Child Protection and Anti-Bullying Policy

Section 1. Rationale and Objectives

1.1 The development of a school-based Child Protection and
Anti-Bullying Policy is a product of a collaborative work
involving a participatory process with the school
administrators, selected teachers, parents, guidance
counselor and Barangay Officials. The school strongly
supports the DepEd’s zero tolerance policy for any act of
child abuse, exploitation, violence, discrimination, bullying
MAGLIPAYELEMENTARY
MAGLIPAY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL and other forms of abuse. This policy is created as a
statement of intent that demonstrates schools’ commitment
to safeguard children from all forms of violence. In
accordance with the provisions of Article XV, Section 3 of
the 1987 Constitution, R.A. 10627 or the Anti-Bullying Act
of 2013 and the guidelines in DepEd Order No. 40 series of
2012, the school has adopted this school-based child
protection and anti-bullying policy within the framework of
the school’s overall code of behavior.

1.2 This policy targets the following objectives:

1.2.1 To ensure that students,
school personnel, and
parents know the school policy on
child protection and
122750@deped.gov.ph anti-bullying and what they should do if abuse arises.
1.2.2 To give direction and guidance to school authorities and personnel in preventing and tackling
all forms of abuse amongst the school community.
1.2.3 To provide systematic means of monitoring, recording and reporting of concerns and cases.

Section 2. Roles and Responsibilities of School Administrators, Faculty and Non-Teaching

Personnel

2.1. School administrators, Faculty, Non-teaching personnel and others to Students

2.1.1 Establish and maintain an open and child-friendly communication with the students in a manner in
which they would be comfortable talking about their complaints, personal problems and concerns, but
should set appropriate limitations.
2.1.2 Exercise one’s duty to care by extending one’s self control and exercising patience especially in
handling challenging students.
2.1.3 If an activity, event or ceremony will be held outside the school premises (such as fieldtrips,
camping, sports activities, etc.), it is important that the school administration take into consideration the
necessity of the activity, accessibility of the venue and the safety of students. It is also expected that
parents/guardians be informed of the nature of the activity, where it will be held, who would be the
teachers and/or school staff present, and how will the students be transported to the venue, and be asked
for their consent;
2.1.4 Be ready to accept constructive criticisms and reprimands from higher authority if he/she has
inappropriately behaved towards any student;
2.1.5 Give equal opportunity to students to make statements, presentations and voice their
opinions in classrooms, meetings and other venues of discussions;
2.1.6 Seek representation from students (e.g. Supreme Student Government) in discussions that
can affect directly or indirectly their development in school.
2.1.7 Recognize students for their personal value or merit, commitment to school tasks or duties and
adequately praise them for their effort;
 2.1.8 Treat student’s individual personal information with confidentiality if requested by them;
otherwise, if the matter would best be informed to the parents/guardians, the faculty or staff may do so
after proper deliberation of what would be appropriate for their best interest;

2.2 School administrators, faculty, non-teaching personnel and others shall refrain from:
2.2.1 Using corporal punishment as a means of discipline, as indicated in Section 3, Letter O of the
DepEd Order No. 40, Series of 2012
2.2.2 Engaging in inappropriate remarks or gestures which could be misunderstood. Examples of
inappropriate behavior include “bear hugs”, tickling and piggyback rides, making compliments that
relate to physique and telling "green jokes".
2.2.3 Being alone with a student in a room or being in an uncompromising situation such as meeting
them in an isolated area or non-school related activities or taking them home. Spending excessive time
alone with the student away from others isinappropriate.
2.2.4 Too much familiarity with a student, including exchanging SMS messages/emails which would
create malice.
2.2.5 Having an intimate, romantic and sexual relationship with students, even if he/she is legally an
adult.
2.2.6 Permitting or participating in behavior of students that is illegal, unsafe and/or abusive;
2.2.7 Losing one’sself-control and personal civility by shouting, cursing, displaying loss of temper such
as throwing objects at students which would humiliate them.
2.2.8 Discriminating against,showing differential treatment to or favor particularstudentsto the exclusion
of others;
2.2.9 Calling, labeling or nicknaming a student with reference to his/her physical appearance,
weakness/es, and status of any sort;
2.2.10 Letting their personal disagreements with parents, guardians, teachers and staff, in existence of
any, to prejudice or bias one’s evaluation of the student’sschool performance;

