Petition Summary
Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to introduce measures to stop teachers from backdating or altering school records in SEEMiS and any other education management information systems.
Petitioner: Paul Blaker on behalf of Accountability Scotland.
Background information
Scottish schools use the SEEMiS application for school records. It’s essential and in the public interest that school records are accurate like other public systems of records such as the NHS or Police Scotland.
Teachers, unlike the police or NHS staff, are able to use functionality to alter a record after it was created. One of our members took a council to court to prove this, after the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman wrongly relied on school records our member knew had not been recorded contemporaneously. Following a court order he discovered that over 10 school records had been created and made to look like they had been recorded before alleged safeguarding failures caused significant harm to his child. We have since discovered that this has been going on for years.
A recent response from the Information Commissioner’s Office to a complaint we raised on this matter recognised that, in the above case, the council’s practice did not comply with data protection legislation. The practice is also open to abuse, a risk to children, and it must be stopped.
Please see here https://petitions.parliament.scot/petitions/PE2181 for tmore information.
Scottish Government written submission, 8 October 2025
The submission was made by the Education Analytical Services, Information Management, Improvement and Evidence Unit
Does the Scottish Government consider the specific ask[s] of the petition to be practical or achievable? If not, please explain why.
The Scottish Government expects local authorities and schools to keep factually accurate and timely records on school management information systems, that complies with local authorities’ legal obligations including data protection law, and guidance issued by the Scottish Government.
This involves ensuring that staff and teachers understand when information should be being recorded, and that they only have access to parts of any management information system to which they require access, and where required, are enabled to add new or additional information to records, or to make changes to information to existing records that is shown to be inaccurate.
The Scottish Government expects there to be clear audit processes and procedures in place that track who has accessed such systems, what changes were made to pre-existing information, and the reasons for these changes.
Local authorities are responsible for ensuring data protection laws are adhered to, and taking any action on advice given to them by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
The Scottish Government also expects local authorities to work with their school management information system provider to ensure that systems are fit for purpose, and staff and teachers are provided with clear guidance and instructions on how to use the system.
With regards to the recording of bullying incidents, the Scottish Government updated its national anti-bullying guidance, Respect for All, in November 2024, which included updated guidance on recording and monitoring.
What, if any, action the Scottish Government is currently taking to address the issues raised by this petition and is any further action being considered that will achieve the ask[s] of this petition?
SEEMiS Group LLP is an Education Management Information System (MIS) provider set up and funded by all 32 local authorities in Scotland. It works closely with its members and other strategic bodies responsible for the education direction in Scotland, and looks to continually improve its product set and support local authorities and their associated schools to deliver their statutory and discretionary responsibilities.
The Scottish Government does not have any contract with SEEMiS Group LLP, but works with local authorities (either directly or via strategic bodies such as ADES, CoSLA and SOLACE) in relation to matters related to their provision of education services, and any associated gathering and recording of information.
Is there any further information the Scottish Government wish to bring to the Committee’s attention, which would assist it in considering this petition?
The Scottish Government works with local authorities and strategic bodies to ensure quality and consistency standards are achieved for information being gathered by schools and local authorities in light of any guidance issued by the Scottish Government, particularly for information which is then shared with the Scottish Government for its own statistical and research purposes.
The Scottish Government does not collect information on bullying incidents that are recorded on SEEMiS, but it does support any actions undertaken by local authorities that helps them better support the wellbeing of children and young people.
Petitioner written submission, 9 October 2025
Please see here: https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/committees/citizen-participation-and-public-petitions-committee/correspondence/2024/pe2181/pe2181_b.pdf
Does the Scottish Government grasp the gravity of the current situation?
Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) is not a slogan — it is Scotland’s longstanding national commitment to ensure that every child, young person, and their family receives the right support at the right time. Its core promise is to safeguard wellbeing and enable every child to reach their full potential.
