TABLE OF CONTENTS

Rationale

Scope

Objectives/Key Principle

Definition of Terms

Policy Statement

Child Safeguarding Policy

Modular Distance Learning

Preparation
Distribution
Retrieval

Online Distance Learning

ICT and Social Media Child Safeguarding Guidelines
Students’ Code of Conduct Online
Employee role modeling in Social Media:
Moderated Social Media Group Guidelines

Face to Face
Health & Safety Protocol
School Codes of Conduct

Radio/Television based Learning

Content Shared
Code of Conduct

Child Protection Committee in the New Normal

Provision of Psychosocial Support Services for Parents, Students, Teachers and

Personnel

Effectivity
Rationale
1. Pursuant to the 1987 Constitution, the State shall defend the right of children to
assistance, including proper care and nutrition, and special protection from all forms
of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to their
development (Article XV, Section 3 [2]).

2. Upholding the right of the child to special protection and reiterating its policy of zero
tolerance for any act of abuse and violence against the child, the Department issued

3. Face to face learning in the new normal, radio/television based learning, online
interaction, use of ICT in learning, ensure protection of stakeholders, provide
mechanism to address these concerns, prevent the occurrence of abuse in different
learning modalities.

4. The issuance of this policy shall ensure that the Department of Education remain
responsive to its commitment to protect the safety of learner amidst the fast changing
landscape of children’s environment, which includes the online world.

Scope
This policy applies to all students and activities of the school undertaken within or outside
school premises including those guests, visitors of the school who may come in contact, online or
face to face, with any students in continuing education in the new normal. This policy shall ensure
that school personnel and learners learn in a safe environment whether online or offline.

Objectives
• Keep students safe from contracting the virus in school and at home as they continue to
learn through different modes of learning.
• Protect the rights of the students from any forms of abuse and discrimination at all times, at
any place.
• Provide teachers, students, parents and other stakeholders with guidelines in safeguarding
students and reporting incidents of abuse, bullying and other analogous acts.
• Provide an effective and easy reporting mechanism for anyone for any untoward incidents
experienced in school, at home and others.
• Provide psychosocial support services to teachers, parents and students to combat mental
health issues amidst the pandemic.
• Enforcement of effective hygiene and sanitation thru WINS project and health protocols thru
School Disaster & Risk Reduction Management Committee.
• Strengthen linkage with stakeholders and other agencies working for the protection and
welfare of children.

Definition of Terms

For these guidelines, the following terms are defined and understood as follows:

a. Child Protection refers to programs, services, procedures, and structures that are
intended to prevent and respond to abuse, neglect, exploitation, discrimination, and
violence

b. Child Safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and
protect them from harm.

Safeguarding includes:
● protecting children from abuse and maltreatment
● preventing harm to children’s health or development
 ● ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care
● taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best
outcomes.

Child protection is part of the safeguarding process. It focuses on

protecting individual children identified as suffering or likely to suffer
significant harm. This includes child protection procedures which detail how to
respond to concerns about a child.

c. Child Online Protection (COP) refers to creating a safe and empowering online
experience for children.
d. Cyberbullying refers to any bullying done through the use of technology or any
electronic means

e. Modular Distance Learning refers to learning delivery that is in the form of

individualized instruction where learners use self-learning modules (SLM) in print
or digital format.

f. Online Child Safeguarding is employing child safeguarding measures in the online

environment.

g. Online Distance Learning refers to a learning delivery modality where the teacher
facilitates learning and engages learners’ active participation using various
technologies connected to internet while they are geographically remote from each
other.

h. Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) – is the sexual abuse and
exploitation of children facilitated through technology and/or the internet.

i. Psychological First Aid is a technique designed to help children, adolescents,

adults and families in the immediate aftermath of post-traumatic events.

j. Psychosocial Support Services can include mental health counselling, education,

spiritual support and many other such services

k. Social media refers to forms of electronic communication through which users create
online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other
content (Merriam Webster online dictionary)

Policy Statement

The Department reiterates its zero tolerance policy for any act of child abuse,
exploitation, violence, discrimination, bullying, and other forms of abuse. Consistent with
this policy, this Safeguarding Guidelines in the New Normal is hereby promulgated to ensure
that the Department, in all governance levels, upholds these principles.
 SAFEGUARDING IN THE NEW NORMAL

I. Modular Distance Learning

• All students shall be provided with individual learning materials.

