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.

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.

Promoting school and community safety 

Find policies for school boards to help keep students safe in school and in the community.

Bullying prevention and intervention

Find strategies designed to prevent and address incidents of bullying at school and to foster a positive learning environment.

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.

Suspensions and expulsions

Find policies for school boards and Ontario statistics on suspensions and expulsions

Safe and accepting schools policies

Full list of policies school boards must follow.