As part of its continuing efforts to strengthen school safety following recent school shooting incidents, the Department of Education (DepEd) is preparing to launch a School Digital Safety Campaign for learners, teachers, and parents.
The recent incidents have underscored that keeping children safe requires a broader approach that goes beyond what happens inside school premises.
While authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incidents, including reported online activity in connection with the Banga National High School case, DepEd is moving to strengthen awareness and prevention in the digital spaces where children increasingly communicate, learn, and interact.
DepEd has already been strengthening school safety on several fronts. Physical safety includes measures such as CCTV, metal detectors, and perimeter fencing. People and support systems include security guards, School Counselor Associates (SCAs), Learner Formation Officers (LFOs), and Child Protection Committees (CPCs). Preparedness is being strengthened through regular school safety and emergency response drills.
“We cannot leave our children to navigate the digital world on their own. Keeping them safe is a shared responsibility of the school, the home, government, and the community.”
The Department now aims to add another important layer: digital safety.
“Keeping our children safe today means understanding that their world extends beyond the classroom and into their phones, games, group chats, and social media. We need to give children, parents, and teachers the knowledge and tools to navigate these spaces safely,” Education Secretary Sonny Angara said.
This initiative directly complements DepEd’s revised K to 10 curriculum, which integrates digital citizenship, netiquette, online safety, and responsible technology use across key subjects, such as Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan (EPP)/Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE), Values Education, and Physical Education & Health, from Grades 4 through 10.
To ensure these lessons extend beyond classroom lectures, the School Digital Safety Campaign will translate curriculum concepts into simple, everyday practices that parents and teachers can easily apply together.
The campaign will provide practical and age-appropriate guidance on safe chatting and online behavior, grooming and online child exploitation, cyberbullying and online harassment, privacy, scams, and protecting personal information. It will also cover responsible social media use, gaming and online safety, exposure to violent or harmful online content, healthy screen time and digital well-being, as well as warning signs, reporting, referral, and what to do when something happens.
A key component of the campaign will be equipping parents to better understand their children’s digital lives. Parents will receive practical guidance on how to talk to their children about what they see and experience online, recognize possible warning signs, set appropriate boundaries, and know when and where to seek help.
“Parents do not have to know every app or platform their children use. But they need to keep the lines of communication open. Our children should know that when something online scares them, pressures them, or makes them uncomfortable, they can tell a trusted adult and ask for help,” Angara said.
The School Digital Safety Campaign will translate curriculum concepts into simple, everyday practices that parents and teachers can easily apply together.
The campaign will likewise equip teachers and school personnel to recognize warning signs, respond appropriately, and understand the proper reporting and referral mechanisms.
DepEd will work with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Health (DOH), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), local government leagues, and relevant medical societies to develop practical materials, referral protocols, and training sessions for learners, teachers, and parents.
As an immediate next step, DepEd will convene partner agencies and organizations to develop the campaign framework and materials. The initiative will be piloted in selected schools before a nationwide rollout.
The School Digital Safety Campaign will complement DepEd’s continuing reforms on physical security, school staffing, child protection, and emergency preparedness as part of a more holistic approach to school safety. DepEd is calling on parents, teachers, school leaders, local governments, government agencies, and communities to take an active role in keeping children safe online.
“We cannot leave our children to navigate the digital world on their own. Keeping them safe is a shared responsibility of the school, the home, government, and the community,” Angara said.
Safe schools mean safe spaces for our children— physically, emotionally, and digitally.
