In order to ensure a safe and efficient conduct of the progressive expansion of face-to-face learning in areas under Alert Level 1 and 2, the Department of Education (DepEd), on Tuesday, April 26, announced that it revised the School Safety Assessment Tool (SSAT).

“The health, safety, and well-being of our learners, teachers, and personnel remain as our utmost priority. Our revised SSAT will help the Department mobilize the progressive expansion of our face-to-face classes,” said DepEd Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones in a press statement.

The revised SSAT now focuses on four main areas namely: Managing School Operations, Focusing on Teaching and Learning, Well-being and Protection, and School-Community coordination.

Under the Managing School Operations, schools must ensure that learners who will participate in the expansion of in-person classes will submit a parent’s consent.

Focus on Teaching and Learning, on the other hand, states that securing a “sufficient supply of learning resources” is needed in the expansion of face-to-face classes as well as distance learning education.

Meanwhile, under the “Well-being and protection” in the revised SSAT, schools are required to develop strategies to prevent Covid-19 transmission and maintain the provision of mental health services.

“In addition, a 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,” Briones added.

While the SSAT was updated based on monitoring and evaluation results of the pilot implementation of face-to-face classes, DepEd clarified that this will not be the “final determinant” if a school will participate in the progressive expansion of in-person learning.

“It is our way to prepare 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,” said Briones.