Introduction

The purpose of this document is to describe a process that might be used to develop a school or school division physical education safety policy and to present sample safety guidelines for educators’ consideration.

Each school division has the sole discretion to determine its policy respecting physical education safety including the extent to which it uses some or all of the standards and guidelines in this document. While considerable effort and care have been taken in preparing these standards and guidelines, they can not cover all circumstances. The authors, publishers and distributors give no assurance that the guidelines and standards are comprehensive or that a person who follows them will not be held liable for resulting injury.

Why a Physical Education Safety Policy?

A physical education safety policy is an important component of a board of education’s risk management process. An outline of the risk management process and a description of how the physical education safety policy ties in with that process appears in the box below.

As well as establishing procedures to reduce the potential for injury, the existence of a policy signals to the public, to school staff, and to students that physical education safety is a priority with the board of education. The process of developing the physical education safety policy and regularly reviewing it is a valuable educational activity. It gets people thinking and talking about safety and helps create a safety mindset in the school and the community. Children’s safety will be enhanced when parents, students, teachers and community members all make safety a priority and emphasize through their actions and words the importance of thinking about safety before participating in any physical activity.

Involving the Community in Policy Development

Stakeholder involvement is important for several reasons:

• Many heads are better than one. When many people are involved in policy development, the final product will probably be better than if the policy was developed by one person or a small group.
• When people are involved in the development of a policy, they usually feel a sense of ownership over it and are more likely to promote and observe it.
• Involving stakeholders in development of a physical education safety policy is a way of educating students, educators and community about the importance of safety. It helps build a safety mindset. During development of the policy, parents and community will typically focus on questions like "What activities should our children be involved in? What are the potential risks? How can we minimize risks?"

• Identify the need and develop a rationale for the policy.
• Identify strategies to keep the board of education informed of progress and regularly update the board.
• Consult with other boards of education that have developed similar policies. Their experiences may be informative.
• Identify stakeholder groups. Board members, students, teachers, in-school administrators and parents are obviously stakeholders. Other stakeholders might include community sports, safety and recreation organizations, and community volunteers who help with the physical education program.
• Get input from stakeholder groups. Input strategies often include meetings and discussion groups, and requests for written suggestions.
• Write the first draft of the policy.
• Ask stakeholder groups to review the first draft of the policy and to provide feedback and suggestions for improvement.
• Write the second draft of the policy. In some situations it may be appropriate to get stakeholder input about the second draft.
• Finalize the policy.

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This section has been adapted from: One Incident is Too Many: Policy Guidelines for Safe Schools in Saskatchewan. (1994). Saskatchewan School Trustees Association, Regina, SK. (http://www.ssta.sk.ca/research/sz/94-05.htm)

Contents of a Physical Education Safety Policy

The components that typically appear in a physical education safety policy are described below. They include:

• statement of belief or philosophy
• references to the legislation
• a discussion of the concept of standard of care
• a list of physical education safety guiding principles
• a description of appropriate student activities
• a discussion of how the guiding safety principles apply to various situations
• an outline of roles and responsibilities
• guidelines for responding to injuries and accidents
• appendices

When you are writing your policy you may wish to include some or all of these components. They are described in more detail below.

Statement of Belief or Philosophy

This component of the policy gives a rationale for the policy and tells why the policy is needed. It might say that: Physical activity contributes to students’ physical, academic and social well-being and thus is an important part of the educational program. The board of education is committed to ensuring a safe environment for all students and staff.

Statement of Belief or Philosophy The statement of belief or philosophy in a physical education safety policy gives a rationale for the policy and tells why the policy is needed.

• While no physical education program can be made entirely risk-free, the board’s focus is on ensuring that the benefits to students of a particular activity outweigh the potential for injury.

References to the Legislation

Many board of education policies contain references to the legislation. For example, Section 85, Clause b) of The Education Act, 1995 says:

References to the Legislation References to the legislation provide a legal foundation for the physical education safety policy.

85. … a board of education shall:

b) exercise general supervision and control over the schools in the division and make such bylaws with respect to school management as may be considered necessary for effective and efficient operation of the schools;

A physical education safety policy can be considered a bylaw "necessary for the effective and efficient operation of the school". Thus, development and implementation of such a policy is within the board’s mandate.

Standard of Care

Boards of education and teachers are expected to exercise a reasonable standard of care for their students. The prevailing standard of care the courts apply to physical education activities is that exercised by a careful parent of a large family.

Standard of Care The prevailing standard of care the courts apply to physical education activities is that exercised by a careful parent of a large family.

A physical education policy could include a statement acknowledging the board of education’s responsibility to provide care for students that is consistent with this standard.

