Fury over council sex survey being sent to 14-year-old schoolchildren that asks them which sexual practices they have experienced

Councillors have urged the City of Edinburgh Council to scrap a controversial sex survey aimed at 14-year-old pupils.

The Scottish Government's national Health and Wellbeing Census, an online questionnaire for children in P5 to S6, has been rejected by some local authorities for the content including asking pupils if they have had anal sex.

According to the Government, it will help local authorities to 'identify and drive forward local improvements and monitor the results of any changes made' to the health and wellbeing of young people.

But concerns have been raised about some of the questions about sex and relationships that will be put to children in their early teens.

The survey that will go to students in S4 and above, who could be as young as 14, includes questions such as 'how much, if any, sexual experience have you had?', and asks pupils about the first time they had sex.

It also questions youngsters' experiences of 'oral sex', different sexual practices and the use of different contraceptives.

Conservative councillor Callum Laidlaw said a 'significant number' of parents and parent councils are worried about the questionnaire.

He said: 'We have health and wellbeing in the classroom already so it's not necessarily about that, it's about why you want to ask individual children those sorts of questions.

'It's not just the questions around types of sex. It's also 'do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend?'.

'It's asking very personal questions that will put a lot of young people potentially in a difficult position, they will feel awkward.

'From the questions I know are going to be asked by other local authorities and will in theory be asked in Edinburgh, I personally think some of them are inappropriate.'

The survey will be completed by pupils during class time and, although they will not be asked to type in their name, pupils will be have to provide their SCN number which schools and the council could use to identify and offer support if responses flag concern.

Councillor Laidlaw added: 'The sort of questions that are being asked around sexual activity and relationships, I think they're very legitimate concerns that many parents and indeed the Children and Young Person's Commissioner for Scotland have had.

'They're being asked to be very specific about sexual experience, about their relationships and the census is using their candidate number.

'It's still a little bit unclear to me as to how anonymous this is and quite when there would be an intervention, which it's stated there would be if there's something of concern - what is 'of concern' and how is that being determined in the context of the census?

'That is unclear to me and asking young people these sorts of questions in a classroom environment raises all sorts of concerns about how young people react to each other and the impact on bullying that this could have.

'At this stage, I and others are unconvinced that the supposed benefits of this outweigh the clear intrusion into private life and possibility of causing serious upset to young people in the classroom and also putting teachers in quite a tricky position as well.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10312523/Fury-council-sex-survey-sent-14-year-old-schoolchildren-Scotland.html

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UK: Nearly half of 'outstanding' schools downgraded this term by Ofsted, figures show

Nearly half of "outstanding" schools have been downgraded by Ofsted this term, data shows.

The highest-rated schools were previously exempt from inspections but the policy changed last year following concerns that hundreds of premises had not been reviewed for years.

During the three months up to the end of November, 47% of schools that were judged to be outstanding were stripped of their top rating following inspections, the latest figures showed.

More than half of the 99 schools visited between 1 September and 30 November had not been inspected for more than a decade.

Of those that lost the outstanding rating, 36% dropped one rating to "good", 9% fell two grades into the "requires improvement" category, and 2% were handed the bottom ranking of "inadequate".

However, the overall grade given to schools across England has improved in comparison with the period before the pandemic.

In total, 83% of schools were judged as good or outstanding during this term, the data showed.

https://news.sky.com/story/nearly-half-of-outstanding-schools-downgraded-this-term-by-ofsted-figures-show-12494870

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AustralianFederal government’s Christmas Eve veto of research projects labelled ‘McCarthyism’

The Morrison government has been accused of using the cover of Christmas to politicise research funding, after a federal minister vetoed grants for six recommended projects.

Proposed research relating to climate activism and China were among the projects recommended through Australian Research Council processes but blocked by the acting education minister, Stuart Robert.

Robert has argued the projects he rejected “do not demonstrate value for taxpayers’ money nor contribute to the national interest” – but the decision, announced on Christmas Eve, has drawn criticism from education figures and the federal opposition.

The vice-chancellor of the Australian National University, Prof Brian Schmidt, said that in a liberal democracy it was “completely inappropriate for grants to be removed by politicians, unless the grant rules were not followed”.

The Victorian Labor senator Kim Carr said the government was using Christmas Eve to “sweep under the carpet” its “further politicisation of the ARC and research” in Australia.

Carr, a former minister for research under the Rudd and Gillard governments, tweeted: “Their McCarthyism subverts research which was recommended by the ARC.”

The winning Discovery Projects for next year were finally revealed on Friday, with a report published on the ARC website saying it had received 3,096 applications for funding commencing in 2022.

The report said 587 of those projects had been approved for funding, totalling $259m over five years.

“Of the unsuccessful applications in 2022, 51 were found not to meet eligibility requirements and six were recommended to, but not funded by the minister,” the report said.

A spokesperson for Robert said the minister had approved “98.98%” of the 593 Discovery Projects the ARC recommended, but had not accepted the following six:

Robert’s spokesperson said the minister “believes those rejected do not demonstrate value for taxpayers’ money nor contribute to the national interest”.

“After going through a peer review process, it is clear to the minister the application of the national interest test is not working in every case,” the spokesperson said.

“This test should ensure taxpayer-funded Australian government research funding is directed to areas of national importance and delivers public value. It’s why in his letter of expectation the minister asked the ARC to strengthen the test.”

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/dec/24/federal-governments-christmas-eve-veto-of-research-projects-labelled-mccarthyism

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My other blogs: Main ones below

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)

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