staff responsible for providing services and supports to students

Codes of Conduct

Boards of education must establish codes of conduct in accordance with the Provincial Standards for Codes of Conduct Order for the schools within their districts. Boards must ensure that a reference to each of the prohibited grounds of discrimination set out in section 7 (Discriminatory publication) and section 8 (Discrimination in accommodation, service and facility) of the Human Rights Code (B.C.), including sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, be included in their codes of conduct.

The Provincial Standards for Codes of Conduct Order, Developing and Reviewing Codes of Conduct Companion Guide and Safe, Caring and Orderly Schools Guide outline:

• the steps required for developing school codes of conduct
• the core content that must be included in school codes of conduct

See “resources” section below for links to these resources.

Online Reporting Tool

District Safe School Coordinators and their teams should monitor and respond to student reports of safety concerns, violence, or other worrisome behaviours made through the confidential online reporting tool.

Community Threat Assessment Protocols

Boards of education should have community threat assessment protocols in place with community partners to assess and respond to potentially worrisome behaviours and threats of violence.

Community threat assessment protocols should be developed in collaboration with First Nations governments, as appropriate, as well as child and youth serving community agencies that represent:

• education (school district employees and local independent schools)
• law enforcement
• child and youth mental health
• child protection
• probation
• youth crown counsel
• psychiatry
• health (e.g., hospital emergency units, physicians)
• other child and youth serving agencies or teams (e.g., Integrated Child and Youth Teams)

Resources

• Safe, Caring and Orderly Schools: A Guide (PDF)
• Des écoles sûres où règnent la bienveillance et la discipline (PDF)
• Provincial Standards for Codes of Conduct Order (PDF)
• Developing and Reviewing Codes of Conduct: A Companion to the Provincial Standards for Codes of Conduct Ministerial Order And Safe, Caring and Orderly Schools: A Guide
• Guide d’élaboration et de révision des codes de conduite : Document d’accompagnement (PDF)
• Social Responsibility Competency Profiles
• Student Appeals

erase Resources

• Expect Respect and a Safe Education (erase)
• Anonymous reporting tool for students | Report It Erase