This statement is important because just as careful parents cannot protect their children from every danger in the world, neither can a board of education or a teacher protect students from every possible physical education injury. In physical education, as in all other activities of daily life, there is a degree of hazard.

Physical Education Safety Guiding Principles

A physical education safety policy typically contains broad general principles that apply to the majority of activities and sports. Examples of guiding principles that might be part of a policy are listed below. These guiding principles are grouped into five categories: facility safety equipment safety instruction supervision clothing and footwear

Physical Education Safety Guiding Principles: Physical education safety policies often contain broad principles that apply to most activities and sports. Guiding principles fall into five categories: facility safety equipment safety instruction supervision clothing and footwear

Because the range of activities that might be included in a physical education program is very broad, some boards of education choose to supplement the guiding principles with sport-specific safety guidelines. See Appendix A for samples of sport-specific guidelines.

Facility Safety

• Regularly inspect facilities for damage or hazards. Fix all problems as soon as they are identified. (See Appendices B and C for gymnasium and outside facilities safety reports.)
• Ensure that the perimeter of the gym is free of stored equipment and furniture, except for a reasonable number of balance benches and mats.
• When a gym or activity room is of a non-standard size, modify the rules of play as needed for maximum safety. (See Appendix D for suggestions about how rules of play can be modified when instruction takes place in an activity room rather than a gym.)
• When a gym or activity room has immovable obstacles (e.g., doors or radiators under basketball baskets, protruding drinking fountains) modify the rules of play as needed.
• Ensure that indoor and outdoor playing surfaces are clean, free of all obstacles and provide good traction.
• Bring holes and severely uneven surfaces in outdoor playing surfaces to the attention of the principal and make students aware of them. If necessary, do a "walk through" of the playing area with students to point out rough areas in the outdoor playing surface.
• Designate a person (or persons) to regularly check facilities for safety using safety reports similar to those in Appendices B, C, and E.

Equipment Safety

• Wear helmets for all high-speed ice activities. Helmets reduce the potential for injury.
• Regularly check all playground and gymnasium equipment for defects or breakage. Fix all problems as soon as they are identified or remove defective equipment from play area. (See Appendix E for a gymnasium equipment safety report.)
• Ensure that all personal equipment (helmets, skates, skis, padding, etc.) fits properly and is appropriate for the skill level of the individual.
• Wear protective eyewear for racquet sports, basketball and downhill skiing.
• Encourage students to report all equipment problems to the appropriate individual.
• Keep an appropriately stocked first aid kit in the gym and all other areas of the school where there is potential for injury. (See Appendix F for more information about first aid kits.)

Instruction

• Teach skills for specific activities in appropriate progression. Refer to Saskatchewan Education’s curriculum guides for detailed information about skills progressions.
• Base activities on skills that have been taught.
• Never require a student to perform a skill beyond his or her capabilities. When a student displays hesitation verbally or non-verbally, the teacher should discuss the reason(s) for doubt with the student. If the teacher believes that a potential hesitancy concerning the skill could put the student at risk, the student should be directed toward a more basic skill.
• Modify the rules for specific activities to suit the age, strength, experience and abilities of students. When students are physically challenged, rules, equipment and playing area may require major modification.
• Allow a warm-up and cool-down period for all activities.
• Teach proper stretching techniques and ensure that stretching precedes strenuous physical activity.
• Do not use walls and stages in gyms and activity rooms for turning points or finish lines. Designate a line or pylon in advance of the wall as the finishing line or turning point.
• Teach students how to prevent, recognize and treat sunburn, frostbite and hypothermia.

Supervision

• Establish routines, rules of acceptable behaviour and duties of students at the beginning of the year and reinforce them throughout the year. Teachers should sanction students for unsafe play or unacceptable behaviour whenever it occurs.
• Make students aware of the rules of specific activities or games before play begins and enforce these rules during play.
• Make students aware that the use of equipment or the use of the gymnasium is prohibited without the appropriate type of supervision.
• Ensure that senior students are never the sole supervisors of an activity.
• Keep a current medical information form on file for each student. Keep these forms in a location that is easily accessible (e.g., gym equipment room rather than school office). (See Appendix G for a sample medical information form.)
• Become familiar with students’ medical history and physical limitations. Of specific concern are conditions such as heart disorders, asthma, epilepsy, diabetes and severe allergies.
• Teach students appropriate behaviour when an accident occurs - stand back, do not move the injured person, get a responsible adult immediately.
• Develop an accident response plan to deal with accidents of all types (including physical education accidents) and have regular "dry runs" of the action plan to ensure that everyone knows what to do.
• Ensure that an appropriate number of teachers and other staff have first aid training.
• Inform students of the location of the fire alarms, the fire exits and alternate routes from the gymnasium and hold fire drills regularly.
• Establish, early in the year, a "stop" signal (e.g., two short whistle blasts) that is used to tell students that they must stop play immediately, freeze where they are and pay attention.
• Provide an appropriate level of supervision. Three levels of supervision are possible.
  • Constant visual supervision" means that the teacher is physically present, watching the activity in question.
  • On-site supervision" means that the teacher is present but not necessarily constantly viewing one specific activity.
  • In the area supervision" means that the teacher could be in the gymnasium while another activity is taking place in an area adjacent to the gymnasium.

