Parent/Guardian Opt Out Form

Project Title: The Post-Primary Active School Flag (PPASF) Study

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Since 2010, the Active School Flag initiative has been successful for primary level schools, and now it is time for the programme to be offered to post-primary schools. Before it is possible to do so, the post-primary active schools flag (PPASF) initiative needs to be tested and evaluated for its feasibility and its efficacy. This research, assessing feasibility and efficacy, is being carried out by the University of Limerick in selected lead schools of the PPASF study, and we would like to invite your son/daughter to take part.

The PPASF study is funded by Healthy Ireland and supported by the Department of Health and the Department of Education and Skills. The Department of Education and Skills are involved with the design and development of the PPASF initiative. Both these Government departments will receive research reports from the University of Limerick but will not have access to, nor will receive any individual data collected.

Whilst there are no direct benefits of participating in this research study, the information provided by participants in the study will help to inform the physical activity strategies schools implement as part of the PPASF initiative. The initiative provides a channel for student voice, and it is hoped that participants will enjoy providing an input to generate meaningful changes in their school. Participants can withdraw consent and stop being part of the study at any time they may wish to do so.

Please find overleaf further information about the research study. In order for your child to participate in this study, please read and explain the study to your child. If you would like them to participate, NO further action is necessary. If you would prefer that your child did not take part in the study, please sign the attached form and return it to their teacher.

Thank you for your time, on behalf of the research team, Yours sincerely,

Prof Catherine Woods,

Chair of Physical Activity and Health, University of Limerick.

Principal Investigator – PPASF

Investigators: Prof Catherine Woods (Catherine.Woods@ul.ie), Dr Kwok Ng (Kwok.Ng@ul.ie), Ms Caera Grady (Caera.Grady@ul.ie), Ms Fiona McHale (Fiona.McHale@ul.ie), Ms Joanna Clifford, Ms Maeve Coneely.

The Principal Investigator (Prof Catherine Woods) and any of the other investigators can be contacted at any time. Every participant has the right to access their data, rectify any errors they may believe exists within their data, and have their data removed and deleted at any time.

Participants can also speak to their teacher or one of the researchers if they have any questions about the study.

Any further queries/complaints can be sent to the Data Protection Officer at dataprotection@ul.ie.

During the research project:

• Your child will be asked to complete an online questionnaire on physical activity. This will take place during normal school hours and will take about 15 minutes to complete. The questionnaire will ask about their participation in physical activity behaviours and how COVID-19 restrictions has impacted on that, as well as asking for their views on what strategies their school should use to increase participation in physical These questions have been used with other young people, both nationally and internationally.

Data Protection:

All data collected from this survey will be anonymous, in other words, individuals cannot be identified for reporting and they will not be asked to input their name. The data will be held on a GDPR compliant server in Frankfurt, Germany. Once surveys are completed by participating schools, the research team will download response data. This data can be accessed by members of the research team only and are stored within password-protected files. Data will be held for a total of 15 years. Data destruction will take place in 2033 via shredding and deleting of electronic copies.

Schools will receive anonymous reports which will be used by TY students to help inform the selection of their physical activity strategies and create a school action plan.

What do I need to do if I would like my child to take part in this study?

If you have read and understood the information on this form, have read and explained the information to your child, and are happy for your child to take part in the survey there is NOTHING you need to do. You can file this consent form for future reference. Your child will be included in the study and asked if they are happy to take part before it starts. They do not have to take part if they do not want to.

What do I need to do if I do not want my child to take part in this study?

Your son/daughter does not have to take part. If you DO NOT want your child to take part in the survey please fill out the “Opt out form” below and return it to your school via email for the attention of the Active School Flag coordinator.

Instructions:

Please type/copy the below into an email reply to your school to ensure your child is not included in the Active School Flag study.

Please mark for the attention of: the Active School Flag Coordinator

I request that my child (name)

is not included in the study. I understand that my child will not be penalised in any way for doing this, and that they may fully participate in the Post-Primary Active School Flag (PPASF) programme.

Parent/Guardian Name:

Date: