"Live Safe! Work Smart!" Says Canada to Grade Schoolers
The Ontario Labour Ministry's "Live Safe! Work Smart!" initiative, a set of classroom-ready, curriculum-based health and safety resources designed to help teachers deliver appropriate and important life and job safety lessons to their students, is being introduced this month into the province's elementary schools, said Labour Minister Steve Peters. Already in use and widely praised in Ontario's high schools, the program is now being extended to kindergarteners through eighth graders, he said.
"We are building a culture of safety awareness and prevention in young people before they get to the workplace," Peters said. "No student is too young to start learning essential safety skills that will stay with them for life."
Minister of Education Kathleen Wynne said, "This student safety program is another example of how our government is partnering with the community to improve our publicly funded education system. We want more students to reach their full potential through workplace experiences. That's why learning about health and safety at an early age is more important than ever before."
A recent Institute for Work & Health study found that 53 percent of 12- to 14-year-old Ontario students have some paid employment. Eight percent of this group reported being injured and required medical attention. For more information on the Live Safe! Work Smart! program, visit www.livesafeworksmart.net.