2.3 School administrators, Faculty, Non-teaching personnel and others to fellow School administrators,
Faculty, Non-teaching Personnel and others.
2.3.1 School administrators, Faculty, Non-teaching Personnel and others must maintain professional
relations toward one another and be open-minded and accept constructive criticisms from colleagues
without ill feelings;
2.3.2 School administrators, Faculty, Non-teaching Personnel and others shall refrain from involving
students in personal arguments, or use them to induce the other by saying offhand comments or anything
against another school administrator, faculty, non-teaching personnel and others in the presence of the
students to prevent disputes.

2.4 School administrators, Faculty, Non-teaching personnel and others to Parents/Guardians

2.4.1 School administrators, Faculty, Non-teaching personnel and others must be open-minded, calm and
ethical in dealing with aggrieved parents/guardians;
2.4.2 Have an agreement settled with parents/guardians on issues in the classroom or school procedures
that concerns the welfare of the students;
2.4.3 School administrators, Faculty, Non-teaching personnel and others shall refrain from involving
students in their personal disagreements with parents/guardians.

2.5 Parents/Guardians to School Administrators Faculty, Non-Teaching Personnel and Others

2.5.1 Parents/Guardians must be open-minded, calm and ethical in dealing with their issues towards a
school administrator, faculty member, non-teaching personnel and/orothers;
2.5.2 Have an agreement settled with school administrator, faculty, non-teaching personnel and/or others
that concerns the welfare of their children and avoid creating unnecessary stories without confronting the
person himself/herself.

2.6 Parents/Guardians/Visitors/External Stakeholders

2.6.1 Any person who visits the school and has any official business with the school, and any person
who does not have any official business but is found within the premises of the school must also adhere
to this policy. Basic safeguarding procedure includes signing in the Guard'slogbook before entering the
school. Visitorsshould not be left alone with students.
2.6.2 The parent/guardian has to personally seek permission from the teacher for his/her child to leave
 the school during class hours to attend to important appointments.

Section 3. Prohibition of Corporal Punishment

(Source: DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012)
3.1 The Maglipay Elementary School community prohibits and does not condone the practice of corporal
punishment as a form of student discipline.
3.1 Corporal punishment refers to a kind of punishment or penalty imposed for an alleged or actual offense,
which is carried out or inflicted, for the purpose of discipline, training or control, by a teacher, school
administrator, an adult, or any other child who has been given or has assumed authority or responsibility for
punishment or discipline. It includes physical, humiliating or degrading punishment, including, but not
limited to the following:
3.1.1 Blows such as, but not limited to, beating, kicking, hitting, slapping, or lashing, of any part of a
child’s body, with or without the use of an instrument such as, but not limited to a cane, broom, stick,
whip or belt;
3.1.2 Striking of a child’s face or head, such being declared as a “no contact zone”;
3.1.3 Pulling hair, shaking, twisting joints, cutting or piercing skin, dragging, pushing or throwing of
a child;
3.1.4 Forcing a child to perform physically painful or damaging acts such as, but not limited to,
holding a weight or weights for an extended period and kneeling on stones, salt, pebbles or other
objects;
3.1.5 Deprivation of a child’s physical needs as a form of punishment;
3.1.6 Deliberate exposure to fire, ice, water, smoke, sunlight, rain, pepper, alcohol, or forcing the
child to swallow substances, dangerous chemicals, and other materials that can cause discomfort or
threaten the child’s health, safety and sense of security such as, but not limited to bleach or
insecticides, excrement or urine;
3.1.7 Tying up a child;
3.1.8 Confinement, imprisonment or depriving the liberty of a child;
3.1.9 Verbal abuse or assaults, including intimidation or threat of bodily harm, swearing or
cursing, ridiculing or denigrating the child;
3.1.10 Forcing a child to wear a sign, to undress ordisrobe, or to put on anything that will make a
child look or feel foolish, which belittles or humiliates the child in front of others;
3.1.11 Permanent confiscation of personal property of pupils,students or learners, except when such
pieces of property pose a danger to the child or to others;

