Page 63 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9-12: Health and Physical Education, 2015 - revised

not highly competitive. Interschool programs offer students opportunities to participate in more organized and competitive activities. Other recreational activities and clubs also provide opportunities for students with common interests to participate in physical activities in non-competitive settings. In planning and organizing the health and physical education curriculum, schools should use community organizations, facilities, and programs as resources to provide students with additional experiences and opportunities for physical activity and healthy living.
HEALTH AND SAFETY IN HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Teachers must model safe practices at all times and communicate safety requirements to students in accordance with school board and Ministry of Education policies and Ministry of Labour regulations.
Teachers are responsible for ensuring the safety of students during classroom activities and also for encouraging and motivating students to assume responsibility for their own safety and the safety of others. Teachers should follow board safety guidelines to ensure that students have the knowledge and skills needed for safe participation in health and physical education activities. Safety guidelines should outline the practices to be followed for each activity, addressing questions related to equipment, clothing and footwear, facilities, special rules and instructions, and supervision. They should also reflect school board policies on how to conduct activities, and they should be reviewed on a regular basis. While all physical activity involves an element of risk, administrators and teachers have an obligation to provide a safe environment to minimize that risk. Safety awareness, based on up-to-date information, common sense observation, action, and foresight, is the key to safe programming.
Concern for safety should be an integral part of instructional planning and implementation. The primary responsibility for ensuring safer practices rests with the school board and
its employees. Wherever possible, potential risks must be identified and procedures developed to prevent or minimize incidents and injuries. In a safe learning environment, the teacher will:
• be aware of up-to-date safety information;
• plan activities with safety as a primary consideration;
• observe students to ensure safe practices are being followed;
• have a plan in case of emergency;
• show foresight;
• act quickly.
Teachers must establish and support a culture of safety-mindedness. They must think about safety before they ask students to participate in any activity. They must consider any potential dangers, assess those dangers, and implement control measures to protect the students from the risks. By implementing safer instructional practices, such as using logical teaching progressions and transitions and choosing age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate activities, teachers can reduce risk and guard against injury. Board policies related to concussion prevention and management (including processes for returning to learning and to physical activity) are particularly relevant in physical education settings.
SOME CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROGRAM PLANNING
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