School Safety, Learner Attendance, and Academic Achievement: Developing a Safe School 360 Intervention Program for Public Elementary Schools

This study examined the relationship between school safety implementation and learners' attendance and academic achievement in selected Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM)-implementing public elementary schools in the Lake Sebu East District, Schools Division of South Cotabato. Specifically, it assessed the level of school safety implementation in terms of health safety, disaster risk reduction, and socio-emotional safety and determined their relationship and predictive influence on learners' attendance and academic achievement. A quantitative non-experimental descriptive-correlational research design employing multiple regression analysis was utilized. The respondents consisted of 220 Grade 5 and Grade 6 learners selected through stratified random sampling from a population of 400 learners across five public elementary schools. Data were collected using an adapted structured questionnaire and official school records on attendance and academic achievement. Descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation, and multiple regression analyses were employed. Results revealed that overall school safety implementation was high, with socio-emotional safety rated very high, while health safety and disaster risk reduction were rated moderate. Learners demonstrated satisfactory attendance and academic achievement. Correlation analysis indicated significant positive relationships between school safety implementation and both learners' attendance and academic achievement. However, regression analysis showed that health safety, disaster risk reduction, and socio-emotional safety did not significantly predict attendance or academic achievement when considered independently. The findings suggest that while comprehensive school safety is associated with favorable educational outcomes, learner attendance and academic performance are influenced by multiple interacting factors beyond school safety alone. The study recommends strengthening health safety and disaster preparedness initiatives while sustaining socio-emotional support through the proposed Safe School 360 Intervention Program to promote safer, more supportive, and resilient learning environments.