Section 4. Practice of Positive Discipline

(Source: Positive Discipline in Everyday Teaching: A Primer for Filipino Teachers)

4.1 Positive Discipline is an approach to teaching that helps learners succeed, gives them the information
they need to learn, and supports their development. It respects children’s rights to healthy development,
protection from violence, and active participation in their learning.

4.2 The employment of positive discipline is a utilization of conflict (among learners and teachers) as an
opportunity to teach students how to manage their emotions and resolve conflicts without hurting others
physically and emotionally.

4.3 There are no bad children, just good and bad behaviors. (Deped Order No. 40 s.2012)

4.4 As part of a teacher's classroom management techniques, the school adopts the use of anecdotal logbook
as a classroom-based intervention to record all student misbehaviors.

4.5 The teachers are also trained in child protection policy and mediation/conflict management techniques
for them to be equipped in handling challenging behaviors in the classroom.

Section 5. Bullying defined

5.1 The (name of school) community prohibits and does not condone the acts of bullying in the school
campus.
5.2 Bullying is committed when a student commits an act or a series of acts directed towards another student,
or a series of single acts directed towards several students in a school setting or a place of learning, which
results in physical and mental abuse, harassment, intimidation, or humiliation. Such acts may consist of any
one or more of the following:

5.2.1 Physical - pushing, kicking, hitting, slapping, shoving or any use of violence

5.2.2 Verbal - name-calling, teasing, giving insults, saying offensive words pertaining to one’s
appearance, disability, mental ability, sexuality or religious beliefs and economic status

5.2.3 Psychological - doing pranks as form of torment, graffiti, hiding or destroying one’s
possessions, threat and offensive gestures, stalking, humiliation, behavior leading to social isolation
including spreading gossip to damage one'sreputation and encouraging others to ignore another

5.2.4 Sexual – malicious physical contacts, sexually-suggestive jokes and cat-calling

5.2.5 Cyberbullying- using digital technology such as social media, instant messaging, texts, blogs
and other to deliberately upset and humiliates someone.

Section 6. The School's Bullying Prevention Strategies

6.1 The school shall build the capacities of school personnel, students, parents and guardians to understand
and deal with child abuse and other forms of violence by including bullying and positive discipline in the
INSET topics.

6.2 The School Head shall consistently remind the school community and emphasize the importance of the
Child Protection and Anti-bullying policy.

6.3 During the Student Orientation every start of the school year, students will be informed that bullying will
not be tolerated, both in and out of school. They will be taught how to report if they are bullied or if they
have a first-hand knowledge of a bullying incident.

6.4 Teachers shall include bullying lessons in homeroom discussions particularly in Araling Panlipunan and
Values Education subjects. The ICT Coordinator shall include internet safety lessons and responsible use of
social media in Computer subjects. Teachers shall include personal safety activities in MAPEH subjects.

6.5 Most bullying happens when school personnel are not present. The school shall ensure that there is
teacher supervision in all activities in the school.

6.6 Develop student-led initiatives against bullying to raise awareness on children’s right, bullying, and
positive discipline. Conduct Bullying Prevention Activities such as recitation of anti-bullying oath, school
assemblies, advocacy campaigns or creative arts contests highlighting desirable values to bring the
community together and reinforce the message that bullying is wrong.

6.7 This policy shall be made available to all school personnel, published on the school webpage and
provided to the Parents’ and Teachers Association.

