Ministry Initiatives

Aboriginal Initiatives

Ontario's new Aboriginal Education Strategy was launched in January 2007 with the release of the First Nation, Métis and Inuit Education Policy Framework . Its purpose is to help close the educational gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students and to increase knowledge and awareness about Aboriginal histories, cultures and perspectives among all students.

The Aboriginal Education Strategy includes initiatives designed for schools and school boards. It also contains initiatives to encourage and sustain Aboriginal student success, such as:

Daily Physical Activity

On October 6, 2005, the Minister of Education, Gerard Kennedy, announced that every elementary student will participate in a minimum of 20 minutes of sustained moderate to vigourous physical activity each day during instructional time as a part of the government's Healthy School Initiative, making publicly funded schools a healthier place to learn.

The Ministry of Education has provided school boards with a variety of resources to support daily physical activity. The teacher resource guides to support the implementation of daily physical activity in elementary schools are available on the Ministry of Education's website. School Effectiveness Framework

Safe Schools

In December, 2004 the Government requested that the Safe School Action Team review the Safe Schools Act and related policies and programs. The Team completed a Discussion Guide entitled "Safer Schools --- Safer Communities" in November 2005 and subsequently consulted with teachers, parents, students, support staff, and school administrators. In June of 2006, the Safe School Action Team released its report, entitled Safe School Policy and Practice: An Agenda for Action. The Report fashioned its recommendations based on four guiding principles:

The Report identified eight areas of priority: prevention, progressive discipline, community and parental involvement, the application of the Safe Schools Act, programs for suspended/expelled students, education and training, communication and the creation of a provincial safe schools framework.

The most significant changes effected by the legislation, the accompanying regulations and P.P.M.'s are: