Implementing meaningful opportunities for students to be physically active can influence a student’s overall school experience, their physical literacy, and their overall health and well-being. Using effective planning strategies can help to ensure that each opportunity is safe, equitable, and inclusive.
We’re sharing our platform with the Ontario School Boards' Insurance Exchange (OSBIE) to support you in learning more about the School Board/Snow Resort Safety Guidelines for Out-of-School Trips for Winter Sports Education Programs.
The safety of students while participating in school winter sports education programs is the utmost consideration. Skiing and snowboarding, like any physical activity, has inherent risks. Awareness and understanding of these risks enable steps to mitigate them and make the activities safer.
With the foregoing in mind, OSBIE and the Ontario Snow Resorts Association (OSRA) created the School Board/Snow Resort Safety Guidelines for Out-of-School Trips for Winter Sports Education Programs. These guidelines apply to all OSBIE school board members and have been endorsed by the participating resort members of OSRA. School boards that elect to use resorts outside of Ontario or resorts that are not members of OSRA should follow these guidelines and outline the requirements to the resort personnel prior to booking.
Included in the package are an Informed Consent for participants under age 18 (Appendix 1b), and a Waiver for participants 18 and over (Appendix 1c). The documents contained in this guideline are available in English and French and include a multi-lingual cover page to stress the importance of the Informed Consents/Waiver (Appendix 1a). This cover page is to advise anyone who is not proficient in English or French to take the form to someone who can explain it.
First and foremost, follow your school board’s policy and procedures for excursions, including confirming whether it is an approved activity. If the activity is permitted, all staff involved in the planning of winter sports education programs should follow these Guidelines, which complement the Ontario Physical Activity Safety Standards in Education, published by Ophea.
For information regarding the Ontario Ski Resorts Association, including a list of provincial OSRA member resorts, follow this link: http://www.skiontario.ca/.
Education, common sense, proper planning, and appropriate supervision will result in an enjoyable and safe learning experience for students.
Planning and implementing safe physical activity programs can be complex and challenging. OPASSE provides up-to-date information to support the planning and implementing of safe practices. Taking the time to review the different sections of OPASSE and the content within each section can help you stay up to date and current in your safety practices.
If you have additional safety questions, you can:
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Contact your School Board’s Safety Contact; or
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Submit a question using Ask Ophea: School boards, school leaders and teachers may use this feature to ask safety questions or seek clarification related to the safety standards. Submit your question and a member of the Ophea safety team will provide a response.