School pupil 'health survey'

[horseymum]

Does anyone have a link to the actual survey questions, I've just seen a couple of disturbing screen shots on Twitter and a daily mail article? There also appears to be a Perth council letter saying the data is linked to the pupil through their candidate number so can easily be traced back to them, however secure they say it is.

As has already been explained, those particular questions are for s4 and above, so yes, 14 year olds 🙄

It appears the Children’s Commissioner is also concerned about the children’s right to privacy and has asked the SG to halt the roll out until this (at least) is sorted out.

@ElephantOfRisk

As has already been explained, those particular questions are for s4 and above, so yes, 14 year olds 🙄

Ok, it must be very rare to have a 14 year old at the tail end of S4. I believe this questionnaire went out to S6 anyway.

How is it rare? There will be 4th years that don't turn 15 until the end of February. I thought you were a teacher, why don't you know this?

Also, yes if it is issued to s4 upwards then s6s will get it. 6th year's are the only group to be reliably all over 16 though.

Regardless its still a ridiculous intrusion into privacy that they wouldn't consider asking adults.

@WouldBeGood

It appears the Children’s Commissioner is also concerned about the children’s right to privacy and has asked the SG to halt the roll out until this (at least) is sorted out.

As expected. If only someone had raised these issues sooner, eh? ...

From the Holyrood article (you can find it if you go to the Holyrood site, I don't know what they do to their links but they never, ever work):

'Nicola Sturgeon replied: “Well firstly on the issue of confidentiality the questionnaires have been specially designed so that the information provided by children and young people is used for statistical and research purposes only. And that ensures that any results of the research or resulting statistics will not be made available in a form which identifies individual children and young people.

[except this was clearly not the case, Nicola]
...

“But I come back to the fundamental point. We can choose to pretend that young people of this age group do not have the experiences that the member has narrated or is not exposed online in the digital world we live in. We can choose to pretend that young people, girls sometimes, in particular, are not subjected to harassment and pressure around sexual matters.

“We can do that. We can refuse to ask the questions so that we don't know the answers, or we can get the answers that then allows us to better support young people to provide the advice and the information and the guidance to young people that supports and enables them to make positive healthy choices for the future. '

So, the response is to cast aspersions on those with (specific and rational) safeguarding concerns. Sounds familiar.

But she's saying that they believe these activities are taking place so why not just provide the support anyway? Then you can see what take up there is.

Provide education and support.

Or ask young adults to voluntarily provide information with true privacy? Data from current 18-21 year olds given as adults on a voluntary basis instead.

Ok, it must be very rare to have a 14 year old at the tail end of S4. I believe this questionnaire went out to S6 anyway

The survey covers S4 to S6. It would be rare for a 14 year old to be in S4 a large number of S4 will be 15.

This survey is asking 15 year olds who are engaged in sexual activities to incriminate themselves.

I don't think it really makes much difference if they are 14 or 15 to be honest but there will be many 14 year olds still in S4.

Even if it wasn't issued until the beginning of December, assuming a roughly even distribution of birthdays, that's a 1/4 of 4th years still to turn 15. However, if we assume that half of them (i think it's actually a bit less than that) have deferred, then that's still 12.5% of pupils - about 6.5k?

Does anyone know if this has been rolled out to private schools or is it just state pupils that are targeted?

Does anyone know if this has been rolled out to private schools or is it just state pupils that are targeted?

Don't know and I'm years away from that now. I'd be surprised if it were- I can't see this being embraced enthusiastically by parents at my son's school.

Google isn't helping with an answer but as private schools aren't under local authority control I assume the local authorities won't be issuing it to them.

Google tells me that around 4% of DC are in private school in Scotland - that's about 25% in Edinburgh though and I'd guess that the percentage in High school will be a bit more than 4%.

Those will be mostly upper/upper middle class (although there are bursaries etc I suspect that mostly they will go to "impoverished upper class"/lower middle class).

I don't really know what point I am making other than any results are not representative.

All the S4 cohort with birthdays in January February and December will be 14 for two terms of S4. If survey is done in first term half will only be 14.

Starry has shown previously that she's not the sharpest tool in the box, especially when it comes to any criticism of the SNP. My DD is a February birthday. She's in S3 though so is still only 13, 14 in Feb, so may not get that questionnaire (is it an annual survey?)