DepEd revises safety assessment tool for face-to-face classes

The Department of Education on Tuesday said that it has revised the School Safety Assessment Tool (SSAT) which are being used to determine the readiness of the school for the limited face-to-face classes.

In a statement, DepEd said 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.

"We ensure that 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 in areas under Alert 1 and 2," DepEd Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said.

The revised SSAT focuses on four main areas: managing school operations, focusing on teaching and learning, well-being and protection, and school-community coordination.

DepEd said that under the "managing school operations," 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,” the department said.

The main indicator to guarantee the school’s readiness for "focusing on teaching and learning" is securing a sufficient supply of learning resources needed in the expansion and design class programs that cater to both learners in face-to-face class arrangement and distance learning education.

Moreover, participating schools must develop strategies to prevent COVID-19 transmission among stakeholders and maintain the provision of basic mental health services and psychosocial support to ensure their well-being and protection.

A school must also 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.

“Our SSAT will not be the final determinant if a school will participate in our progressive expansion. It 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,” Briones said.

As of April 18, 2022, a total of 26,997 schools were nominated by the regions to participate in the expansion of face-to-face classes.

Of these schools, 23, 963 are already implementing the progressive expansion of in-person classes.—LDF, GMA News