Pearl Lorentzen
For South Peace News
High Prairie School Division is adding more training for education assistancts (EAs), because they were involved in over half of the Occupational Health and Safety incidents for staff at HPSD schools last school year.
HPSD board of trustees learned this from Katie Doucette, HPSD Safety Coordinator, at the August 20 board meeting.
In the 2023-24 school year, she said, HPSD had 78 reported OHS incidents for staff.
These were broken down into 32 physical contact with humans (intentional), nine slips, trips and falls, six physical contact with humans (accidental), 15 human, animal or insect bites, two muscle strain or back injury, one other, 12 contact with objects, and one harmful substance.
Of the 78 instances, 46 (59 per cent) were reported by EAs.
To address this safety concern, Doucette is focusing on training EAs.
Within two years, the plan is for all of them to have finished a course called ‘supporting individuals through value attachment.’
Describing this course, Doucette’s slide presentation said, “This relationship-based model effectively utilizes collaboration, goal direction, self-management, and healthy empowerment to strengthen relationship and create safety with students with challenging behaviours and complex needs.”
HPSD has “a whole host of training,” added Doucette, including incorporating trauma-informed practice, neurodiversity, diabetes, and specific health needs.
Of the 78 OHS instances, only four were Workers Compensation Board (WCB) claims, said Doucette.
This was down from seven the year before. Of the four WCB claims, one person took time off work and three required medical aid.
One was a slip, trip, or fall, and the other three were contact with humans.
The number of student incidents were also down, said Doucette. These were 712 in 2023-24 down from 781 in 2022-23.
Of the 712, 272 were slips, trips, or falls, 256 were contact with an object, 90 collision with a human, 35 other, 24 assault, fight, or violence, 12 human, animal, or insect bite, one vehicle accident, 15 harmful substance, and five muscle strain or back injury.
“Our schools are really good at reporting everything,” said Doucette. “So they are reporting every little scratch, scrape, bruise. Everything gets reported, so that we can really analyse the data.”
Out of the 712 instances, only 61 sought medical attention, she added.
The harmful substances include sand in the eyes, she added.
Slave Lake Trustee Corey Hughes asked about the 35 other instances.
Doucette said that the person reporting wasn’t sure of the category, but all 35 could fit within one of the other categories.
Kinuso Trustee Lori Shelp asked which of the three bite categories – humans, animals, or insects – was the school division getting more of?
“Definitely, human bites,” said Doucette.
A former teacher, Shelp also asked about bats, because they tend to like schools and students like to tease them.
“We have zero bat bites,” said Doucette. For insects, occasionally there will be a hornets nest.
Hughes also asked Doucette how the division balances employee and student safety.
“A safe and well employee base leads to a safer environment for students,” she added.