This promise cannot be fulfilled without a reliable foundation: accurate school records. Just as the NHS depends on precise medical records to deliver safe and effective care, GIRFEC depends on truthful educational records to identify risks, coordinate support, and uphold children's rights. When school records are falsified or manipulated, this is not possible. The consequences are not abstract — they are real, measurable, and harmful.
The Petitioner has uncovered a widespread and deeply concerning practice across Scotland: teachers unlawfully falsifying school records for years to conceal failings, misconduct, or safeguarding breaches. This is not isolated, it is systemic. The consequences are severe and ongoing, with children harmed by the erosion of truth, accountability, and appropriate support.
Local authorities are not merely passive observers. Councils are aware of this misconduct and have actively protected staff engaged in it, obstructing investigations and shielding those responsible from scrutiny.
Equally alarming is the stance of the General Teaching Council for Scotland which has refused to investigate teachers caught falsifying records even when presented with clear evidence that a child has been harmed as a result of this. This failure to act undermines the integrity of Scotland’s regulatory framework and signals institutional complicity.
Would the Scottish Government permit the NHS to backdate medical records or alter previously recorded information without retaining original versions? Of course not.
Such a practice would violate clinical governance, compromise patient safety, and breach legal standards for data integrity.
So why is the Government prepared to tolerate this exact misconduct in education with no intervention, no oversight, and no accountability?
The Scottish Government must intervene without delay. Failure to act will not only perpetuate injustice — it will compound it by enabling it to continue. Ministers have a duty to uphold the integrity of Scotland’s education system and protect children from institutional harm. Anything less is a dereliction of that duty.
Petition PE02181 - Dismissal Minute 12th November 2025
School Records (Alterations) (PE2181)
The Convener:
PE2181, lodged by Paul Blaker on behalf of Accountability Scotland, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to introduce measures to stop teachers backdating or altering school records in SEEMiS and other education management information systems. SEEMiS, which is the management information system provider that is used by local authority schools in Scotland, holds the core student records.
The petitioner believes that the practice of altering school records after they were created is open to abuse and could cause significant harm to children. The SPICe briefing cites the particular case mentioned by the petitioner in which a local council in Scotland was censured by the Information Commissioner’s Office for backdating education records, and it adds that, in a separate case, a different council was found by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman not to have consistently recorded incidents reported in pastoral and other recording systems.
In its response to the petition, the Scottish Government makes clear its expectation that local authorities and schools should keep accurate and timely records in compliance with relevant legislation and Government guidance. The Scottish Government also expects local authorities to ensure that staff and teachers understand how information should be recorded and to have clear audit processes and procedures in place to track who has accessed such systems and what changes have been made to pre-existing information, together with the reason for those changes.
SEEMiS explained to our SPICe researchers that the ability to backdate or update records in pastoral notes is intended to align with the day-to-day practice in schools. Teachers or staff might not be able to update records immediately and, therefore, may create or update records when they have non-contact time. SEEMiS also clarifies that, following the issues highlighted in the first case that I mentioned, changes were made to the system to allow local authorities to access the content history of an entry, rather than just the dates and the authors of any changes.
Colleagues, do we have any suggestions as to how we might proceed ?
David Torrance:
I wonder whether the committee would consider closing the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders, on the basis that the Scottish Government has indicated that it is the responsibility of local authorities and schools to keep accurate records in compliance with relevant legislation and guidance; to have a clear audit process in place; and to work with their school management information system provider to ensure that systems are fit for purpose. The ability to update records in SEEMiS is intended to align with the day-to-day practice in schools and allow staff to update records when they have non-contact time, and changes to the system mean that local authorities can now also access the content history of individual notes, rather than just dates and the authors of information.
The Convener:
Are members content with that ?
Members indicated agreement.
The Convener:
We thank the petitioner for lodging the petition, but, unfortunately, I do not think that there is more that we can reasonably hope to achieve in the very limited time that is left to us in this parliamentary session. For the reasons that Mr Torrance has suggested, we are closing the petition, but again we thank the petitioner for submitting it.