New mandate requires sensitive training for Manitoba school staff
Manitoba’s Ministry of Education and Early Childhood Learning has issued directions to school districts throughout the province that their staff will now be required to complete a specialized training course.
The Respect in School program, facilitated by Respect Group, teaches personnel working in schools how to recognize and prevent bullying, abuse, harassment, and discrimination among their students.
“We want to make sure that staff have the resources to be able to deal with situations, and the more training, professional development, and education, the better,” says Wayne Ewasko, minister of Education and Early Childhood Learning. “I want to stress to individuals that schools are safe places to send their kids.”
The Brandon School Division, meanwhile, has been well ahead of the curve, according to Superintendent Mathew Gustafson. “It’s been a requirement of our employees to complete the Respect in School certification since August 2016. That’s for all of our permanent, term staff, teachers, support staff, casual, and substitute teachers.”
“Further building the capacity and giving them the strategies and skills to be able to identify when they may see harassment, bullying, or discrimination or abuse helps provide more protection for our students,” Gustafson adds, stressing that the material in the course is crucial for staff to know.
The approximately 30,000 school division staff members required to complete this course, which also includes bystander training and how to recognize signs of grooming, will need to do so between Sept. 1, 2022, and Feb. 28, 2023.
“We all have to make sure that we’re taking part and making sure that we’re out there trying to protect our youth as much as we can,” Ewasko adds.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.