The BeeWell Survey

[Justme56]

https://www.transgendertrend.com/beewell-pupil-wellbeing-gender-identity-indoctrination/

Transgender Trend have written a blogpost about the survey which makes some interesting reading.

I have had this email from my child's school today. If i do not wish them to take part, I have to write to a Manchester Uni email address by 18th Nov. Don't really want them to do it purely on principle, but also don't want to be 'that parent' or my child being the only one twiddling their thumbs whilst the rest of the class gets on with it! My child won't mind either way as they already have their own thoughts about the concept of gender identity due to interactions with pupils at school.

Gosh, this is concerning. And perplexing as I don’t understand why a study of this nature can’t be organised to take general cohort trends at prescribed intervals (ie track the same year group anonymously every couple of years) rather than what seems to involve using identifiable data.

Funnily enough was discussing this very survey with a friend the other day as my youngest is in the age group that might have been asked previously to take part, so was a bit concerned. From my perspective as my son was in a private school and they seem not to have taken part, I am deeply relieved.

I personally would not allow my child to take part in this for the same reasons we are asked whether we would allow photos taken in school to be shared on social media - I don’t feel I can consent on my child’s behalf because in doing so I am taking away their right to withdraw their consent when they reach 18 - by that time the images or - in this case - sensitive personal and MH/medical data is out in the public domain and irretrievable.

I am also cognisant of the fact that any claims to protect data is only as secure as the least compliant/competent person on the team managing that data coupled with the effectiveness of the cybersecurity firewalls put in place to protect it - and we’ve all heard stories about disgruntled or thoughtless staff or hackers with political agendas. Recall the medical data leaks from the NHS (Synnovis, June 2024) or the mass publication of client data from that Infidelity sex site (Maddison something?) a few years ago.

So no, I’m afraid that even allowing for well intentioned claims about GDPR protocols, I’d never give consent for my children’s data to be used and accessed in any identifiable way.

I'd be telling the school very firmly that they are responsible for your child while at school and that they may not involve them with this research. You don't have to write to some random organisation harvesting data under such dubious circumstances and tell them. The school has responsibility and I'd be asking for written confirmation that my child will not be involved in any way.

Acc to the BeeWell website schools sign up to take part in this - therefore it should be down to the school to accept refusals to take part? There is no statutory requirement for schools, nor therefore their pupils, to engage with the programme. Also, on the basis that they will fine you for a days absence, yet are putting aside a school lesson period to administer this at no benefit whatsoever to the individual children taking part, I’d be livid as a parent that their time was being allocated to something that the school has opted to participate in.

I escalate this to the headmaster and cc the school governors and LEA and make very clear that it should be up to parents/children to OPT IN not vice versa.

That blog is very revealing about how all this is embedded in our institutions and shamefully targeted at children.
The "Proud Trust" who appear to be embedded in BeeWell is the organisation who developed the dice game that they claim is suitable for 14 plus and involves teaching children a sexual activity about what can be inserted into which bodily orifice. Lots of threads on here about them:

www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4584553-the-proud-trust

Great thread. Thanks OP.

There are a couple of things at play here:

1. the content of the survey and how it sets the scene for gender identity belief as fact.... before asking children who are in the throes of teenage angst how settled and happy they feel with themselves.

2. the data handling.

On point 2:

You don't have to write to some random organisation harvesting data under such dubious circumstances and tell them.

Acc to the BeeWell website schools sign up to take part in this - therefore it should be down to the school to accept refusals to take part?

The fact that BramleyMoore has been told to write directly to the university to opt out (if this is preferred) suggests that all of the children's names have already been given to the people who are running the survey. Presumably they'll match the responses received directly from parents to the data that they already have. Otherwise it wouldn't make sense.

Which then links back to this...

So no, I’m afraid that even allowing for well intentioned claims about GDPR protocols, I’d never give consent for my children’s data to be used and accessed in any identifiable way.

@CautiousLurker1 have they put something on their website about this, or was this just a hypothetical? Either way, it certainly raises a bunch of questions about GDPR. Why are all the children's names already with the survey provider? Why is it opt-out? (Questions for schools/LAs, not you BTW 😁)

The BeeWell site has a link to Parents' Information at the bottom.

The FAQs have been removed (dead links) but the Manchester parents' information sheet on the "English" link is still there as a downloadable pdf:

https://beewellprogramme.org/parent-carer-information/

@BramleyMoore did you get chance to look at the details? To say it's concerning is an understatement IMO.

