Heading for data capital of the world

"Intimate details of pupils` private lives are being shared among teachers in the latest Big Brother storm to hit Scottish schools."

"Information about children`s sexuality, personal opinions and even how wealthy their families are have been entered into a database that can be viewed by teachers on their laptops. The move has been backed by SNP ministers, who believe it will help tackle the growing problem of bullying in our classrooms."

"But Dr Stuart Waiton of Abertay University in Dundee said last night that the new database smacked of `Big Brother in the classroom`."

"The senior sociology lecturer added: `It`s a concern that teachers and education departments are becoming increasingly preoccupied with the minutiae of pupils` private lives."

"`This scheme appears to be part of the Named Person framework, which focuses on the vague idea of wellbeing and puts the state in charge of assessing and monitoring it."

"But it only encourages teachers to behave as quasi-social workers or therapists. They would be far better off focusing on the job of educating students rather than acting as Big Brother in the classroom.`"

"The `pupil-profiling` scheme is being piloted at Wallace High School in Stirling as part of the Scottish Government`s national bullying strategy. Ministers believe pupils` personal information will help teachers decide whether a child is more likely to be a bully - or a victim."

"Wallace High has set up a scheme in which pastoral notes on pupils are distilled into mini data packages that are then circulated to teachers."

"The pilot project allows staff to view updated digests of every child`s story on their laptops ahead of each lesson."

"The Government says the new approach will `identify trends` and that its success will be measured by computer analysis of the data."

"But Alison Preuss of the Scottish Home Education Forum branded the scheme `petty statism`. She said: `This will actually stand in the way of teachers developing good relationships and empathy with pupils, which is the key to beating bullying."

https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-daily-mail/20180822/281479277266340