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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Creating safer school environments: DepEd intensifies anti-bullying initiatives

Creating safer school environments: DepEd intensifies anti-bullying initiatives

Published Dec 9, 2023 03:51 pm

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Saturday, Dec. 9, assured that it continues to strengthen its anti-bullying efforts and programs in schools. 

02 students MB Visual Content Group.jpg
DepEd / MB Visual Content Group

DepEd said that its anti-bullying programs were partly shared by the Learner Rights and Protection Office (LRPO) and the Bureau of Learners Support Services (BLSS) under the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Operations (OASOPS). 

Aside from the TeleSafe Hotline and Child Protection Desks under the Office of the Undersecretary for Operations (OUOPS), DepEd said that the BLSS has a wide range of running programs to help fight bullying and other forms of abuse against students in schools. 

DepEd noted that the BLSS primarily gears more toward bullying prevention and creating a climate of safety in schools using a more “health and wellness lens.” 

On the other hand, the LRPO mainly comes in to address abuse and bullying cases directly using a more “legal lens.” 

Strengthening running programs 

One of the existing programs under BLSS, DepEd said, is Mental Health (MH) and Counselling. 

To date, the first MH unit in DepEd has been established and the hiring of MH coordinators in every region is also ongoing. The DepEd MH department order is also expected to be in early 2024 after undergoing vetting. 

DepEd said that there are also ongoing capacity-building programs for teachers and non-teaching personnel to help “spot red flags” among learners who are possible victims of bullying under the “Katatagan Program” in partnership with the Natasha Gouldbourn Foundation. This, DepEd said, has already been piloted in several areas in Panay Island. 

There is also an online mental health platform under the “Lusog Isip Kabataan Education (LIKE)” program in partnership with USAID and the Department of Health (DOH) wherein all “our mental health resources, referral numbers and video content are made available.” 

“Full control transfer to DepEd will be in early 2024 so we will bolster it further,” DepEd added. 

Moreover, DepEd noted that the MH and anti-bullying content being co-created with the National Council for Children’s Television and independent directors are also for “release and promotion” in early 2024. 

“These are expected to shown and featured in schools nationwide,” DepEd added. 

DepEd said that a mental health hotline mainly for support and referral provision against LRPO’s case collection and response hotline is in “development and will have a soft launch in early 2024.” 

“In the interim, we deploy our 10,000 trained psychological first aiders (PFA) whenever there are severe incidents of bullying, suicide or stressful situations in need of quick debriefing,” DepEd added. 

Meanwhile, DepEd noted that it will also focus on learner formation and sports. 

DepEd said that National Learner Governments are “being trained” to become anti-bullying watchdogs and advocates of mental health as part of council and after-school club development. 

“Every division now has a learner who has been trained as a mental health & wellness ambassador and campaign developer, following the Learners’ Convergence this year,” it added. 

DepEd noted that the After-School Sports Clubs are also being positioned as a mechanism to foster community building. 

Recognizing the crucial roles of parents in the fight against bullying and other abuse, DepEd said it will also strengthen parent capacity building. 

DepEd said that its BLSS is pushing to train parents to spot red flags of bullying among their kids similar to the Katatagan program for DepEd personnel. 

“However, still waiting for the results of the special provision request for this program,” DepEd said. 

Furthermore, DepEd said it remains at the forefront of pushing for the Mental Health in Schools Bill of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian especially serving on the primary technical working group. 

“Hence, we are now pre-positioning our personnel and programs for its eventual passing,” DepEd added. 

Other initiatives of DepEd to strengthen efforts against bullying and other abuse against learners include pushing for the increase in the Salary Grade of guidance counselors (SG 11 to SG 16) and the creation of a new plantilla position category called mental health associates such as nurses, social workers, and psychometricians to fill the personnel gap.

DepEd’s Human Resource and Organizational Development is also pushing for provisional appointments of guidance counselors. 

RELATED STORY: 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/11/28/verbal-abuse-tops-list-of-violence-experienced-by-students-in-schools-dep-ed

Related Tags

DepEd bullying
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