Tellus2 on-line questionnaire and the Children's IS Index

Schools up and down the country have been asked to get their pupils to complete the “Tellus2” on-line questionnaire.

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/assets/Internet_Content/CSID/files/LettertoHeadteachers_21March.doc states:

“We have been working closely with Ipsos MORI, the Department for Education and Skills, schools and local authorities to develop the Tellus2 survey methodology to ensure that it addresses fully each of the five Every Child Matters outcomes.”

"Every Child Matters" is, of course, the euphemism for the Children's Index/Database. This is the database that will contain personal information about every child in the country. It will be used by police/social services to cause action to be taken if a child is believed to be at risk.

As with school fingerprinting, schools are advised that they do not need to seek parental consent.

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/assets/Internet_Content/CSID/t2_cnsltngprnts.doc states:

“Although there is no obligation for schools to obtain parental consent for their child’s involvement in the Tellus2 survey, schools may wish to seek this as a matter of courtesy, and especially if this is a part of the school’s normal practice.”

Most of the questions are fairly benign, but some are more personal and could potentially lead to an investigation by police or social services e.g.

15a. And how safe or unsafe from being hurt by other people do you feel?

(Children are asked to rate how safe they feel “In school” and “At home” with possible responses varying between “Very safe” to “Very unsafe”).

Prior to their child completing the survey, parents are sent the following “letter from headteacher to parent/guardian”

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/assets/Internet_Content/CSID/t2_htletforprnts.doc

This places great emphasis on the confidentiality of the survey i.e.

“The survey is designed to ensure complete confidentiality for those taking part.”

However, the survey is anything but confidential.

http://www.learning.luton.gov.uk/l2g/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/4826/Tellus2_InstructionsForAdministrators.pdf states:

“9. Fill in the ‘teacher completion page’ on the website. This needs to be done before participants activate the questionnaire. This will generate a Class Password. To log on, pupils will need to enter this Class Password and the school URN.”

i.e the system knows which class and in which school the pupils completing the survey are from.

In addition, as part of the survey, the pupils are asked to give their age AND POSTCODE i.e.

10. What is the postcode of where you live?
If you do not know your full postcode please fill in as much as you know.

This will help us see if children and young people in different areas have different views. No one will see who you are from your postcode, so no one will know this is your set of answers.
PLEASE FILL IN YOUR POSTCODE IN THE BOX

So now we know the school, class, age and postcode of the child completing the survey.

Since a postcode uniquely identifies about 14 households, a quick check against the addresses in the school register will easily identify the child.

Here is a link to the primary school questionnaire:

http://www.webstore-ed.net/eds/spmi/Data_Collection_Letters/TellUs2/Tellus2QuestionnairePrimary_doc/Tellus2QuestionnairePrimary.doc

Here is a link to the secondary school questionnaire:

http://www.webstore-ed.net/eds/spmi/Data_Collection_Letters/TellUs2/Tellus2QuestionnaireSecondary_doc/Tellus2QuestionnaireSecondary.doc

It is important to note that, since this survey is done on school premises, parents will, of course, be completely unaware of the intrusive nature of the questions their children are being asked.

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