How just eight officials were forced to cover for 80 Named Persons staff
New concern at teachers’ holidays
AS few as eight council workers had to cover for 80 Named Persons during school holidays – and faced up to 25 referrals a day from police over problem children.
The situation at Moray Council, highlights a massive flaw in the scheme, which will rely on teachers to be Named Persons.
But with teachers taking 13 weeks holiday a year – and Scotland’s biggest teaching union, the EIS, warning they will not be responsible for children during these breaks – the idea of each child having a single, identifiable Named Person collapses every time schools close.
The latest failing of the ‘state snooper’ scheme was exposed at Holyrood this week by Highlands and Islands Tory MSP and former Moray councillor Douglas Ross.
He said the council, which is testing a Named Person scheme before its planned roll-out in August, had tried to overcome the problem by using council officials.
Mr Ross added: ‘These are heads of service, who already have a significant workload and are quite often trying to take their own holidays during the school holidays.
‘They did try, on this one occasion in the Easter break, to be the Named Person for the 80 staff who previously did it. One had to deal with 25 referrals in one day from the police about Named Person issues. Is this how the Scottish Government envisaged the policy being implemented?’
Last night, a Moray Council spokesman said there would never be only one officer covering the entire area, but a team of between eight and 12 workers fielding calls. The council staff acting as Named Persons are understood to have included Susan Maclaren, head of integrated children’s services, and Vivienne Cross, head of schools and curriculum development.
The small team was doing the work of 45 primary headteachers and 35 guidance staff in secondary schools. The council refused to say for how many children they were responsible, although there are 12,000 school-age children in Moray. But the situation will not arise only in Moray, with councils including Glasgow, Scottish Borders, Stirling and East Dunbartonshire planning to use council officers to stand in for Named Persons.
Simon Calvert, of the No to the Named Person campaign, said: ‘If this is replicated throughout Scotland, there will be chaos.’
He said teachers cannot be forced to act as Named Persons in their own time, adding: ‘That’s a huge amount of cover that has to be provided by other council workers who will not even be known to families.
‘Each day brings yet more crises for this scheme which is dangerous, unwieldy, unworkable and undemocratic.’
An EIS spokesman said: ‘There are a number of practical issues to be resolved before Named Person is rolled out across the country, including the legal and contractual implications for Named Persons, as well as issues relating to the resourcing of the policy in schools.
‘The EIS continues to support the principles that underpin the Named Persons policy, while retaining our concerns regarding the practicalities of implementation.’
A Moray Council spokesman said: ‘In Moray we, like all other local authorities, have been preparing to implement the forthcoming legislation. This has meant we have piloted ways of implementing the service over school holidays.
‘It also means that some elements are in place, however, the full service will not be fully implemented until required by legislation.’
The Guidance on Named Persons states that anyone carrying out the role during holiday periods should meet the requirements set out in the legislation, with children and their parents informed.
Mr Ross said yesterday: ‘It is of serious concern that the Scottish Government are not providing
‘There will be chaos’ ‘Each day brings yet more crises’
guidance to councils on how to overcome the problems of teachers not being Named Persons during school holidays.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The Scottish Government has provided draft guidance on information sharing duties under the Act which will ensure that young people’s interests are safeguarded at all times.’
Two children were killed in Fife despite having a Named Person. Liam Fee, two, was murdered by his mother and her partner.
Madison Horn, also two, was killed by her mother’s boyfriend.