Teachers worry about increased workload as named person for pupils

TEACHERS who will become state-appointed guardians to their pupils fear the policy will leave them facing unmanageable workloads, including having to carry out the work during the school holidays.

A letter sent from Scottish Government officials, seen by The Herald, includes draft questions asking whether schools’ existing on-call arrangements outside term time for senior staff could ensure the “continuity” of the named person service.

The EIS, the country’s largest teachers’ union, said that while it backed the scheme in principle it would have “serious concerns” about any related workload demands during holidays.

It added that its members were becoming increasingly worried at the new burdens set to be placed on them and criticised a lack of clarity over how the policy will work. From August next year, everyone under 18 will be assigned a named person, usually a teacher once children reach school age, who will act as a single point of contact for parents and authorities regarding welfare concerns.

The EIS, which said its salaries committee was examining the implications of the legislation, is the latest to express disquiet over the implementation of the controversial scheme, after Police Scotland said there was a “lack of clarity” and almost half of organisations responding to a consultation said guidance was unclear.

Previously, it had been assumed that council staff would cover the service during holiday periods and report non-urgent issues to teachers when they returned to work, but the letter from the Scottish Government makes clear that the practicalities are now being reconsidered.

It reveals that officials are also planning to ask whether existing on-call arrangements during holidays for senior school staff could be changed to meet the named person law, with councils obliged to provide the service all year round.

An EIS spokeswoman said the union would have “serious concerns about any workload demands being placed on teachers to fulfil the named person role during the holiday period.”

She added: “While we await the publication of final statutory guidance on the role of the named person which comes into effect in August 2016, there is the problem that in schools across the country, different things are being said about how the named person service will operate. Teachers are becoming increasingly concerned about the demands likely to be made of them which will have implications for workload and potentially for conditions of service.

“The level of support the named person will be expected to provide is not yet clear and may vary greatly from case to case. For this reason, the default position should not be assumed that a school should always be expected to provide the named person irrespective of its capacity and resources.”

Simon Calvert, of the No To Named Persons campaign group, said: “Teachers have a hard enough time and carry out what can sometimes be a thankless job without adding to their burdens during their well-deserved holidays.”

A government spokeswoman ruled out changing teachers’ terms and conditions because of the legislation, which she said formalised the existing relationship between parents, children and families and would ensure there was someone to turn to if support was needed.

She added they were gathering and listening to the views of professionals before implementing the legislation.