• Modules shall be handled and distributed by Alternative Delivery Mode Committee of the
school to Barangay Education Committee/officials who will then distribute the modules
to parents.
• No students shall be asked by any personnel from the school or barangay
to get or return his/her module at any time. Only parents/guardian are
allowed to get/return modules.
• Teachers who are tasked to distribute modules to students must have a
schedule for distribution, revision, and retrieval.
• Parent/Guardian who are tasked to distribute modules to students must
have a schedule for distribution, revision, and retrieval.
•

A. Home Visitation
The following learners may be visited by authorized school personnel for the
following reasons only;
• Learners who are struggling in academics
• Learners with behavioral and mental health concerns
• Students with disabilities and special needs
• Learners living in remote and far flung areas

B. Guidelines:
 Only authorized school personnel (e.g. adviser/ADM member/Guidance
Counselor) may visit the learner and must visit with company of another
teacher or school personnel, preferably Guidance Counselor/ Teacher and/or
any member of the child protection committee.
 Teachers who have been exposed or travelled to areas with positive
cases of coronavirus are not allowed to visit students and the school.
 Teachers who are at risk, such as pregnant, elderly, with
immunodeficiency, and with
 Visit to students shall be documented, signed by parent/guardian present
during the visit and submitted to School Head for documentation purposes.
Visits to students should be communicated to parents in advance.
 No one on one tutorial shall be conducted by any school personnel to any
students. Tutorial, if needed, shall be done in open spaces where
guardian/parent or other people can see.
  Should the students and parents feel uncomfortable of the visit and would
cause distress within the community and their home, home visitation should
not be done until they feel safe.

II. Online Child Safeguarding Protocols

A. ICT and Social Media Child Safeguarding Guidelines

This section provides safeguarding guidelines on the usage of social media as a

platform of communication with learners and as means of dissemination of information.

1) Employee to learner interaction through social media

i. To mutually protect learners and school personnel from any potential abuse,
school personnel are prohibited from directly communicating with learners through
phone call, SMS, e-mail, and social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter or similar
forms, except when the learner is already of legal age and no longer a student of the
teacher. If there is a need to communicate with learners in confidentiality, then this
should be done in person following the prescribed protocols under DepEd order no.
40, series of 2012, or via online communication employing the proper safeguards of
ensuring the presence of a member of the school CPC, preferably, the school
guidance counselor.

ii. Learners are expected to respect school personnel’s online privacy by

avoiding direct online communication unless this is a matter of personal safety.

iii. All announcements or information relating to school activities, class

suspension, and other public information concerning learners should be coursed
through the parents or guardians to ensure transparency.

iv. School personnel must observe professionalism and due diligence in their
dealings with learners. As such, they should not accept any social media friend
requests from their learners who are of minor age, except when the learner is a
relative.

v. For school personnel who are already friends with learners, it is advised
that they unfriend these learners or modify their social media privacy settings to
ensure that the learners have restricted access to the teacher profile.

vi. To maximize the use of ICT in communications, instead of using instant

messaging applications, moderated social media groups shall be utilized. (see
section on moderated social media groups)

vii. Sharing of learner’s images online – to further protect learners’ privacy,

school personnel are highly discouraged to share learners’ images online via their
personal social media accounts, unless consent is secured from the learners and
learner’s guardians. Even if consent is secured, school personnel shall ensure that
learners images are safe for posting, and are not posted publicly.

Students’ Code of Conduct Online

Students are expected to:

 1. Be kind and treat each other with respect regardless of physical appearance,
ethnic, regional, religious or cultural background, sexual orientation, gender
identity, ability and disability.
2. Not engage in cyberbullying and report any such incidences to any school
personnel if they become aware of it.
3. Not harass or verbally harm other students and personnel of the school, via the
use of cellphones or any social networks (which includes written or visual
material or behavior that is unwelcome, offensive or hurtful or expresses hostility
or threats against others, or ridicules, humiliates or intimidates them).
4. Be respectful in their online engagements.
5. Protect their and other people’s information online.
6. Only share verified information.
7. Report any behavior or experience
8. Not post undue or inappropriate acts, such as, but not limited to, depiction of
them drinking/ smoking, and wearing inappropriate outfit that may be taken out of
context.

