The Department of Education (DepEd) clarified that the School Safety Assessment Tool (SSAT) will not be used as a final determinant of whether or not a school will be allowed to participate in the progressive expansion of face-to-face classes.
“Our SSAT will not be the final determinant if a school will participate in our progressive expansion,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said.
Briones explained that the SSAT is “our way to prepare our schools for the eventual reopening and to inform them of the required indicators and standards that they need to meet to ensure the safety of our learners and school personnel.”
As of April 22, data from DepEd showed that there are 25, 786 schools participating in the implementation of limited face-to-face classes. Of this, 25, 122 are public and 664 are private schools.
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https://mb.com.ph/2022/04/25/over-25k-schools-participating-in-progressive-expansion-of-face-to-face-classes-deped/
As of April 18, DepEd said that 26,997 schools have been nominated by the regions to participate in the expansion of face-to-face classes.
Revised, updated SSAT
To help ensure the safe implementation of the progressive expansion of face-to-face classes, DepEd has revised the SSAT.
“We ensure that the health, safety, and well-being of our learners, teachers, and personnel remain as our utmost priority,” Briones said.
The updated SSAT, DepEd said, aims to mobilize and prepare the schools for the safe, effective, and efficient conduct of the progressive expansion of face-to-face learning.
“Our revised SSAT will help the Department mobilize the progressive expansion of our face-to-face classes in areas under Alert 1 and 2,” Briones explained.
DepEd said that the SSAT was updated based on the monitoring and evaluation results of the pilot implementation and in consideration of the schools’ present conditions relevant to safe reopening.
Focus areas
The revised SSAT, DepEd said, focuses on four main areas which include managing school operations; focusing on teaching and learning; well-being and protection; and school-community coordination.
Under the “Managing School Operations” area, DepEd said that schools need to receive support from community stakeholders, emphasizing the shared responsibility framework.
“They must conduct simulation activities among school personnel regarding managing the conduct of face-to-face classes, and the school must ensure that learners who will participate in the expansion must submit parent’s consent,” DepEd said.
For “Focusing on Teaching and Learning,” DepEd explained that the main indicator to guarantee the school's readiness is “securing a sufficient supply of learning resources” needed in the expansion and design of class programs that cater to both learners in face-to-face class arrangement and distance learning education.
DepEd said that the participating schools must also “develop strategies to prevent Covid-19 transmission among stakeholders.”
They must also maintain the provision of basic mental health services and psychosocial support to ensure their well-being and protection.
Moreover, DepEd said that a participating school must develop an implementation plan for coordination with the local government to ensure that health and safety protocols have been observed correctly and for the implementation of school-based immunization, among others.
“These will be used to assess the readiness of the schools to participate in the progressive expansion of face-to-face classes,” DepEd said.