Safe and Caring Schools

The Sun West School Division provides school environments that are safe, caring and everyone feels included. Sun West believes that all students, parents, guardians, caregivers. staff, volunteers and visitors have to be right to be safe, and to feel safe, in our schools. Everyone is responsible for keeping our schools safe. To this end, the School Division has established procedures for student, staff and visitor conduct, for student welfare and the promotion of positive, healthy environments and for the management of crisis situations.

Safe and Caring Schools Plan

Each Sun West school has clearly defined and well-communicated sets of values and expectations. Our schools use a variety of educational and proactive programs to teach values and appropriate behaviors and to help students learn the importance of making positive choices. Much of this is embedded in the Saskatchewan core curricula, such as Grades One through Nine Health. As well, Sun West follow Ministry of Education guidelines in regard to providing environments that are free from bullying and that respect human rights including gender and sexual diversity and First Nations and Métis ways of life.

Sun West schools also offer programming that is more specific to the needs of the students in their specific schools. Please contact staff in each school for information on this program. For more information, please ask the staff at your child’s school.

Working Together for Safe Schools

Sun West has well-developed partnerships in our communities. We work closely with local RCMP detachments, community crisis response teams and Fire and Protective Services to assist us in the prevention of, and response to, any critical events. We strive to keep parents and the community informed by the use of brochures such as our Sun West Safe Schools Brochure.

The Schools will respond to student behaviors that may pose a potential risk for violence to students, staff, and members of the community. The goal of early intervention by the Schools and Community Partners will be to reduce and manage school violence. We have developed a Violence and Threat Risk Protocol that supports collaborative planning among Community Partners to reduce violence and reflects safe, caring and restorative approaches. It fosters timely sharing of information about students who pose a risk for violence towards themselves or others. The protocol promotes supportive and preventive plans being put in place.

Positive Mental Health Initiative

In Saskatchewan, the Comprehensive School Community Health approach addresses health and safety issues of children and youth. This approach engages schools, families, and community partners to improve student achievement and well-being. Our Sun West Schools have been actively working on the “Positive Mental Health Initiative” along with partners including the Pan-Canadian Joint Consortium for School Health and Teenmentalhealth.org.