6.8 Actual Recitation of Anti-bullying oath at least once a week every Monday during the flag ceremony.

6.9 Implementation of Operation DALI (Dislike Attitude Love Individual) Search for Most Favorite
Classmate ( Division Memo No. 073, s. 2018)

Section 7. Intervention Procedures in Handling Bullying Incidents

7.1 If bullying is suspected or reported, the incident will be dealt with immediately by the school personnel
who has been informed. If the personnel is a subject teacher or non-teaching staff, he/she must immediately
report the incident to the Class Adviser of the concerned student.
7.2 The Class Adviser shall deal with the incident privately and interview students concerned on separate
occasions ensuring that each side is heard and respected. It must be emphasized that this kind of behavior
will not be tolerated. A clear account of the incident will be recorded in the Anecdotal Record of the Class
Advisers of the student/s involved indicating the date and time and the detailed description of the incident.
The Class Adviser shall communicate with the parents or guardians about the case during the quarterly
Recognition Program or parents meetings. This accounts for the classroom-based intervention for simple
cases ofbullying.

7.3 If the bullying incident or retaliation of the situation required immediate action shall be taken by the
school within twenty- four hour from the time of the incident

7.4 In cases of repeated and severe cases of bullying and if it occurs even after the initial classroom
intervention, the case must be referred to the Prefect of Discipline who shall arrange for an investigation
through a face-to-face conference with the parents of the victim and the offending child. The case shall then
be endorsed to the Child Protection Committee (CPC) for intervention. The treatment of sanctions may be
imposed in the presence of the parents or guardians. The penalty of in-school suspension for one day to not
more than one week may be imposed by the School Head through the Prefect of Discipline, depending on the
gravity of the offense as determined by the CPC. After the period of suspension, the Guidance Counselor
shall conduct a separate and group counseling/coaching sessions with the offending student, the victim and
the bystanders. Parents or guardians may be required to attend further counseling by the Guidance
Counselor. The Guidance Counselor shall then prepare a counseling note for future reference.

7.5 In cases of bullying that results in serious physical injuries or death, the case shall be referred to the PNP
Women and Children Protection Desk and Local Social Welfare Department.

7.6 In all cases, there shall be consistent recording, investigation and follow up of bullying incidents.
Section 8. Procedures in Handling Disclosure, Referral and Assessment of Child Abuse
8.1 If a student has disclosed any forms of child abuse to school personnel, realize that this is a rare moment
and the student is among the courageous. As the important adult the child has chosen to tell, the school
personnel’s response is therefore extremely important.
8.2 All school personnel shall undergo training in handling disclosures.
8.3 The school personnel shall listen closely but not ask specific questions. It is NOT the personnel's duty to
determine if the student is telling the truth or not. Personnel’s duty is to report not to investigate.
8.4 The school personnel shall coordinate with the Guidance Counselor for immediate response on the matter
and accomplish Intake Sheet (Annex B).
8.5 The vow of confidentiality shall be observed unless there is a perceived clear and imminent danger. The
Guidance Counselor shall inform the parents/guardians or the non-offending parent or closest relative (if the
offender is a family member). If the victim has an immediate medical need, the Guidance Counselor shall
facilitate in providing the victim medical attention. At all times, the vow of confidentiality shall be observed
unless there is a perceived clear and imminent danger.

8.6 The case shall be referred to the Local Social Welfare Development Office or to the Women and
Children Protection Desk (WCPD) of the local police station for assessment and appropriate intervention. If
in case of no action taken by MSWD, elevate the matter to provincial SWD.
Annex A. Flow Chart on Cases of Bullying

Interventions
1. Anecdotal records
Bullying Class Advisers
2. Home Visitation

Interventions
Prefect of discipline 1. Investigation
2. Anecdotal records

Child Protection Committee (CPC) Headed by the School Head Interventions:

Members: 1. Counselling and other
Interventions
1. Guidance Counselor
2. Facilitate agreement
2. Prefect of Discipline
between aggrieved parties to
3. PTA President/Representative settle the expenses in case of
4. SELG President /Representative physical requiring medical
expenses or damaged to
5. Brgy. Official
properties.
3.Ffacilitate treatment of
sanction

Interventions:
Interventions:
1. Separate coaching/
Guidance Counselor counseling sessions accorded 1. Conference with parents
to the victim, the Offending 2. Counseling oroaching
child and the bystanders