Positive School Climate Regulation

1.1 The Durham District School Board shall support and maintain a positive school climate in their schools that includes the following characteristics: 

• • Students, staff members, and parents feel safe, included, and accepted
  • Students, staff members, and parents are safe, included, and accepted
  • All members of the school community demonstrate respect, fairness, and kindness in their interactions, building healthy relationships that are free from discrimination and harassment
  • Positive, productive relationships are developed and maintained
  • Students are encouraged and given support to be positive leaders and role models in their school community
  • Open and ongoing dialogue takes place between the principal, staff members, parents, and students. All partners are actively engaged
  • The learning environment, instructional materials, and teaching and assessment strategies reflect the diversity of all learners
  • Every student is inspired and given support to succeed in an environment of high expectations
  • Staff use Bias-Aware Progressive Discipline to support students and help them learn from their mistakes
  • Bullying prevention and intervention awareness-raising strategies for students and staff should be linked to the School’s Well-Being Goal and reinforced through curriculum-linked programs

2.1 To support and maintain a positive school climate the school will establish a Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan (BPIP) (refer to Procedure: Positive School Climate, Appendix F). 

2.2 Safe and Accepting Schools Teams will be provided with the supports and resources required to implement an effective Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan and Well-Being Goal at their school. 

3.1 Each school will establish a Safe and Accepting Schools Team that will be responsible for fostering a safe, inclusive and accepting school climate.  Each team should include at least one student and must include at least one parent, one teacher, one non-teaching staff member, an Equity representative for the school, one community partner and the principal/vice-principal.  The chair of this team must be a staff member. 

3.2 The Safe and Accepting Schools Team will use data from sources including, but not limited to, the School Climate/Well-Being Surveys and the Violence Risk Assessment Tool to develop and implement a Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan.  The Safe and Accepting Schools Team will use this data to develop and implement research-informed initiatives to assist in creating and maintaining a positive school climate using a Whole School Approach.   

Each school will incorporate Safe Schools initiatives within their Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan and communicate the plan to students, parents, staff and the community.   

Each school will also complete a Violence Risk Assessment (refer to Procedure: Positive School Climate, Appendix A).  This will be completed at the beginning of each school year, and any time that safety conditions at the school change e.g., additional portables or the addition of Inclusive Student Services classroom. 

The data from the Violence Risk Assessment will be used to create and/or revise the Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan.