An entire nation of State snoopers
How ‘Cluedo’ training shows extent of Named Person spying network
FRIENDS, family and work colleagues should all be encouraged to spy on parents and pass on even their most minor concerns to a Named Person – according to a social worker training exercise based on the board game Cluedo.
From August, official state guardians will be employed to oversee the ‘well-being’ of every one of the million or so children living in Scotland.
And bizarrely the Scottish Government has developed its own version of the popular murder-mystery game to prepare them for the role. The exercise – giving a case study illustrating the ‘lowest level of concern’ at which a Named Person will intervene – shows how even seemingly innocuous information should be gathered from an extensive range of sources, including loved ones, GPs and even fellow workers. In Cluedo, different pieces of information are gleaned, which together identify the ‘murderer’.
In the social work role-play, everyday features of family life such as a mother feeling stress at work, missing a direct debit or enjoying a daily glass of wine are portrayed as telltale signs that a child may be suffering.
The game is being introduced as a key part of Named Person training and will be used at a conference for youth workers in Glasgow next week, organised by the taxpayer-backed charity Youth Scotland.
Last night, critics warned that the revelations show the Named Person scheme is being taken to new levels of intrusion. Even a Nationalist MSP who has taken part in the game acknowledged it would lead to ‘breaches of privacy for quite a lot of families’.
Simon Calvert, spokesman for the No to Named Persons (NO2NP) campaign group, which is spearheading a legal campaign against the project through the courts, said yesterday: ‘If this is the type of situation that will be placed under the microscope, then what family is safe?
‘Every parent’s blood should run cold that a scenario like this is even the subject of a Named Person exercise.
‘Right-thinking people will see that the mother and her daughter in this case study should just be left alone.
‘This is all at the level of gossip and tittle-tattle and is an example of the waste of resources that a national blanket surveillance scheme will cause.
‘Micro-managing like this is just what the Named Person law will inevitably lead to – gross invasions of a family’s right to a private life.’
One of the key principles behind the Named Person scheme is called GIRFEC – short for ‘Getting It Right For Every Child’.
The new training exercise, called ‘GIRFEC Cluedo’, tells the story of a fictional single mother called Jayne and her 13-year-old daughter Melody. There are testimonies given by people who are close to the family in everyday life, including Jayne’s parents, boss, landlord and GP and Melody’s youth club leader and guidance teacher.
All praise the family and none has any specific concerns about the girl’s well-being.
But nearly every witness statement contains seemingly innocuous information that, as the guidance materials for the game point out, should be passed to Melody’s Named Person and which could be used to initiate an investigation.
The guidance notes that come with the materials explain: ‘The hope [is] that in a world where... every child has a Named Person, children like Melody get the help they need, when they need it.
‘In a world where GIRFEC has not been implemented, children like Melody might have to wait and suffer until such time as things become so bad that services such as social work have to become involved.’
In the game, trainees take on the parts of the different characters, asking each other further questions, and then discuss whether or not they should involve a Named Person and what they should tell them.
The notes add: ‘It is intended to be used to demonstrate how having a Named Person in place... for every child in Scotland can enable early and effective intervention at even the lowest
‘At the level of gossip and tittle-tattle’
level of concern.’ Scottish Conservative young people spokesman Liz Smith said: ‘This case study is proof why the Named Person scheme will not work. No parent wants this level of state intervention in their child’s life.
‘What worries most parents is the possibility of confidential data about their children being shared without their knowledge.
‘This is a thoroughly bad and sinister law and it is time the First Minister ditched it altogether.’
Every child up to the age of 18 will be assigned a Named Person who will have the powers to pry into family life and share the information gleaned with other authorities.
Pre-school, a child’s state guardian will be a health visitor, with teachers
‘We should be honest over breaches of privacy’
filling the role thereafter. A Scottish Government checklist includes indicators such as a pupil needing fillings at the dentist, being disruptive in class or failing to carry out voluntary work.
And an investigation involving social workers could also follow if a youngster is not ‘generally optimistic’, fails to display ‘positive attitudes to others’ sexuality’ or ends up injured playing sport.
Last night, the Scottish Government civil servant who created GIRFEC Cluedo insisted it is vital that Named Persons receive the fine detail of families’ lives to save children from abuse.
Mike Mawby, now an independent consultant, said: ‘What we know from Serious Case Reviews and public inquiries is that in every single incident where there has been a death or serious injury to a child or young person, there was information that may well have been able to protect that child but various individuals have felt unable, unwilling or unsure of who to share it with.
‘There have been cases recently in England where the information was there but people felt it wasn’t serious enough to contact the police or social work, so it just sat there.
‘In the absence of competent capable professionals such as the Named Person with whom to share, how long do you wait? How serious does this concern have to become before somebody says “I need to pick up the phone and speak to the police or the social services”?
‘What we’re saying is that actually you shouldn’t have to wait. Actually the Named Person is empowered to look into this and, in the case of the teenage Melody, speak to Melody, find out what’s going on and offer, not impose, the opportunity to help her.’
Asked if he sympathised with those parents from perfectly functional families who feel that their privacy may be compromised, Mr Mawby said: ‘No, I think that’s a false fear that has been perpetuated by people who don’t understand the situation and the circumstances... This is an opportunity for people to access help should they need it.’
The GIRFEC Cluedo game was introduced in 2013 and is now available in two versions – Youth or Early Years.
Nationalist MSP Joan McAlpine took part in an early session and later told Holyrood’s education and culture committee: ‘Is it not the case that trying to anticipate problems that might or might not exist will inevitably lead to breaches of privacy? Perhaps we should be honest about that and say that we will have breaches of privacy for quite a lot of families to protect the children who are at risk.’
An SNP spokesman said: ‘The Named Person policy is aimed at protecting children’s well-being and is about supporting, not diminishing, the role of parents. It is widely supported by leading children’s charities and welfare organisations and has also been upheld by the highest court in Scotland.’