Safe Arrivals Regulation

1.1 All elementary schools should have a written Safe Arrival practice that is conducted in conjunction with 
daily school attendance procedures. The purpose of the Safe Arrival practice is to account for any pupil’s unexplained failure to arrive at school through reasonable efforts to make timely contact with parents, guardians or caregivers.

1.2 The principal is responsible for a Safe Arrival practice that is developed or reviewed and implemented 
with advice from the school council, parents, volunteers and other community members.

1.3 The development and implementation of a Safe Arrival practice is not intended to alter the law as it exists with respect to any duty of care or standard of care of parents, guardians, caregivers, volunteers and school community councils.

1.4 The Board’s liability insurance protects both staff and volunteers who are working within the scope of their duties for the Durham District School Board. This coverage responds to law suits that are brought against staff or volunteers who are supervising school programs.

Guidelines on the Design of Safe Arrival Practice

Safe Arrival practice should be designed to reflect the characteristics listed below in 2.0 Delivery and 3.0 
Information and Communication.

2.1 The practice should be developed in a manner that complements other school and community safety 
programs and initiatives.

2.2 The Safe Arrival Practice should be assessed on a yearly basis by the Safe and Accepting Schools Team.

2.3 The Safe Arrival Practice should align with the Safe Welcome Program (refer to Appendix A).

2.4 The roles and responsibilities of parents, pupils, the school, the school council, volunteers and others should be clearly identified and documented, and broadly communicated to all concerned.

2.5 Minimum Responsibilities of parents/guardians

1. Parents and guardians are responsible for their children’s safety. Safe Arrival practices are a mechanism that parents and schools can use to account for any pupil’s unexplained failure to arrive at school.
2. Parents, guardians and caregivers are responsible for communicating planned pupil absences or lateness to the school on a timely basis. Their reports should be reconciled with information obtained through classroom attendance-taking procedures to identify any unexplained absences that require timely follow-up contacts.
3. Parents, guardians, and caregivers are responsible for providing the school with complete and current emergency information to enable the school to make any necessary follow-up contacts (including telephone number updates which are specific to a particular day or pattern of days).

2.6 Safe Arrival practices should take into account normal events, recurring circumstances and unusual events and conditions. For example, practices could be modified on days when students are likely to arrive late due to inclement weather or bus cancellations. 

2.7 Safe Arrival practices should take into account that alternate methods of communication may be required to contact the absent pupil’s home (including a language other than English or special needs services such as Bell Relay Service). 

2.8 Safe Arrival practices should specify the steps that are to be taken when a follow-up contact cannot reasonably be made.

2.9 Individuals involved in implementing the Safe Arrival practice should receive appropriate training and supervision.

2.10 Safe Arrival practices should be reviewed on an annual basis to confirm their effectivenes.

3.1 Information about the school’s Safe Arrival practice, and about the roles and responsibilities of all interested parties, should be communicated clearly and effectively by the principal to school staff, parents, guardians, caregivers, pupils, school councils, volunteers and others in the community who have an interest in the matter.

3.2 There should be a reliable method for parents, guardians and caregivers to communicate planned pupil 
absences or lateness to the school on a timely basis, particularly outside school hours.

3.3 A reliable system of documenting key information should be developed and maintained. Subject to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, key information could include those listed below.

1. A log of calls from parents or others who report absences or lateness
2. Names and current telephone numbers, in order of priority, of parents, guardians, caregivers or others to be notified in case of an unexplained pupil absence
3. A log of actions taken by school staff (and volunteers) in accordance with the provisions of the Safe Arrival practice should be recorded on a daily basis.