Students in Anglophone West School District have a new way to remain safe at school as an online, anonymous reporting tool has been launched.
PSSTWorld is an initiative that’s been growing over the past few years.
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Hundreds of schools across Canada have adopted the tool, providing access to over 145,000 students.
“It allows them to be able to report anything that they find to be concerning to them and get that into the hands of the people that need to know about it,” explained Sam Jingfors, director of services for Safer Schools Together.
Students can log onto the PSSTWorld website and through drop-down menus report their issue to the proper channel, all the while remaining anonymous and eliminating the stress students might face by speaking up.
“It could be bullying, cyberbullying, harassment, threats,” explained Judy Cole, communications director for the district. “Any type of safety concern can be reported.”
Anglophone West is the first school district in New Brunswick to use it.
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Cole indicated the district’s schools are known to be safe, welcoming places but in the interest of being proactive, they wanted to bring in this new measure.
“We’ve been working on policy development, staff training and student awareness around safety,” Cole said. “The launch of PSSTWorld is the next step in that process.”
PSSTWorld is only monitored during normal school hours, so students in emergency situations are still encouraged to call police directly for immediate assistance.
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