Transitions from Primary to Secondary School and Engaging in Risky Online Behaviours

The report on transitions from primary to secondary school uses data gathered from children around the time they were in their penultimate year of primary school (Primary 6) and then again when they were in their first year of secondary school (Secondary 1/S1) to explore their experiences of this important phase of their lives.

The report finds that whilst the majority of children report a positive or moderate transition experience, a notable minority reported a negative experience. Experiencing a negative transition was associated with a range of factors including being a boy, being socioeconomically disadvantaged and living in an area of high deprivation.

The second report uses data collected when children were aged 12 to provide an insight into the prevalence of risky online behaviours. The behaviours covered included sending personal information to someone you had never met face-to-face or lying to your parents about what you do online.

Findings include two-thirds of children had not engaged in any risky online behaviours and the most common risky behaviour was adding someone they had never met face-to-face to their friends/contacts list.

You can read the transitions report and the online behaviours report on the Scottish Government website.