    For example, during a track and field session, some students are high jumping, some are practising relay passing on the track while a third group is distance running around the school. Each of these activities would be supervised differently.

    • High Jump - Constant visual supervision - A teacher is at the high jump area and is observing the activity constantly.
    • Relay Passing - On-site supervision - Students are practising on the track and can be seen by the teacher who is with the high jumpers.
    • Distance Running - In the area supervision - Students are running around the school grounds and may be out of sight of the teacher at times.
• Provide supervision that is appropriate to the risk level of the activity, the participants’ skill level, and the participants’ age and maturity.
• Establish guidelines for third-party instructors such as ski and scuba instructors. Many physical education safety policies state that third-party instructors must be qualified and that a teacher must be present and in charge at all times.

Clothing and Footwear

• Wear sun protection for summer and winter outdoor activities. Sun protection should be appropriate for the sport and the weather and can include sunscreen, protective clothing, hats, and sunglasses.
• Wear layered clothing for winter outdoor activities.
• Have a hat and gloves available (on body or in pocket or fanny pack) for winter outdoor activities.
• Remove all jewelry before participating in physical education activities. Jewelry includes ear studs, nose rings and other body jewelry, watches and wedding rings as well as hanging jewelry.
• Do not chew gum when participating in physical activities.
• Wear clothing and footwear that is appropriate for the sport, the weather, and the age and skill level of the individual. For gymnasium activities and summer outdoor activities shorts or sweatpants, T-shirts and running shoes are a minimum requirement.
• Wear long hair in a bun when there is a danger that it might become entangled in equipment. (This applies to both males and females.)
• Tie or pin back long hair when it could obscure vision. (This applies to both males and females.)

Appropriate Student Activities

Saskatchewan’s physical education curricula identify the aim and goals of the physical education program as follows:

Aim

The aim of physical education is lifelong participation.

Skill development and participation will foster the development of positive attitudes toward a lifetime commitment to physical activity.

Goals

Goals of the physical education program are:

• Concept-based skill development
• Development of positive attitudes

  These attitudes will focus on:

  • physical activity
  • fitness
  • self-concept
  • relationships with others
  • social behaviour
  • personal and group safety
• A lifestyle oriented to overall well-being

Some boards of education enter into a dialogue with students, teachers and parents to identify the activities that are appropriate for the school physical education program and those that are best left to community recreational groups. The focus in this dialogue might be on identifying the kinds of activities that parents and community want students to be involved in and the potential risks of various types of activities. The results of this dialogue can be reflected in the physical education safety policy.

For example, if a board of education decides that activities with a high potential for injury such as ice hockey, baseball, javelin and outdoor rock climbing will not be part of the school’s physical education program, this decision should be written into the policy.

Applying the Guiding Principles in Various Situations

In a typical school, students participate in physical activities in several types of situations including: gym and playground instructional physical education, K-9 gym and playground credit physical education, 10-12 off-site instructional activities, such as cross-country running and skiing overnight instructional activities such as camping trips special events such as play day and sports day

Applying the Guiding Principles In a physical education safety policy, it may be appropriate to describe how the guiding principles apply in a variety of situations such as instructional physical education in the gym or on the playground, off-site and overnight instructional activities such as skiing, and special events such as sports days.

In a physical education safety policy, it may be appropriate to describe how the guiding safety principles apply to each of these situations and to identify additional requirements. For example:

• During noon and recess, students and school staff are expected to observe the general physical education safety guidelines, however, students may wear jewelry and are not required to wear the physical education uniform of T-shirt, shorts or sweatpants, and running shoes.
• During off-site instruction activities, the school’s field trip policy applies as well as the physical education safety policy.
• During special events such as play day and sports day, students and school staff are expected to observe the general physical education safety guidelines.
• Parents/guardians must be notified when students will be off school property for physical activities.
• A parent consent form must be completed when activities involve an overnight stay away from home (e.g., camping, downhill skiing).

