Education officials say parents' IP addresses analysed to 'ensure transparency' - as Union accuses department of 'discrediting' their views
The Department of Education has rejected trade union concerns about its analysis of the IP addresses of people who responded to a public consultation.
NASUWT accused officials of trying to discredit parents views by highlighting that some responses shared the same IP address as some teacher and lecturer responses.
However the department (DE) says it did so to “ensure transparency” – and says their analysis “confirms that many individuals did respond in more than one role, for example, as both teachers and parents”.
The row relates to a DE consultation on whether obstructing school inspections – including during industrial action – should be a criminal offence. Minister Paul Givan is currently seeking Assembly support for the new measures – which have been bitterly opposed by trade unions.
Justin McCamphill from NASUWT told the News Letter that “teachers and lecturers are rightly outraged” at the department’s actions.
“Is the Minister surprised that some lecturers are in fact parents or may share a house with someone who is a parent? The fact that this data on IP addresses has been used is extremely concerning and will no doubt affect public trust and confidence in surveys carried out by government departments”, he said. The union leader said NASUWT will be raising concerns with the Information Commissioner.
However, the department has defended its actions. Asked if it is confident that its actions were within the law, and whether it is fair to present that data in the way it had, a spokesperson said it “values the contributions of all stakeholders” and has “carefully reviewed and analysed” all responses.
They said their approach “allows readers to interpret the findings in context and supports a clearer understanding of response patterns”.
DE said it “is committed to upholding the highest standards of data protection” and no individuals were identified publicly. Officials said the use of IP address tracking is “standard practice” and allows “potential anomalies such as duplicate or automated submissions” to be flagged.
They said users were advised that IP addresses are collected.