Employee Role Modeling in Social Media:

Teachers and other personnel are viewed with respect by the learners, parents, and
community. As such, they must refrain from posting in their social media accounts the
following:
1. Posting or sharing of unverified information by checking credible sources and
official statements from official channels such as the Deped website or official
social media page.
2. The posting or sharing of inappropriate, immoral, or offensive pictures, videos, or
articles which may discriminate against any person, agency, religion, sect, race
or gender.
3. Any undue or inappropriate posts, such as, but not limited to, depiction of them
drinking/ smoking, and wearing inappropriate outfit that may be taken out of
context.
4. Posting of personal attacks, libelous criticisms, distorted or defamatory
information against a person or entity, lewd pictures, sex videos or scandals, and
other similar posts.
5. The use of vulgar or foul language.
6. Posting of confidential information obtained by reason for his/her public position.

Moderated Social Media Group Guidelines

The following guidelines must be observed when using Moderated Social Media
Groups for class announcements and submission of outputs:
1. Moderated social media groups (e.g. Facebook messenger, Facebook Groups)
should be used.
2. Advisers/Teachers shall only use approved online platform to be used for online
distance learning.
3. All moderated school social media groups shall have 2 school personnel
moderators in place – 1 (teacher/adviser) and 2 – the guidance counselor or
grade level chairperson or coordinator.
4. Under no circumstances shall the guidance counselor/guidance teacher/grade
level coordinator be removed from the class social media group.
5. The guidance counselor/guidance teacher/grade level coordinator shall also be
given “Admin” functions in the moderated social media group, but interaction shall
be limited only to observation tasks to ensure that abuse is not being committed
within the group, whether school personnel to learner, or learner to learner.
 6. Learners within the class may also be assigned as group moderators.
7. The moderated social media group should not hinder learner’s access to
information and class announcements and as such, the class adviser shall find
ways to relay information to learners who would not have access to such
channels/ technologies.
8. For students below 13 years of age, teachers shall employ either messenger
group chats or Facebook groups with the parents of the learners.

Child Protection Committee in the New Normal

1. Ensure CPCs continue to meet

a. Despite the difficulties, schools should facilitate regular meetings of the CPC in
order for the committee to talk about child protection concerns of learners in the new
normal.

b. Face-to-face meetings observing minimum health standards, or even virtual

meetings can be done in order to sustain the CPC as a school structure.

2. Fulfill the Prevention mandates of the CPC

a. One of the mandates of the CPC is to address the prevention of child protection
concerns of learners.

b. A concrete intervention for the CPC is to craft a school-based social media or

online child safeguarding policy.

c. Another prevention strategy is to ensure that child protection education is

mainstreamed in the school-based learning continuity plan.

3. Fulfill the Response mandates of the CPC

a. As a school-based structure, one important mandate of the CPC is to address
violations of the child protection policy. This is done via clearly laid out case management
systems and protocols on handling child abuse concerns in schools.

b. However, with the new normal, two factors make this difficult to fulfill for this
school year: most of the school personnel is working from home, and learners staying at
home. The questions that have to be answered regard how to make reporting to the CPC
accessible, and how to respond if the child protection concern happens at home.

Strategies to consider include:

1. Identifying adjustments on how to receive child protection reports from learners and other
stakeholders, even if learners are at home. The CPC can set up online reporting portals, or
integrate safety checks with learners in the conduct of lessons in the LCP, regardless of the
modality.

2. Work with the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC) to ensure the
presence of school representatives in the BCPC, so that via the BCPC, the CPC can
identify ways of reaching to guardians and learners to assess and address their safety
needs and concerns. As a community-based structure, the BCPC is mandated to address
child protection concerns, and it is the most accessible community based child protection
structure

Provision of Psychosocial Support Services for Parents and Students

 1. Guidance Counselor/ teacher should conduct regular safety checks with learners, not
only about their academic progress, but also on any safety/protection concerns they
might have. School should devise ways wherein students can communicate with you
their safety concerns in a confidential manner. These safety concerns reporting
channels should be agreed and setup by the school child protection committee.

2. Conduct of seminars/webinars on responsible parenthood and in employing positive

discipline, and the importance of its practice even when the learning is happening at
home. Mentor parents on the positive discipline approach.

3. Regular home visitation to students with disabilities, pre-existing mental health concerns
and distress due to death, illness, or separation of a loved one or fear of disease.

Effectivity