School ‘sex survey’ data sharing put on pause

Scotland’s Education Secretary has paused the sharing of data from the Government’s controversial school ‘sex survey’ after a public outcry.

The survey was being advertised for use by external researchers, however Jenny Gilruth withdrew the data after concerns were raised that it was being shared without the consent of children or parents.

Highly controversial from the outset, the survey asked teens as young as fourteen shocking sexual questions and primary school children intrusive questions about their home life. Half of Scotland’s councils pulled out of the research due to concerns over consent and keeping pupils’ answers anonymous.

‘Unethical’

The survey stated, “The local authority will not tell anyone your answers, not your teacher or your family”, in a section titled “What happens to my answers?”.

Lindsay Paterson, Professor of Education at Edinburgh University, called the way the data was being shared “unethical”, saying: “No child and no parent has been asked for permission to pass the data on to other people.”

MSP Meghan Gallacher raised concerns about the survey at Holyrood. She explained: “Since the SNP adopted an opt-out model for parents and pupils, many children were exposed to this inappropriate questionnaire without the active consent of their parents.”

Data collection

Gilruth said “we need to do better in the future” and stated: “I, as Cabinet Secretary, have also taken a decision to pause how we collect this data.”

The Education Secretary continued: “I have directly discussed these concerns with the chief statistician, I will be meeting with him this evening following Parliament concluding.

“I have also been reassured he is taking appropriate steps that will reflect the strength of feeling in future discussions to collect this type of information.”