Busy summer

I've have a had a some weeks off blogging over summer - been 'bloggling' vacant, I've had time to address home garden and upstairs room decorating-ish!

Been quite interesting over summer ... a few schools bringing biometrics in without parents being fully aware.

I wonder how many of you parents, especially with children going to high school, have have notification or permissiom/consent slips for the giving over or your children's biometric data for basic administrative functions within school?

As children start school the biometric systems employed by schools are not always made aware to new parents and pupils? Why would they be - if it's not a requirement of law (?)

Registration? Library? School dinners? School trips? School Vending Machines?

I (we), as parents, have just had 'permsission' forms to send back to our children's school, signed, for food tasting, crossing the road, photographs taken, video taken, swimming lessons, basket/football/rugby/ball tournaments off and on site, oh and a "contract" re behaviour. (there was even a slip to send back stating that I had received the above forms stating the above and diary dates!)

No mention that our school has a biometric system for library use. A three year old system, and that a biometric fingerprint is used enable extraction and reading of a library book for those from 4 years old.

However my children tell me now that the biometric libary system in their primary school is no longer in use. They use barcodes now... pupils rarely even/not ever comment on the 'thumb print gadet that was'... - it's a "has been" event to them, not even that.

Getting a library book out is the main event for them - not how they get it out.

Biometrics - what data is logged alongside our childrens biometrics?

There is a really informative article here by Rachel Wareing about schools in Sussex, UK, implementing children's biometrics for these reasons:

Parents can see what their children are eating for lunch.

Teachers do not have to waste time taking a register. [!]

School librarians no longer have to issue books.

...others to see what reading habits our children have, by gender, age and ethnicity - sensitive information needs to be dealt with under the UK Data Protection Act.