Parents have blasted a school survey issued by the council with one claiming it could have caused “possible harm” to children.
Dee Thomas, whose child attends Comrie Primary School, said that most parents feel the results of the survey are wrong and is calling on Perth and Kinross Council to highlight the strength of resentment felt by parents.
The Strathearn school scored lowest among area schools in Perth and Kinross in two sections of the Evidence2Success report, including one which reflects how children are engaging at school.
However, Mrs Thomas feels the survey gives the wrong picture of the school.
She said: “The community body known as Comrie Primary School Parents and Friends Association (PFA) wishes to completely disassociate itself from the results of the Evidence2Success survey results for our school and wants the council to attach a clear, visible health warning to our school level report page on the council website with a statement saying that the Comrie Primary School PFA does not recognise the validity of the Comrie Primary School Evidence2Success results.”
She continued: “We have the full support of a shocked community council, who will be formally writing in support of the PFA position both to the director of education and to our MSP.
“The community council entirely agreed with the possible harm that may have been caused to our children, our school staff, parental rights and our overall community reputation. And it (community council) feels it would also be useful for the director of education to meet with them to explain himself in respect of the implementation of the survey in our village.
“We do not see it as fitting to have our children labelled as unengaged and parents labelled as non-engaged with their own offspring. Inspectors came into the school last year and gave us a good report and we know we have highly motivated children. so to say just 27.3% of them are engaged with the school is ridiculous.”
Mrs Thomas said there is lots of “positive” family involvement at the school and said to be told this is not the case in the survey findings is “insulting.”
However, a spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council said: “The aim of the Evidence2Success wellbeing project was to help us work with communities to significantly improve the health and wellbeing of children, young people and their families in Perth and Kinross.
“The approach involved members of the Perth and Kinross Community Planning Partnership (Perth and Kinross Council, Tayside Police, NHS Tayside and the third sector) working with the internationally-respected charity, the Social Research Unit at Dartington, to refine existing, and develop new, approaches to service provision that best meet the needs of children and young people across Perth and Kinross.”
The spokesperson added: “In order to design these services effectively, reliable evidence about the lives of local children and young people was required. The wellbeing survey questions were compiled from previously tried and tested research methodologies.
“The survey was scrutinised by an ethics committee of social policy experts before it was carried out and no concerns were raised.
“It has also been independently reviewed by a leading academic who found that the methodologies used were sound and that proper data protection processes have been followed.”