Supporting children and youth in care in the K-12 education system

Last updated on May 17, 2024

Children and youth in care may have needs that affect their ability to learn resulting from stressful events in their lives, including separation from family members and other trauma. Decisions on educational supports and services should be made with the needs and interests of the student at the center, in consultation with parents/guardians, the student where appropriate, and other members of the school-based team.


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There are a number of ways you can help meet the needs of students in care:

Data reports and guidelines

Working together, we can improve the educational outcomes and wellbeing of all children and youth in care.

Review our data and collaborative approaches throughout the system to provide wrap around services for children and youth in care.


Supports to consider

Many evidence-based practices are proven to improve educational outcomes and well-being of students in care such as programs and initiatives to increase school attendance, connectedness and sense of belonging; tutoring and mentoring interventions to improve reading, writing and numeracy; extracurricular activities and Indigenous teaching and supports. 

The Joint Planning Guidelines (PDF) contain tip sheets that can help you with designing specific strategies suitable for supporting children and youth that are in your classrooms or schools.  

The Erase contains a wealth of information and resources on promoting student safety and wellbeing in schools and on-line. It also provides the information tailored for districts staff and Safe School Coordinators, including the link to available erase training. It is important for schools to be inclusive and safe spaces for students of all sexual orientations and gender identities (SOGI). Erase provides resources on integrating SOGI into school district policies and codes of conduct and classroom teaching for educators: SOGI 1 2 3.   


Resources to support trauma informed practice

Many children and youth in care experience stressful events and trauma of being separated from their families and communities. Compassionate learning is understanding what effects trauma has on learning and using strategies to support these students.

Providing staff resources and training on trauma informed practice and mental wellness is important for improving supports for children and youth in care. Based on the Compassionate Learning Communities Framework (PDF) the Ministry of Education and Child Care developed a series of free online Trauma Informed Practice Workshops. The Ministry of Children and Family Development has developed a Healing Families, Helping Systems guide that can help you implement trauma informed practice in your district.

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