Roles and Responsibilities for Ensuring School Health and Safety

Following are some of the roles and responsibilities of the various partners in learning in regard to ensuring health and safety in school environments.

Alberta Education

• identifies health and safety outcomes and activities within the program of studies

School authorities

• facilitate the implementation of safety policies
  
  
• provide and administer adequate funding for the provision of a healthy and safe environment
  
  
• ensure that the requirements of various agencies, such as OHS, fire codes, and building codes and standards, are carried out in schools and other work sites under their authority
  
  
• provide appropriate materials and equipment to maintain adequate standards of health and safety
  
  
• establish procedures to monitor safety policies and direct investigations, as required

Superintendents

• formulate and implement school board policies
  
  
• communicate school board policies, especially the minimum standards, to the staff, students, parents, and public
  
  
• establish a system to monitor the effectiveness of health and safety policies and practices in schools
  
  
• must ensure that certificated teachers are provided with adequate training, scheduled time, and other resources to enable them to perform the necessary inspections, orientations, monitoring, assessment, and evaluation for the effective delivery of the program

School administrators

• provide for educational programs and resources that assist in the development of good health and safety practices and attitudes
  
  
• ensure that the CTS classroom or specialized facility is inspected annually to ensure a safe and caring environment that is appropriate for educational activities
  
  
• ensure that teachers provide safety instruction, as required, for the CTS courses they teach
  
  
• ensure that each CTS classroom or specialized facility provides adequate space for the number of students enrolled
  
  
• report injury incidents to the school board and the Workers’ Compensation Board, as required

CTS instructional staff

• maintain appropriate health and safety training; e.g., WHMIS, first aid, transportation of dangerous goods
  
  
• complete an annual audit and inspection of the learning environment
  
  
• enforce clearly defined policies, practices, and procedures for safety
  
  
• monitor to ensure that health and safety policies, practices, and procedures are being followed
  
  
• identify substandard acts and conditions, and determine effective control measures to modify student behaviour and facility conditions or procedures
  
  
• evaluate safety education efforts, monitor student behaviour, and initiate corrective action, as required
  
  
• ensure students are instructed in the identification of potential hazards, health and safety requirements, and proper operation and/or use of machines, tools, and equipment in the CTS learning environment
  
  
• provide appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and maintain all PPE in good condition

General instructional staff members

• assume responsibility for protecting the personal health and safety of the students in their care
  
  
• model safe behaviour in teaching practices and procedures
  
  
• accept, as a professional obligation, the responsibility for providing and emphasizing health and safety education in the learning environment
  
  
• implement health and safety education programs in accordance with school board policies and the regulations and standards of other legislative and regulating bodies
  
  
• evaluate health and safety education efforts
  
  
• monitor student behaviour and, if students are in imminent danger to themselves or others, take immediate and appropriate steps to initiate corrective action, as required
  
  
• identify unsafe environmental conditions and correct and/or report them in writing

Students

• are knowledgeable in both environmental health and safety factors and healthy and safe behavioural practices
  
  
• comply with the health and safety plan
  
  
• demonstrate that they are capable in the safe set-up and use of equipment and materials before they are permitted to use them
  
  
• obtain permission from the program teacher before they may use equipment, tools, and/or hazardous materials

Parents or legal guardians

• inform the school about relevant student medical problems
• inform the school if they wish their child to be excluded from particular course activities with potential hazards

5 of 6