Our schools promote responsibility, respect, civility, and academic excellence in a safe learning and teaching environment. A positive school climate exists when all member of our school community feel safe, comfortable and accepted.
School Safety
The Durham Catholic District School Board is committed to providing safe learning environments for all students, staff, school visitors and community members. When student behaviours pose a potential threat to safety or serious harm to self or others, all schools in the Durham Catholic District School Board follow the Community Threat Assessment and Intervention Protocol.
(C-TAIP), which outlines how a school responds immediately to threatening behaviour. This protocol involves supports from various partners, including community agencies, hospitals and police services. Personal information shared throughout this process will always respect and balance each individual’s right to privacy while ensuring the safety of all. For more information, please contact your school principal.
At DCDSB, we strive to provide environments that ensure all students have a safe and caring school where their learning is maximized. From time to time, personal searches, as well as searches of lockers and electronics are necessary for safety reasons. A search must be related to and undertaken in accordance with the statutory duties and responsibilities of an administrator or teacher as defined by the Education Act (Sections 264 and 265) "to maintain proper order and discipline" and a high "duty of care" of students and property. A teacher, principal or vice-principal does not require a search warrant in order to conduct a student search.
For more information, please see the following guide:
Roles in School Safety
We all play an important role in keeping our schools safe and secure.
At DCDSB, we recognize the importance of positive relationships between staff and students as foundational to school safety.
- All staff members are required to participate in safety-related training and professional development, provided by the board and/or school. All staff are required to report any safety concerns as per DCDSB policies and procedures.
- Staff wear identification badges on school property and are asked to wear coloured safety vests while on duty outside or in the school yard.
- Central staff are required to sign in and out of schools.
At DCDSB, we believe parents, guardians and caregivers are essential partners in ensuring our schools are safe spaces for all. Below are some ways parents/guardians/caregivers can help:
- If you have any concerns, or feel your child needs support, please contact the school to discuss.
- Parents, guardians and caregivers should use the Safe Arrival program to report a student absence if their child will be absent, late to, or departing early, from school.
- Parents, guardians and caregivers should share any safety concerns immediately with the school. For non-urgent safety concerns, students or families are asked to use the Report It tool.
- For immediate safety concerns outside of school hours, please contact 9-1-1.
- To ensure students' safety, parents/guardians/caregivers should be aware of the times staff provide supervision, both before and after school, and ensure that student drop-off and pick-up times align with supervision times.
- Any students on a Durham Student Transportation Services (DSTS) bus should review the guides and policies provided by DSTS, and subscribe to the DSTS Parent Portal to receive updates on their bus routes.
- Review the Student Code of Conduct with your child.
- Students remaining at the school for lunch are expected to stay on school property and must have parental permission if they wish to leave school property.
The safety and security of our students and staff is a priority. As such, entry to our schools is limited, and is monitored by school staff.
- All visitors must report directly to the main office.
- With the approval of the school administrator, visitors will sign in at the school office and be provided a visitor badge.
- For elementary students: if a family member or friend is picking up your child, you must inform the teacher in person or in writing of this change, and let the person know that they will need to show photo identification to school staff.
- All volunteers must report directly to the main office.
- With the approval of the school administrator, volunteers will sign in at the school office and be provided a visitor badge.
- Volunteers must have an up to date criminal background check and comply with the board's volunteer policy.
Emergency Procedures and Emergency Response
The Durham Catholic District School Board is committed to working with its community partners to provide a safe response to emergency situations whether they occur at the local school or board level or in the community at large. Below is a quick guide to an emergency preparedness response plan.
- Each school has specific emergency procedures in place.
- Students and staff at each school practice emergency procedures for various scenarios that could arise in our school and community.
- Each school will have a minimum of four fire drill practices in a school year.
- Each school will practice a Lockdown drill and a Hold and Secure drill each school year.
Please also note:
- To ensure students' safety, parents should be aware of the time teachers provide supervision and ensure that students do not arrive prior to this time.
- Students remaining at the school for lunch are expected to stay on school property and must have parental permission if they wish to leave school property.
Human Trafficking
Below are resources and supports:
Online Safety
Below are resources to promote online safety for students and families:
Code of Conduct
Click here to view our Code of Conduct (PO610 and AP610-1)
Human Rights, Anti-Racism and Anti-Discrimination
Durham Catholic District School Board (DCDSB) is committed to upholding human rights and maintaining a culture of respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. For more information, please visit our Human Rights, Anti-Racism and Anti-Discrimination webpages.
Definitions
The following words are used to describe emergency procedures in our schools.
Lockdown - is the term used for the resulting school safety response when a major incident or threat of school violence within the school, or in relation to the school or surrounding community has occurred. Interior doors are locked. Exterior doors are locked if it is safe to do so (for example there is no presence of a threat or violence to the staff member responsible for locking the doors).
Hold and Secure - is the term used for the resulting school safety response when there is an ongoing threat to safety or emergency outside and not related to the school. Exterior doors are locked. All interior doors are to remain locked or unlocked in accordance with normal practice.
Shelter in Place - is the term used for the resulting school safety response when there is an environmental or weather related situation where it is necessary to keep all the occupants within the school to protect them from external harm. Exterior and interior doors remain locked in accordance with normal practice.