By not opting out, parents are giving BeeWell researchers permission to get whatever information they want about your child for however long they like, and link it your child's survey data.

They are incredibly vague about their future plans but the summary version is that "we'll track your child for life".

How can schools justify that ethically as an opt-out, let alone via GDPR? What if a parent doesn't see the school communication and their child is now signed up for this in to adulthood?
How would the child (future adult) even know that a team of researchers is accessing their health records and other personal information? 🤬

(As a side note, I wonder if they intended to leave this page live. It's from 2023.)

The middle screenshot below is from the "data protection and confidentiality" section that is referred to in the first screenshot.

Edited to add: I realised I'd been rather lazy asking that question to CautiousLurker so had a look on the BeeWell site. They do talk about GDPR too in the document, about it being a "public interest task" and a "process necessary for research purposes"...

Morning! In the end, I emailed the school directly to say I would like to opt out my child. They replied to say no problem, they'll make sure my child doesn't participate. No way was I going to contact a random at Manchester Uni with my child's details just to opt out.

Those t's and c's linked above are very concerning!

Those t's and c's linked above are very concerning!

Indeed!

Regarding children's personal information, it says in the online parents' information document that:

"This information will be provided by your child’s school or local authority."

So if they are asking you to write directly to them to opt out, logically, the university is already holding details about your child. Has the school also asked them to remove the records that they already have of your child? TBH I'm still reeling from the idea that it's apparently in the national interest for children's personal details to be handled in this way.... and that all these schools and local authorities agree.

..but also don't want to be 'that parent' or my child being the only one twiddling their thumbs whilst the rest of the class gets on with it!

Did the school say how children who don't participate will be separated from those who do while this is being done in the class? I completely understand how children might feel awkward if they are asked to leave the room or similar. Hopefully the school has an approach to this that doesn't involve children feeling this way?

This does seem to be an unauthorised and intrusive mining of personal and confidential data involving children by organisations with zero concern for the children but intent on using it as a source of significant income. It seems as if they propose to link a child's views as expressed via a questionnaire in schools with actual NHS data about that child's physical and mental health ?!!
It seems very naive of schools not to have 1) examined the extent of data being captured and 2) assuming that just because the organisations involved have the veneer of respectability they're not also involved with all sorts of dubious organisations and individuals - the promotion of gender identity giving a very clear message that safeguarding children from age inappropriate issues is not on their radar.

The most confidential information about a child's physical and mental health can be accessed by "named members of the research team"? The potential for bad faith actors, predatory individuals and dodgy organisations to get access to the most confidential of personal data about individual children seems limitless? Are parents really giving informed consent about this for their children?

Outside of the pernicious promotion of gender identity to children too young to make an informed decision, the potential for the misuse of critical personal data about a child's mental and physical health seems profound. I've no doubt that those in charge are eyeing up the potential £££££s they'll be able to extract from the NHS etc but should children's health and personal data be being used in this way?

@MrsOvertonsWindow I can’t really explain my concerns any better than you have here. I am appalled that no-one has taken this up and challenged it - MPs, the newspapers? Most parents are probably naive to the potential breach of personal data and the fact that they are in effect signing away their children’s personal data for perpetuity by participating in this, some through lack of understanding of how this stuff works and others through simply trusting that a) the schools have done their due diligence before choosing to take part in this programme and b) that those carrying out the research (due to having ethical approval) have a level of respectability that put them above reproach.

I have actually decided I will write to my MP next week about this as some of his constituents are in the areas where this is being carried out.

I think anyone who is asked to let their children take part should opt out, contact school governors, MP, and press. The signing away their child's rights in perpetuaty is mind boggling, is it legal?

I know that the excellent TT blog focuses on the promotion of gender identity and I'm glad to see them raising the actual issue of whether measures that supposedly promote pupil wellbeing (mindfulness etc) are actually effective, with some research suggesting that they're not.

But the proposals to link this data to every aspect of a child's future life - physical and mental health, employment, income etc (as seen in the screenshots in @BonfireLady 's posts at 07.17 above) is Orwellian in the extreme. Surely this must breach GDPR principles - especially as parents are being asked to sign away their child's data for ever to these unaccountable organisations and individuals.

This really needs some journalistic investigation into all this.

This seems like it should be flagged to the ICO potentially?

Ive contacted them before and they are very helpful.

