Safer Schools, Stronger Communities.
United For Safety
Creating Secure and Supportive Schools Together
Learning and working conditions in Ontario’s public schools have grown untenable. Violence in schools is a serious and growing issue facing students and education staff.
Our communities, our schools, are lacking the resources and tools they need to address the issue of violence in schools.
All students, education workers, and teachers have the right to safe, respectful learning and working environments. The Safer Schools Now campaign aims to tackle the critical and growing issue of violence against teachers and education workers in Ontario schools.
66 %
of education workers have experienced an act of physical force at school.
Examining Alarming Trends
of OSSTF/FEESO education workers reported there are more incidents of violence in schools since they started working in the system
of education workers have experienced an act of physical force within the school
of education workers believe the severity has increased
Research conducted by Strategic Communciations Inc. (Stratcom), surveying all OSSTF/FEESO members.
Want to help?
Tell the Ford government to implement an Emergency Safe Schools plan NOW!
- Funding to hire additional qualified staff for our schools, including mental health professionals, educational assistants, child and youth workers, and other education workers;
- Funding for comprehensive training for all workers and supervisors; including training on rights and responsibilities, conflict resolution and de-escalation, and managing difficult behaviours;
- Creating a sector specific regulation for the education sector under the Occupational Health and Safety Act that takes into account the unique nature of the workplace, such as the regulations that already exist for the health care sector and industrial establishments;
- Requiring that school board Workplace Violence Policies use a single, common definition of violence based on the Occupational Health and Safety Act that also includes physical harm that does not require medical attention, as well as psychological harm;
- Creating a permanent provincial working group to review and adapt current policies regarding workplace violence in the education sector on an ongoing basis;
- Changing the Occupational Health and Safety Act to require that multi-workplace Joint Health and Safety Committees are established at the school board level, and site-specific committees are encouraged in order to discuss and address site-specific health and safety concerns;
- Including in the sector specific regulations a requirement that school board Workplace Violence Prevention Plans and Programs must be developed in consultation with the Joint Health and Safety Committee;
- Creating a single, province-wide online reporting system to ensure uniformity and allow for the collection of data to better understand school violence and guide policy responses; and
- Requiring the Ministry of Labour to produce a fulsome report summarizing the data and findings of any compliance initiative or operation regarding workplace violence in the education sector, such as the 2023 Workplace Violence Compliance Initiative.
Contact Your MPP
Tell your MPP that you want safer schools in Ontario with the click of a button! Use our tool below to send a letter we drafted or tweak it and make it your own.
We can make schools safer by letting our leaders know that we want them to implement four straightforward solutions to curb violence and restore safety, including tools that prevent violence from occurring in the first place and addressing violence in the event it occurs.
Share Your Story
Record a video or write about your experience with violence in Ontario’s school system. We will not share your video publicly without contacting you in advance.
Space
Space
Personal Narratives
Stories You've Shared
Advocating for Action
OSSTF/FEESO’s Plan to Address Safety And Supports In Our Schools
Emergency Safe School Funding
Advocate for the Ontario government to allocate Planning Provision funding to create a new Emergency Safe School Fund. This fund will help bring in more qualified staff, such as professional student services personnel (PSSPs) and educational assistants.
Stay and Learn Initiative
Promote a dedicated tuition waiver program to attract students into post-secondary education programs for occupations experiencing shortages, similar to initiatives in healthcare and long-term care.
Demand Transparency
Call for the Ford government to release data on serious student incident reports, risk assessments, and the Ministry of Labour’s workplace violence inspection blitz conducted in early 2023.
Safe School Action Table
Urge the government to develop a Safe School Action Plan, including the creation of a Community Stakeholder Action Table that involves OSSTF/FEESO and other education unions.
About US
Who We Are
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) is a union representing nearly 60,000 members across Ontario. Our membership is composed of public high school teachers, occasional teachers, educational assistants, early childhood educators, university support staff, and other education professionals. We are dedicated to protecting and enhancing public education in Ontario, advocating for safe and equitable working conditions for our members, and fostering an inclusive and supportive educational environment for all students. Through research, advocacy, and community engagement, OSSTF/FEESO strives to ensure that every educational worker is respected and every student is given the opportunity to succeed.