Roles and Responsibilities

The physical education safety policy might begin by acknowledging that physical education safety is the responsibility of the entire community, not just students and teachers. Children and adolescents come to school with attitudes about safety that they have learned at home and in the community. It is easier to implement safe practices at school such as wearing helmets and eye protection when parents reinforce the school’s message. Students are more willing to follow safety rules and guidelines for sports when they see the adults and older students around them following the same safety rules and talking about safe practices in sport.

Roles and Responsibilities Physical education safety is the responsibility of the entire community. Young people come to school with attitudes about safety that they have learned at home and in the community. Every safety conscious action taken by parents and community members sends a message to young people and makes it easier to implement physical education safety guidelines at school.

Every safety conscious action taken by parents and community members sends a message to children and adolescents. Every time a parent or community member picks up a rock on the playground, praises a professional athlete for safe play, or wears protective equipment themselves, they are emphasizing the importance of safety.

In addition to stressing that safety is everyone’s responsibility, the roles and responsibilities section of the physical education safety policy should state that the general safety principles apply to everyone, not just students. Board members, teachers, in-school administrators, other staff (such as the custodian and secretary), and community volunteers who help with the physical education program are all expected to observe them. For example, the prohibition on jewelry applies to teachers and coaches as well as to students. Teachers and coaches of activities such as cycling, skating and skiing are expected to wear the same protective equipment as students.

This is important because it provides positive role models for students and helps ensure the safety of adults involved in physical activities.

After making a general statement about roles and responsibilities, the policy might identify roles and responsibilities of specific groups of people. For example:

Board of Education

• provide leadership in the development of the policy
• develop the collaborative relationships with other community agencies that are central to effective policy development and implementation
• provide the resources needed to develop the policy and implement it in the schools
• provide leadership in creating a physical education safety mindset in the schools and the larger community

School Principal

• provide leadership in implementing the physical education safety policy in the school
• provide leadership in creating a physical education safety mindset in the school and the larger community

Teachers

• provide leadership in implementing the physical education safety policy in their classes
• provide leadership in creating a physical education safety mindset in their classes and in the school as a whole
• assume responsibility for educating themselves about safe physical education practices

Students

• assume a level of responsibility for their personal safety that is appropriate for their age
• follow school expectations concerning behaviour and cooperation
• educate their parents/guardians and the larger community about safe physical education practices

Parents/Guardians

• support their children and the school staff in implementing safe physical education practices

Community Volunteers

• emphasize the importance of physical education safety to the community as whole.

Guidelines for Responding to Accidents and Injuries

It is a good idea for all schools to have an accident response plan that describes in detail the actions to be taken when an injury or accident occurs. (See Appendix H for a sample accident response plan.) Having such a plan and practising it regularly (in a simulated accident situation) will reduce confusion if there is an injury or accident and help ensure that the injured person receives appropriate help as quickly as possible.

Responding to Accidents and Injuries It is a good idea for all schools to have an accident response plan that describes the actions to be taken when an injury or accident occurs. Having such a plan and practising it regularly will reduce confusion if there is an injury or accident and help ensure that the injured person gets help quickly.

In a physical education safety policy it is appropriate to state that physical education injuries and accidents are to be handled in accordance with the school’s accident response plan. It is also appropriate to state expectations about practising the accident response plan. For example, teachers might be expected to practise it with their classes twice a year.

Most schools require that an accident report form be completed every time there is an accident or injury. (See Appendix I for a sample accident report form.) It is appropriate to state this expectation in the physical education safety policy.

Appendices

Boards of education often append supplementary material to their policies. The types of appendices that might be attached to a physical education safety policy include:

• sports-specific safety guidelines
• gymnasium facilities: safety report
• outside facilities: safety report
• activity room: safety guidelines
• gymnasium equipment: safety report
• medical information form
• accident response plan
• accident/injury report form

Samples of these guidelines, facilities reports, plans and forms appear in Appendices A to I of this document.

Implementing the Physical Education Safety Policy

Ideas for implementation include:

• Use the policy as a springboard for educational activities with students, teachers and community about physical education safety. Education activities might include workshops, seminars, demonstrations of safe physical education practices, actual participation in physical education activities, or practising responses to accidents or injuries.
• Regularly (every year or two) review and update the policy. As well as ensuring that the policy reflects current needs, regular review that involves students, teachers, parents and community will keep safety at the forefront of everyone’s minds.
• Make the physical education safety policy the focus of a staff meeting and a board of education meeting once a year. Encourage teachers and board members to discuss how they, as individuals and as a group, might better observe the safety principles in the policy.
• Make the physical education safety policy the focus of a school assembly once or twice a year. Review important safety principles with students and encourage them to discuss the difference between safe and unsafe actions in various situations.

Appendix A: Sample Sport-Specific Safety Guidelines