Thursday, May 31, 2007

Surveillance news


The Times Educational Supplement is reporting this week that schools are being asked to get all their pupis to fill in a personal qestionnaire on the behaviour of their parents. I'm reproducing the intro to the frontpage story below - and also the cartoon I was asked to draw about it.

> Heads shun ‘Big Brother’ Ofsted survey asking 10-year-olds if they get drunk and if mum works.
Pupils as young as 10 are being asked personal questions, including how often they get drunk and whether their parents have paid jobs, in an Ofsted survey.
The education watchdog has told teachers they do not need parental permission before children complete the online questionnaire because it is anonymous.
But pupils are being asked for their full home postcode.

Anyone else find this slightly worrying? Ofsted are supposed to be an educational standards board - not an arm of social services.

No comments: