This webpage contains information about the 吃瓜黑料网 2025 School Climate Survey. All Grade 4 to 12 families received an email about the Health and Peer Relations Study and Parent opt-out form on May 1, 2025.
The 吃瓜黑料网 is continuously working to foster safe and inviting learning environments for students. One way to learn more is to ask students questions about their experiences at school.
Between May 12 and May 30, 2025, Grade 4 to 12 students will participate in a School Climate Survey. A School Climate Survey is required by the Ministry of Education. For this survey, we are using a new Ontario measure for school climate from Dr. Tracy Vaillancourt at the University of Ottawa. It is called the Health and Peer Relations Study. This study is a multi-school Board partnership with the University of Ottawa and School Mental Health Ontario.
As part of this study, school boards are utilizing a survey drafted by the University of Ottawa with the flexibility of customization. The survey the 吃瓜黑料网 is administering is informed by subject matter experts at University of Ottawa including top child and adolescent psychologists and psychiatrists in the province, along with top educational scholars and school psychologists. For more information, see . The survey also includes some Student Census (2023) questions that were extensively consulted on and piloted with students.
If you do not want your child to participate, there is a link to an opt-out form in the information letter we emailed you on May 1, 2025. Please submit this form before Thursday, May 8 so schools have this information before the survey begins on Monday, May 12. Families can also call the school office to opt-out of the survey.
School Climate Survey – Health and Peer Relations Study
In this study, Grade 4 to 12 students will be asked questions about their feelings about school, safety, bullying and discrimination, health, and behaviour (e.g., screen time use, physical activity). They will also be asked some questions such as their age, race, religion and gender, but they will not provide their name so their answers will remain anonymous.
Before students are given the survey, teachers will read instructions about the survey out loud, which includes information about their rights as participants, such as their right to skip questions and their right to not participate. It will take about 35 minutes for the youngest students to complete the survey (during school hours).
Access the Parent Sample Survey here:
Use access code: parentEN
For more information about the 吃瓜黑料网’s School Climate Survey, the Health and Peer Relations Study, please see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and links to resources below.
FAQs:
What will happen during the study?
In this study, students in Grades 4 to 12 will be asked questions about:
- Feelings about school / belonging / relationships
- Bullying and school safety, school rules
- Mental health and wellbeing / support / help seeking
- Physical health / nutrition / physical activity /screen time / vaping
- Discrimination / inclusive schools
- Demographics (based on the 吃瓜黑料网's Student Census, 2023)
We estimate that it will take about 35 minutes for the youngest students to complete the survey (during school hours). Not all questions are asked for all grades. Students in Grades 4 and 5 are asked fewer questions. Your child will also be asked some questions such as their age and cultural background, but they will not provide their name so their answers will remain anonymous.
Before your child is given the survey, their teacher will read instructions about the survey out loud, which includes information about their rights as participants, such as their right to skip questions and their right to not participate. Mental health resources will also be shared with your child before and after the survey.
Who will know what my child said on the survey?
Your child’s answers will be confidential—nobody will know who they are and what they said. The information that your child provides will be combined with that of other students’ and will be stored securely on the 吃瓜黑料网's network and at the University of Ottawa. The findings will be used to produce reports for 吃瓜黑料网 schools that will support school improvement planning. System data will also be used to support Board improvement planning and Ministry reporting such as:
- PPM 169 - Student Mental Health
- Bill 13 - Accepting Schools Act
- PPM 145 - Positive Student Behavior
- Student Achievement Plan (SAP) /Multi-Year Strategic Plan (MYSP) Indicators
The findings will also be used for scientific publications (such as in journals and in conference presentations) to help other schools in Canada and around the world learn about when and where students feel safe at school and best practice strategies for helping to improve students’ relationships with other students and staff, and their health. In these publications, no student or school will ever be identified—we are only interested in how all students, together, answered the questions in the survey.
Because your child will complete the survey in a classroom with their peers, we cannot guarantee that other students will not see some of your child’s answers. To reduce this risk, we will provide instructions about privacy.
Will the study be ongoing?
We would like to ask students the same questions over the next few years and to combine their responses over time without using their name. To do this, we have created a special code that is unique to each student that uses probabilities (math) to combine surveys without names. This approach guarantees that your child’s responses remain anonymous. We plan to collect data again in the Spring of 2026 and 2027. At each time point, we will ask you again if you would like your child to opt out of the study.
Does my child have to answer the questions?
Although no risks are anticipated for completing the survey, if your child feels uncomfortable answering any of the questions, they can either skip the question or can stop entirely without giving a reason. They will then be asked to do some reading or a learning task until the class has finished the survey.
Where will my child’s data be kept?
All the information collected will be stored in Dr. Vaillancourt’s laboratory at the University of Ottawa which is protected by a state-of-the art security system and monitored by the University of Ottawa Protection Services. Data will be encrypted with strong password protection and securely stored on a protected laboratory computer that is located at the University of Ottawa with restricted access.
At the 吃瓜黑料网, survey data will sit inside the 吃瓜黑料网 internal drives. This is a secured segment of the network. It is not linked to any student information system (e.g., PowerSchool). It has several measures in place including dual authentication to prevent access. Only the Research and Development Department will have access to school specific information.
The 吃瓜黑料网 will ensure that 吃瓜黑料网 students’ privacy is protected from unauthorized access, use, disclosure and inadvertent destruction by adhering to established safeguards, 吃瓜黑料网 privacy obligations and records retention schedule.
The University of Ottawa team will not have access to school specific information.
The platform used to collect the data is called if you would like to explore their privacy parameters.
How do I opt my child(ren) out of the survey?
If you do not wish your child to participate, please use the link in the email we sent you to fill out the opt-out form or contact your child’s school by Thursday, May 8. Your child’s participation (yes or no) will have no impact on their activities, relationships, or learning opportunities. We fully respect your decision regarding your child’s participation. If you do not want your child to participate or if your child doesn’t want to participate, they will be given some school work to complete.
We encourage you to discuss the survey with your child. Again, please contact us if you or your child have any concerns.
Who approved this study?
This project has been reviewed and received ethics clearance through the University of Ottawa and the 吃瓜黑料网. If you have questions or would like further information about this study, please contact Dr. Tracy Vaillancourt (tracy.vaillancourt@uottawa.ca). If you have any concerns about your or your child’s treatment or rights as research participants, please contact the Protocol Officer for Ethics in Research at the University of Ottawa (ethics@uottawa.ca, 613-562-5387) or the the 吃瓜黑料网 Research and Development Department (research@tdsb.on.ca)
Who can I contact about the study?
If you have further questions about the study, please email research@tdsb.on.ca.