New report outlines findings and recommendations aimed at improved student safety

After months of interviews and research former Chief Justice of the Prince Edward Island Court of Appeal David Jenkins has delivered his report on student safety to the Minister of Education and Early Years.

Student Safety in Island Schools: Handling of Complaints and Incidents of Staff Sexual Misconduct outlines the findings of Jenkins’ investigation and proposes recommendations for how the system can be modified to improve student safety.

“I am grateful to former Chief Justice Jenkins for his detailed report, and I thank the many individuals who provided input into how incidents of sexual misconduct were – and are – handled by the Department of Education and Early Years and the two school authorities. We are in the process of completing a thorough review of the report and we will carefully consider all of Justice Jenkins’ recommendations and findings.”

— Minister Robin Croucher

Minister Croucher commissioned the report in early May following several serious incidents related to student safety. The goal was for Jenkins to identify vulnerabilities in existing safeguards, recommend improvements, and propose new measures to better protect children in Island schools.

Jenkins engaged with a wide range of stakeholders including the province’s two education authorities, families, education staff, education partners, and other interested parties.

“Neither the Department nor the school authorities waited for the report’s completion before making immediate improvements to policies and procedures to help protect student safety in the interim,” added Minister Croucher. “We will compare those changes to the recommendations in the report to better understand where further improvements will be made.”

Some of those changes include:

• Stronger background checks
• Comprehensive staff training
• Improved reporting protocols
• Strengthened partnerships with law enforcement, child protection services and the Child Advocate
• The creation of a new sexual misconduct policy
• A new system for tracking incidents and reviewing data

Media contact:
Andrew Sprague
Department of Education and Early Years
asgsprague@gov.pe.ca