The Government of Yukon is sharing a progress update on work completed since February 2022 as part of the Safer Schools Action Plan. This action plan was initiated in response to the Hidden Valley Elementary School Independent Review Report and will enhance safety of students across Yukon schools. The action plan was renamed at the request of the Hidden Valley school administration. The new name reflects that the policies and changes in this plan will improve safety in all Yukon schools.
Significant work has been undertaken to improve government-wide coordination in response to serious incidents, address gaps in internal Department of Education policies and enhance safety and oversight mechanisms across all departments and with the RCMP.
A detailed plan for training all school-based staff on prevention, detection, and reporting of serious incidents involving harm to students has been developed, marking a critical step forward. Training for school principals will start this summer and be completed by the start of the upcoming school year. School-based staff will have access to training resources, along with Yukon-specific materials, that are in the process of being finalized.
Other key advancements since the release of the action plan in February 2022 include:
- establishing a Hidden Valley School Parent Advisory Committee with meetings held and planned to provide updates and seek on going work;
- advancing a draft Policy on Prevention and Reporting of Serious School Incidents; and
- work to establish a Serious Incident Group within the public service to ensure a coordinated and appropriate level of response to serious incidents involving government employees.
Close collaboration between the Departments of Education, Justice, Health and Social Services, the Public Service Commission, Women and Gender Equity Directorate, the Executive Council Office and the RCMP will continue to guide systemic change as the remainder of the commitments are fulfilled.
The outcomes of this work are extremely important. We are pleased to share the progress to date and know there is still much work to do to build back trust and to repair and restore confidence in our ability to respond to serious incidents that may arise in the Yukon’s school system. We have taken and will continue to take meaningful steps that will have a positive impact not just within the Yukon’s school communities, but across all aspects of the territory’s public service. We are committed to sharing additional updates in the coming months.
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The action plan contains 23 commitments linked to the seven recommendations in the January 2022 independent report.
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The committee overseeing the action plan response includes Deputy Ministers from the departments of Education, Justice, Health and Social Services, the Public Service Commission, Women and Gender Equity Directorate, and the Executive Council Office.
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The Action Plan was renamed at the request of the Hidden Valley school administration. The new name reflects that the policies and changes in this plan will improve safety in all Yukon schools.
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Timelines to implement the various action items range from three months to more than a year for more complex action commitments.
Jacob Wilson
Cabinet Communications
867-332-7627
jacob.wilson@yukon.ca
Alexis Miller
Communications, Executive Council Office
867-456-6507
alexis.miller@yukon.ca
Sophie Best
Communications, Education
867-332-6225
sophie.best@yukon.ca