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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To resent school daughter's school trying to invade my privacy

121 replies

Felicejayne · 06/01/2022 20:55

My 8 year old came home with a form in her link book where we're expected to record screen time, devices, activity, off-screen activities and hours of sleep. This is supposed to be done every day including weekends.
Has anyone else been asked to fill in similar?
It's the whole class who've been asked to do it.
I understand the need to control screen time but it gets my back up that the school thinks they have the right or the need to micromanage this.

OP posts:
CantBeAssed · 06/01/2022 22:28

Just fill it in op...it's not some big conspiracy to get an insight into your private life!🙄

worriedatthemoment · 06/01/2022 22:29

I would just make it up but then i used to write every night in the kids reading journal they read even the nights they didn't so im prob a bad parent anyway

thetinsoldier · 06/01/2022 22:29

Perhaps teachers are fed up of trying to teach dc who have unregulated screen time, phones in their room all night, no attention span??

How long do you have to keep a log for? I'd do it. The results will be interesting.

DeliciousViolets · 06/01/2022 22:31

It's part of the school curriculum for RSE and Health. Here's an extract. Isn't it good that children are taught about these things and helped to reflect on their choices?
I'm sure it's for self reflection not prying into privacy!

To resent school daughter's school trying to invade my privacy
PalmLady · 06/01/2022 22:35

We had the exact same one in Hertfordshire. My 7 year old daughter decided to fill it out by herself after school and wrote that she had 5 hours of screen time. Hmm I pointed out that we had only got home from playing out at 5pm and her bed time was 8pm. She then scribbled that bit out but the teachers will still see it. Grin

driftcompatible · 06/01/2022 22:36

Make it up.

100% screen time
0% sleep

grapewine · 06/01/2022 22:51

There's zero chance I wouldn't just make something up. It's none of their concern.

Chewbecca · 06/01/2022 22:59

Is it for a project?

Isaw3ships · 06/01/2022 23:00

Is it a project to show the kids how much time they use screens for? But pointless, I know I for one would be lying on that form!!

MrsSkylerWhite · 06/01/2022 23:01

We were always very supportive of schools but that’s just intrusive.

TheViewFromTheCheapSeats · 06/01/2022 23:06

Fill in something wild, 3-4 hours sleep and 18 on screens?
They’ll get a discussion about anomalies and data collection to enhance learning.

Mamamia344 · 06/01/2022 23:10

Just make it up and don't worry about it

Theunamedcat · 06/01/2022 23:26

I was honest about the sleep part I had a phone call did I really send ds in on three hours sleep? Yes ask the senco its well documented phone call from the senco apologising for the judgy phone call I laughed it off because of course it seems ridiculous to send a child into school on less than three hours sleep unless of course you know that's literally all he seems to need at times Hmm

Staffy1 · 06/01/2022 23:32

Too much like time sheets at work which used to piss me off. With both, you are not trusted to act responsibly without someone peering over your shoulder. I used to put the time spent filling in the time sheet on it, just to show my irritation.

chineybumps · 06/01/2022 23:34

@itwasntaparty

All the time or a project? Fuck that, the reading diary is as far as we get, and that's hit. And miss.
🤣
notangelinajolie · 06/01/2022 23:47

I wouldn't do this. Ignore.

Thatldo · 07/01/2022 06:26

Havent they got any thing else to do in your DD school?ridiculous.I would simply refuse to fill in the form,or I would send it back wit: get on with teaching,if there is a problem with my daughter at school,let me know.

Bluntness100 · 07/01/2022 06:30

Surprised at the outrage, it’s not yout privacy op, unless they are asking for you to record about yourself? It’s just a school project.

moremoony · 07/01/2022 06:36

Make it up. Spend zero time giving a fuck about this. I did my kids homework during the pandemic because there was no way he was building diaramas and I had all the time in the world. Nobody cares!!

NinaDefoe · 07/01/2022 07:17

@DeliciousViolets

It's part of the school curriculum for RSE and Health. Here's an extract. Isn't it good that children are taught about these things and helped to reflect on their choices? I'm sure it's for self reflection not prying into privacy!
Someone upthread reminded me of a shower/ bath survey DC did at school. It didn’t occur to me that they were checking up on our family hygiene 🤣

We also had a food one. That was embarrassing... Pizza, pasta, pie, potato, pot noodles. It was a bad week!

TheNoodlesIncident · 07/01/2022 07:19

If it's for collecting data to make bar graphs, pie charts or whatever I would go along with it, it's hardly "intrusive". School staff are not really going to keep records on the results, since loads of it will be inaccurate through parents fudging the data and they already know how many cars go past our house in an hour and what colours they were and don't care about that either.

Honestly, do people really think this is the school monitoring some aspects of the pupils' home life rather than an exercise in collecting, using data and creating graphs using information that kids will be interested in, ie themselves? With the added bonus of getting them to think about how much time they do spend parked with a screen compared to other activities.

I genuinely could not be bothered about this. It's so trivial and not a conspiracy for school to get hold of top secret info for whatever nefarious use people are imagining.

LuaDipa · 07/01/2022 07:20

There is nothing controlling or underhand about this, it’s just a school project. Do it or don’t.

PleasantBirthday · 07/01/2022 07:27

You know the teachers already have as much of your kids as they can reasonably tolerate all day without prying into your private lives in their spare time? This is clearly for some kind of data project focusing on something that probably all children will have access to so they'll all be able to get some kind of data to submit.

Like teachers could genuinely be arsed spying on families!

NinaDefoe · 07/01/2022 07:31

@PleasantBirthday

You know the teachers already have as much of your kids as they can reasonably tolerate all day without prying into your private lives in their spare time? This is clearly for some kind of data project focusing on something that probably all children will have access to so they'll all be able to get some kind of data to submit.

Like teachers could genuinely be arsed spying on families!

‘Reasonably tolerate’ 🤣🤣
scaredsadandstuck · 07/01/2022 07:35

Is "It's for a project" the new "cancel the cheque"??

Anyway - half my family are primary school teachers. I absolutely guarantee you there is no conspiracy here. Teachers have children of their own that have 'too much' screen time, and who stay up too late and eat crap food and don't always brush their teeth every day. Teachers are real life human beings! They don't care how much screen time your kid is having, unless of course they have wider safe guarding concerns about your child. In which case maybe they would be interested. But I think we'd all agree that it's a good thing teachers are on the look out for safe guarding concerns.