Before using the activity cards, consult with your provincial, territorial, regional and/or organization’s safety guidelines. For the Ontario Standards, consult the Ontario Physical Activity Safety Standards in Education. The Ontario Physical Activity Safety Standards in Education represent the minimum standards for risk management practice for school boards. They focus the attention of educators, intramural supervisors and coaches on safe practices in order to minimize the element of risk. The safety information included in this section and on the activity cards is intended for use in conjunction with your own safety standards.
Children and youth must also begin to take responsibility from a very young age for their own safety and the safety of others around them in various settings. Educators are to communicate to participants ways in which they can contribute to their own safety and the safety of others, e.g., by following procedures, using equipment as instructed, reporting damaged equipment or facility problems to instructor, wearing appropriate attire and footwear, and using critical thinking skills to assess risk and take appropriate precautions.
Before leading an activity with students, ensure the following:
- Have a fully stocked First Aid Kit available.
- Be aware of medical conditions and/or physical or cognitive disabilities that may affect participants’ involvement.
- Follow your organization’s protocol for identifying a suspected concussion and an immediate removal of the participant from the activity.
- When activities occur outdoors, environmental factors should be considered, such as temperature, lightning, high winds, etc.
- Visually inspect the equipment and activity area to identify and remove hazards.
- Instruct participants to be aware of their surroundings, including other participants (e.g., playing area boundary lines and the location of others).
- Participants’ clothing, religious articles of faith, footwear, and jewelry should not pose a hazard during physical activity.
- Participants should have correctly/comfortably fitting gear needed for the outdoor education activity (e.g., closed-toed shoes that provide traction, rain gear, hats for sun protection).
- Participants are to be instructed to keep a safe distance away from other participants where the movement of a piece of equipment (e.g., swinging) presents a risk of injury.
Supervision Information
- All activities must be supervised.
- A key element to minimizing risks and promoting student safety is the physical presence of the instructor overseeing for management and direction both the activity and the students.
- The more effectively the students and activities are supervised the safer they become.
