Ontario Supporting Student Success and Wellness

Province Seeking Input on Well-Being in Schools

November 3, 2016

Ontario is seeking input on student well-being to inform a provincewide plan for kindergarten to Grade 12 that supports learning and ensures that students can flourish and thrive.

Well-being is a positive sense of self, spirit and belonging that is felt when cognitive, emotional, social and physical needs are being met. The consultations will help develop a common understanding of what promoting well-being means in schools, better understand the challenges and opportunities, and determine meaningful indicators of well-being.

The province is consulting with a diverse range of partners in education, health care, youth justice, social services, business, arts and culture and the non-profit sector, as well as francophone partners and communities to incorporate their unique identities, cultural backgrounds and perspectives. The ministry is also working with Indigenous partners to co-develop supports and indicators of well-being for Indigenous students that can help inform the larger well-being strategy for all students.

People can read the engagement paper entitled Well-Being in Our Schools, Strength in Our Society, and submit their views by:

Providing feedback via the Engagement Portal
Organizing their own discussions on student well-being by using the Engagement Kit

Supporting the well-being of students is part of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives.

Quick Facts

Children who have a positive sense of self are better able to meet the challenges of a fast-paced and increasingly interconnected world.
Promoting well-being is one of four goals of Achieving Excellence, Ontario’s renewed vision for education. The other three are achieving excellence, ensuring equity and enhancing public confidence.
Throughout the curriculum, including the newly revised Health and Physical Education Curriculum, students are provided with opportunities to learn about well-being.
Since 2011, School Mental Health ASSIST is helping Ontario’s school boards build professional capacity to promote mental health for all students.
Since 2013, the government has invested more than $540 million in safe schools and equity and inclusive education to support the work of school boards and school communities. In 2016-17, an additional $65 million will be invested.
Launched in 2009, Ontario’s award-winning Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy aims to help the education community identify and address discriminatory biases and systemic barriers to support the achievement and well-being of all students.

Additional Resources

Quotes

“Our goal is for children and students to become caring, confident and capable citizens in their communities. That is why we must focus on their well-being as a critical component to long-term student success in school and beyond. As we begin this engagement, I encourage everyone to join in the conversation and share what promoting well-being for students means to you.”

Mitzie Hunter
Minister of Education

Media Contacts

Heather Irwin
Communications Branch
heather.irwin@ontario.ca
416-325-2454

Patrick Searle
Minister’s Office
Patrick.Searle@ontario.ca

NT5