DIVISION: KORONADAL CITY

SCHOOL ID: 131382

SCHOOL: NAMNAMA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

‘’ POLICIES AND GUIDELINES ON PROTECTING CHILDREN IN SCHOOL FROM ABUSE, VIOLENCE, EXPLOITATION AND DISCRIMINATION’’

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Statement of Policy

Pursuant to the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the State shall defend the right of children to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, and special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to their development (Art. XV, Sec. 3 (b)).

The Constitution further provides that all educational institutions shall inculcate patriotism and nationalism, foster love of humanity, respect for human rights, appreciation of the role of national heroes in the historical development of the country, teach the rights and duties of citizenship, strengthen ethical and spiritual values, develop moral character and personal discipline, encourage critical and creative thinking, broaden scientific and technological knowledge, and promote vocational efficiency.(Art. XV, Sec. 3 (b)).

Towards this end, this Department shall ensure that our school are conducive to the education of children. Thus, the best interest of the child shall be the paramount consideration in all decisions and actions involving children. Teachers are their substitute parents and are expected to discharge their functions and duties with this in mind. In this connection, the Family Code gives the school, its administrators and teachers, or the individuals, entity or institution engaged in child care to special parental authority and responsibility over the minor child while under their supervision, instruction or custody.

Furthermore, it is also the policy of this Department to protect children gravely threatened or endangered by circumstances which affect their normal development and over which they have no control and to assist concerned agencies in their rehabilitation.

However, despite the fact that there are various laws on the protection of children, cases of child abuse, exploitation, discrimination, violence and bullying in schools still persist. A study conducted by the PWU-CWC-UNICEF for Plan Philippines in 2009 shows that there are no standard way of addressing complaints against violence against children and other related cases. The process of handling complaints is vulnerable to the personal biases and arbitrary judgement of people in charge, resulting in children’s distrust of the process.

It also featured that at least four (4) out of ten (10) children in Grades 1 – 3 and seven (7) out of ten (10) in both Grades 4 – 6 and high school have experienced some kind of violence in school and an estimated of 500 to 800 cases of child abuse were committed by teachers while a small number involved janitors, bus drivers and other school personnel.

Nonetheless, those figures represent present only the reported cases and often those which involved serious physical and psychological harm on children. Other more subtle, but nevertheless violent, forms of child abuse are rarely reflected.

Accordingly, the Department of Education,specificallyNamnama Elementary School, reiterates that any act of child abuse, exploitation, violence, discrimination and other related offenses shall not be tolerated and hereby promulgates this DepEd Order.

Definition of Terms

  1. Child – refers to any person below eighteen (18) years of age or those over but are unable to fully take care of themselves or protect themselves from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation or discrimination because of a physical or mental disability or condition; (RA 7610).
  1. Child Abuse – refers to maltreatment, whether habitual or not, of the child which includes any of the following:

1. psychological or physical abuse, neglect, cruelty, sexual abuse and emotional maltreatment.

2. any act by deeds or words which debases, degrades or demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of a child as a human being.

3. unreasonable deprivation of his basic needs for survival, such as food and shelter; or

4. failure to immediately give medical maltreatment to an injured child resulting in serious impairment of his growth and development or in his permanent incapacity or death (Sec. 3 (b), RA 7610).

  1. ‘’Violence against children committed in schools’’ – refers to any acts or series of acts committed by any person against her child within or near the premises of the school, which result in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering, or other abuses including threats of such acts, battery assault, coercion, harassment or arbitrary deprivation of liberty. It includes, but is not limited to the following acts:

1. ‘’ Physical Violence’’ refers to acts that include bodily or physical harm;

2. ‘’Sexual Violence’’ refers to act which is sexual in nature, committed against a child. It includes, but is not limited to:

a. rape, sexual harassment, acts of lasciviousness, treating child as a sex object, making demeaning and sexually suggestive remarks, physically attacking the sexual parts of the victim’s body, forcing her/him to watch obscene publication and indecent shows or forcing the child to do indecent acts and/or make films thereof;

b. acts causing or attempting to cause the victim to engage in any sexual activity by force, threat of force, physical or other harm or threat of physical or other harm of coercion;

3. ‘’ Psychological Violence’’ refers to acts or omissions causing or likely to cause mental or emotional suffering of the child such as but not limited to intimidation, harassment, stalking, damage to property, public ridicule humiliation, repeated verbal abuse and mental infidelity. It includes causing or allowing the child to witness pornography in any form or to witness abusive injury to pets or such other unlawful or unwanted deprivation of the child’s rights.

