The Information Commissioner’s Office has moved a step closer to getting privacy issues taught to kids as young as four in the classroom, with the appointment of the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships at the University of Edinburgh to lead a research.
The project, revealed earlier this year, aims to ensure that children and young people are aware of the threats to their privacy and how to protect themselves, understanding the practical and legal safeguards that can help them.
It will also explore how children and young people can be encouraged to exploit the availability of public information to their advantage.
ICO head of strategic liaison Jonathan Bamford said: “Embedding information rights in the education system isn’t as straightforward as simply making all pupils complete a specific course – it’s about equipping them with a set of life skills. Valuable knowledge like how to protect privacy online and how to make a freedom of information request can empower children and young people, and will serve them well throughout their adult lives.
“If this project is going to be a success we need to know how we can get the message across to children and young people in the most effective way. That’s where the University of Edinburgh comes in. We look forward to working with them to make this ambition a reality so that we can begin to get these important messages across in schools and colleges throughout the UK.”
Professor Kay Tisdall from the University of Edinburgh added: “The Centre for Research on Families and Relationships welcomes working across the four nations of the UK, so we can learn from each other about how to make children and young people’s information rights a reality. We look forward to hearing children and young people’s opinions through reference groups in schools and understanding how educational policy and curricular development can embed information rights in the wider context of children’s human rights.”
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