New measures continue to improve safety in Island schools

Safety at Island schools remains a top priority as government continues to act on recommendations made by former Chief Justice of the Prince Edward Island Court of Appeal David Jenkins.

In his report titled Student Safety in Island Schools: Handling of Complaints and Incidents of Staff Sexual Misconduct (the Jenkins Report), the former Chief Justice made more than 60 recommendations for the Department of Education and Early Years, the Public Schools Branch (PSB), La Commission scolaire de langue française (CSLF), and other government departments. The report, commissioned in May 2025 after two serious student safety incidents, identified vulnerabilities in existing safeguards and recommended improvements and measures to better protect children in Island schools.

“The department and the education authorities have done tremendous work in their response to the Jenkins report, and I commend them for their efforts to improve safety for students and staff. There is still work to be done, but I am pleased with the progress thus far and I look forward to seeing even more recommendations implemented in the near future.” 

- Minister of Education and Early Years Robin Croucher

Of the 62 recommendations in the report 50 have been acted on including the implementation of the following measures:

  • A new stand-alone sexual misconduct policy, which has been approved by the PSB and CSLF
  • An enhanced incident reporting system that can better identify trends and track incidents
  • Mandatory annual training and refresher training for staff on recognizing and preventing child sexual abuse
  • Enhanced criminal record and vulnerable sector checks
  • Better coordination between Child Protection Services, law enforcement, the Department of Education and Early Years, and the Child & Youth Advocate to close information gaps
  • Internal procedures to ensure incident reports reach the right department and are acted on without delay
  • Annual offense declarations for all staff, including immediate disclosure of new offenses
  • Training on Duty to Report and the legal requirement to report incidents to law enforcement and or Child Protective Services immediately

Work continues to address another 11 recommendations including:

  • Development of a new code of conduct for Island schools that will set out expectations for staff, students, parents and guardians, and volunteers 
  • Alignment of the Safe & Caring Learning Environment policy with the new sexual misconduct policy
  • Changes to legislation to align the Education Act, The Child and Family Services Act, and the new sexual misconduct policy.

To view the full report, visit Student Safety in Island Schools                                                         

 

Media contact:
Andrew Sprague
Department of Education and Early Years
[email protected]

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