  1. ‘’Bullying’’ – also referred as ‘’ peer abuse’’ in some literature, is a sub- category of aggressive behaviour but a particularly vicious kind of aggression because it is directed, often repeatedly, towards a particular victim who may be out – numbered, younger, weak, or simply less psychologically confident (Smith and Morita 1999). It is also a wilful and conscious action (‘’UN World Report on Violence against Children’’ 2006).

a. ‘’School Bullying’’ – refers to psychological, emotional, cyber, social or physical harassment of one pupil/students by another at school or within the school community, including school grounds, transport services between school and home, local shopping and sporting centres, events, malls, or local parks and cyberspaces.

  1. Corporal Punishment – refers to punishment or penalty for an offence and/or acts carried out for the purpose of discipline, training or control, inflicted 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 and humiliating or degrading punishment, including but not limited to the following, (HBN 4455):
  1. Blows such as, but not limited to beating, kicking, hitting, slapping, lashing to any part of a child’s body, with or without the use of an instrument such as, not limited to a cane, broom, stick, whip or belt;
  1. Striking of a child’s face or head, such being designated as the ‘’no contact zone’’;
  1. Pulling hair, shaking, twisting joints, cutting or piercing skin, dragging or throwing of a child;
  1. 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 or pebbles;
  1. Deliberate neglect of a child’s physical needs;
  1. Use of an exposure to substances that can cause discomfort or threaten the child’s health such as fire, ice, water, smoke, pepper, alcohol, dangerous chemical such as bleach or insecticides, excrement or urine;
  1. Tying up a child;
  1. Imposing of a child;
  1. Verbal abuse, assaults including intimidation or threat of bodily harm, swearing or cursing, ridiculing or denigrating the child;
  1. Making a child look or feel foolish which tends to belittle or humiliate the child in front of others; and
  1. Permanent confiscation of personal property of pupils/students.
  1. Child Protection – refers to measures and structures to prevent and respond to abuse, neglect, exploitation, discrimination and violence.
  1. Parents – refer to biological parents, stepparents, adoptive parents and the common-law spouse or partner of the parent;
  1. Guardians – refer to legal guardians and other persons, including relatives, with physical custody of the child.
  1. Positive and nonviolent discipline – refers to an approach seeking to immediately correct the behaviour of a child, to teach a lesson, to give tools that build self – discipline and emotional control, and to build a good relationship with the child by understanding the child’s needs and capabilities at various ages and the behaviour that is usual for a child at each stage of development, (HBN 4455)
  • PROHIBITED ACTS

1.Verbal (most common, most painful & longest lasting impact) e.g. teasing, harassment and name – calling;

2.Extortion;

3.Threats;

4.Malicious rumours;

5.Physical violence;

6.Damage to property; and

7.Anti – social activities (exclusion, gossip and non-verbal language)

  • PREVENTIVE MEASURES TO ADDRESS CHILD ABUSE, EXPLOITATION, VIOLENCE DISCRIMINATION AND OTHER RELATED CASES

Promotion of Techniques on Positive and Non – Violent Discipline

The following positive and non-violent techniques for disciplining a child are suggested to be practiced:

  1. Beat the Clock – a motivational technique that uses the child’s competitive nature to encourage completion of tasks on teacher’s timetable;
  1. Grandma’s Rule –contractual agreement that allows a child to do what the child pleases as soon as what the teacher wants has been accomplished,
  1. Neutral Time – taking advantage of time that is free from conflict, such as the time after a tantrum has passed and the child is calm and receptive to teach new behaviour to the child,
  1. Praise – a verbal recognition of a behaviour that a parent or teacher wants to reinforce,
  1. Reprimand – a statement that includes a command to stop the behaviour, a reason why the behaviour should stop, and an alternative to the behaviour,
  1. Rule – a predetermined behaviour expectation that includes a stated outcome and consequences,
  1. Time Out – to take the child out of a situation because of inappropriate behaviour making the child face a blank wall for several minutes or until the child calm down, and
  1. Responsibility Building – making a child perform age-appropriate, simple household chores. (HBN 4455).
  • INTERVENTION PROGRAMS
  1. Counselling
  2. Life skills training
  3. Education and other activities that will enhance the psychological, emotional and psycho-social well-being of both the victim and the bully.
  • MECHANISMS AND PROCEDURES
  • DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF EDUCATION STAKEHOLDERS

Rights, Duties and Responsibilities of School Administrator, Teachers, Academic and Non – Academic Personnel and Others

Article 218 of the Family Code of the Philippines provides the following rights and responsibilities of school administrators, teachers, academic and non – academic personnel and other personnel:

  1. Exercise special parental authority and responsibility over the child while under their supervision, instruction and custody.

