Ministry of Labour

McGuinty Government Expands Student Health And Safety Program

Live Safe! Work Smart! Now Includes Youngest Pupils

    TORONTO, Sept. 6 — Health and safety learning takes on a more
youthful aspect this fall as the Live Safe! Work Smart! workplace health and
safety program for students moves into Ontario's elementary schools, Labour
Minister Steve Peters announced today.
    "We are building a culture of safety awareness and prevention in young
people before they get to the workplace," said Labour Minister Steve Peters.
"No student is too young to start learning essential safety skills that will
stay with them for life."
    Already in use in Ontario's secondary schools, Live Safe! Work Smart! is
a comprehensive set of classroom-ready, curriculum-based health and safety
resources that support teachers to deliver appropriate and important life and
job safety lessons to their students. Widely praised by high school teachers,
the program begins to extend this month into kindergarten and grades 1 to 8,
offering a seamless health and safety education throughout students' school
lives.
    "This student safety program is another example of how our government is
partnering with the community to improve our publicly funded education
system," said Kathleen Wynne, Minister of Education. "We want more students to
reach their full potential through workplace experiences. That's why learning
about health and safety at an early age is more important than ever before."
    A recent Institute for Work & Health study found that 53% of 12-14 year
old Ontario students have some paid employment. Eight per cent of this group
reported being injured and required medical attention.
    

    The program is one of numerous Ontario government workplace health and
safety initiatives designed specifically for youth. Others include:

 — A series of tip sheets for employers, supervisors, young workers and
        parents that is available at: www.labour.gov.on.ca.

 — The Minister's Action Group on Vulnerable Workers Under Age 25, made
        up of young people, labour market experts, specialists and others
        working to identify issues and offer solutions affecting young
        vulnerable workers.

 — A revised Employment Standards Act poster updated to include a
        reference directing young workers to the new Young Worker portal on
        the ministry's website that was inspired by students involved in the
        CBC's Making the Grade Project.

 — WorkSmartOntario, the ministry's user-friendly website for young and
        new workers: www.worksmartontario.gov.on.ca.


    For more information on the Live Safe! Work Smart! program, visit
    www.livesafeworksmart.net.

    Disponible en français

                             www.labour.gov.on.ca


    Backgrounder
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        MCGUINTY GOVERNMENT EXPANDS STUDENT HEALTH AND SAFETY PROGRAM
    

Contact Info

    The new Live Safe! Work Smart! health and safety resource for Ontario
elementary school teachers is available to teachers starting now.
    The resource was developed by the Ministry of Labour in consultation with
Ministry of Education elementary school specialists and with support from the
Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. It provides lessons and activities for
pupils in Kindergarten to Grade 8 that emphasize the fundamentals of health
and safety at home, school, work, while volunteering, and at play.

    Background

    The Ministry of Labour's goal is to eliminate young worker injury,
illness and death by creating safer workplaces, informing young workers and
developing strategies and partnerships with private and public sector
organizations to improve health and safety performance.
    Live Safe! Work Smart! lessons take an inter-disciplinary approach;
students learn health and safety concepts while developing a diverse range of
skills in various subject areas.
    Eighty per cent of the resource is new material written by the Ministry
of Labour's expert staff. Approximately 15 per cent is redesigned from the
Ministry's existing Live Safe! Work Smart! material or used with permission
from other jurisdictions. Five per cent was contributed by the WSIB.
    The elementary resource is the newest addition to the Live Safe! Work
Smart! series that brings health and safety education to students in secondary
school, co-operative education programs, and those with alternative learning
needs. Elementary safety education will prepare students for the more advanced
safety concepts introduced in the secondary curriculum and in the Live Safe!
Work Smart! secondary resources.
    The Ministry of Labour has been in partnership with the Ministry of
Education to provide free health and safety resources for teachers under the
Live Safe! Work Smart! banner since 1999, when health and safety was
integrated into the secondary school curriculum.

    

    Disponible en français

                             www.labour.gov.on.ca