I wonder whether it would be worth making a complaint directly to the ICO about this.

As various PP have noted, the fact that it is opt out implies that the researchers have already been given children's personal data (at least their names and probably their ages) without consent. It sounds far fetched, but, for example, what if someone working on this project is not supposed to have contact with or know the location of a particular child, and that child's details have been included in the data already sent to the university? That individual might now be able to find out where that child goes to school.

I also think that due to the extremely sensitive nature of the data and the research team's intention to use it for extremely far reaching purposes, an opt out can never be sufficient to indicate informed consent. Busy parents don't always have time to read the small print of every email they get from their child's school. I would guess that at least half the parents will not have understood the implications of this or even that it is happening well enough to exercise their right to opt out. And what about parents who don't have much education or don't speak fluent English? Are they really supposed to be combing through the small print to understand what data is going to be collected about their child if they don't opt out, and what it might be used for in the future?

This is highly unethical. I would be raising merry hell with the school and reporting it to the ICO. I get that 18th November is tomorrow but if you can get hold of someone high up at the school first thing in the morning and raise all these safeguarding and data privacy concerns they might just opt all the children out en masse.

It's the modern way; this toxic mix of propagandising and grift. It seems these days parents have to watch what's going on in schools like a hawk. It all sounds so dubious, as pointed out, from the GDPR aspect alone. A legal overview would be welcome too.

Do any of the parents involved have the time to contact the ICO ? Or do they take "referrals" from anyone? Does anyone know?

What justification is there for Manchester University holding names of students NOT wanting their data gathered/held? You must also be given the opportunity to removed yourself from such research at any point, so whilst there may be a deadline for the SCHOOL to be told you don’t want to take part, you must be able to withdraw after that too.

This.
How can a school legally share pupil data with a university in this way without consent? Surely this breaches GDPR?

The info on the parents' section of the website says that it is a "public interest task" and a "process necessary for research purposes", which it turns out is part of a clause specific to the UK in GDPR:

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/lawful-basis/a-guide-to-lawful-basis/lawful-basis-for-processing/public-task/#:~:text=You%20may%20share%20personal%20information,basis%20you%20are%20subject%20to.

According to the ICO website, the following applies (my bold):

You can rely on this lawful basis if you need to process personal data:

• ‘in the exercise of official authority’. This covers public functions and powers that are set out in law; or
• to perform a specific task in the public interest that is set out in law

And:

The processing must be necessary. If you could reasonably perform your tasks or exercise your powers in a less intrusive way, this lawful basis does not apply.

If you can show you are exercising official authority, including use of discretionary powers, there is no additional public interest test. However, you must be able to demonstrate that the processing is ‘necessary’ for that purpose.
‘Necessary’ means that the processing must be a targeted and proportionate way of achieving your purpose. You do not have a lawful basis for processing if there is another reasonable and less intrusive way to achieve the same result.

Looping back to what Cautious said above, there surely must be another way to get data at scale for people of different ages which maps their mental health to their circumstances. I'm no research scientist but the justification for tracking children in the throes of teenage angst to answers they gave aged 13 and 14 (to questions with a bias of gender identity belief as fact) seems woolly at best. Surely they could survey the nation in a different, less intrusive way. For example, when looking at point in time data sets for people of different ages, they could normalise for postcode area and age when comparing them to predict future outcomes for young people when looking at survey responses.
I presume that's the "desired outcome" so that the dataset informs authorities what might contribute towards better outcomes.

I agree with PPs that this needs investigation and exposure. It looks like it needs two skillsets to challenge it:

1. privacy law under GDPR
2. knowledge of research protocols and how to achieve the desired outcome in the least obtrusive way

You can do a webchat with them, and you can do it anonymously iirc.

I just did their complaint query thing.

It doesn't have to be your data to complain.

One should complain direct to the organisation in the first instance.

https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/data-protection-complaints/

I could see this ending in a law suit at some point in the future…

It looks like anyone can contact the ICO to report a breach - and that's what this is if there is no lawful basis for schools and/or local authorities handing thousands of children's names (and other data?) to the university.

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/report-a-breach/personal-data-breach/

But for it to be accepted by the ICO as a breach, it presumably firstly needs to be established that their approach doesn't meet the public task criteria.

I really hope this piques the interest of some privacy lawyers out there who can pick their way through this.

Some more screenshots from the website page in case they remove it...

Actually, this looks better than my "data breach" idea. Scrap that!