Authority and responsibility shall apply to all authorized activities whether inside or outside the premises of the school, entity or institution.

Also, Article 220 and 223 of the Family Code of the Philippines, Presidential Decree No. 603 and other related laws enumerated the following duties and responsibilities of the abovementioned persons and personnel over the children under their supervision, instruction and custody:

A.Keep them in their company and support, educate and instruct them by right precept and good example;

B.Give them love and affection, advice and counsel, companionship and understanding;

C.Enhance, protect, preserve and maintain their physical and mental health at all times;

D.Furnish them with good and wholesome educational materials, supervise their activities, recreation and association with others, protect them from bad company and prevent them from acquiring habits detrimental to their health, studies and morals;

E.Represent them in all matters of affecting their interests;

F.Demand from them respect and obedience;

G.Impose discipline on them as may be required under the circumstances; provided that in no case shall corporal punishment be inflicted upon them; and

H.Perform such other duties as are imposed by law upon parents and guardians.

Duties and Responsibilities of Pupils and Students

The pupils are expected to undertake the following tasks:

I.Comply with the school’s regulations, as long as they are in harmony with their best interests;

J.Respect other’s opinions, status, ethnicity, religion, property rights as well as everyone’s personal and individual’s moral and physical integrity;

K.Participate in school activities and contribute to educational related programs and undertaking;

L.Neveremploy any means or act which shall:

1.Discriminate, or lead a group of pupils/students to discriminate another, with preference to one’s physical appearance, weakness and status of any sort;

2.Behave physically in a manner that is inappropriate or sexually provocative;

3.Participate in behaviour of other students that is illegal, unsafe and/or abusive;

4.Abuse and over-assert their rights in a manner that would evade the school administration from protecting them;

5.Mark or damage school property, including books, in any way and

6.Be aggressive or engage in any fight.

Establishment of Child Protection Committee

Namnama Elementary School shall establish a ‘’Child Protection Office/Committee (CPO)’’, only for the purpose of recommendation for appropriate action.

A. The Child Protection Committee shall be composed of the following:

  1. School Principal/Administrator – Chairperson------MARIQUIT D. BARRERA
  1. Guidance Counselor/Teacher (with special skill in handing various issues and concerns affecting children) – Vice Person------CONCEPCION C. MATEO
  1. A representative of the Parents – Member ------JESSIE CACALDA
  1. A representative of pupils/students – Member------ELLEN KAYE ISIP
  1. A representative from community/Brgy. – Member---Hon. DANTE MANUEL

6. A representative from Teacher Association-Member--- ARACELI P. ROLDAN

B. The CPOs shall perform the following functions:

  1. Initiate information and dissemination programs and activities on how to protect children from abuses, exploitation, violence, discrimination and bullying;
  1. Monitor the implementation of positive measures and effective procedures in providing the necessary support for the child and for those who care for the child;
  1. Adopt measures and organization of activities and other forms of Child protection programs and prevention of abuses, exploitation, violence, discrimination and bullying;
  1. Give assistance to parents/guardians; whenever necessary in securing expert guidance counselling from the appropriate offices or institutions;
  1. Identify, refer and, if appropriate, report to the appropriate offices cases involving child abuses, exploitation, violence, discrimination and bullying;
  1. Coordinate closely with the Women and Child Protection Desks with the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Capacity Building of School Officials, Personnel and Other Stakeholders

Namnama Elementary School shall build the capacities of school personnel and parents to understand and deal with child abuse, exploitation, violence and discrimination cases by conducting sessions, training and seminars on how to protect the children from abuses, exploitation, violence, discrimination and other related cases.

They shall use training modules which include classroom management, anger and stress management and gender sensitivity. They shall likewise employ means which enhance the skills and pedagogy in integrating and teaching children’s right in the classroom.

Mobilizing the Parents, Teachers, Community, Local Government Units and Other Stakeholders to Address Child Abuse, Exploitation, Violence and Discrimination and Bullying Cases

Namnama Elementary Schoolshall mobilize the parents, teachers, community, local government units and other stakeholders to address child abuse, exploitation, violence, discrimination and bullying cases if any.