Teachers: your duty to report a child in need
If you believe a child is being harmed, you must report it to child protection yourself.
In Alberta, the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act requires anyone who has reasonable grounds to believe a child is being abused or neglected to report it. That includes you, and the duty is yours personally: telling the school or Nibras does not replace it.
What to do
- If the child is in immediate danger, call 911.
- Otherwise call the Alberta Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-387-5437 (open 24 hours), or your local child protection agency outside Alberta.
- Then tell your program administrator and email [email protected] with the subject Safety concern.
What not to do
- Do not investigate, question the child in detail, or confront the adult involved.
- Do not promise the child to keep it secret. Tell them you will get help.
- Write down what you saw or heard, in the child's own words, with the date.
Keeping every lesson safe
- Talk to students through Nibras only. Never move a conversation with a student to a private phone, WhatsApp, or social media.
- Messages you send a student are copied to their parents. Write every message as if a parent will read it, because they will.
- For younger students, ask that a parent or guardian stays nearby during online classes. Never ask a student to keep anything from their parents.