Scotland’s Named Person Scheme. What’s to fear?
The Scottish Government are debating the Named Person Scheme
As I write this column the Scottish Conservatives are preparing to use this week’s Holyrood debating time to call for a rethink of Scotland’s Named Person scheme before it comes into force later this summer. From 31st August a ‘Named Person’ will be appointed to monitor the welfare of every child in Scotland from birth until the age of 18. Opponents argue that the legislation amounts to a ‘Big Brother’ type invasion of privacy which undermines the sanctity of family life. Supporters of the scheme hope it will help to uncover and deal with cases of child abuse and neglect which might otherwise go unnoticed.
With Daughter #2 turning 18 before August I had mentally dismissed the furore as one I needn’t worry about. But then I remembered that we live in Highland, where a pilot scheme has been operating for the past few years, and therefore we are already ‘in the system’. And having a Named Person has made not a jot of difference to our lives. If Big Brother is watching, he is doing so very unobtrusively.
I’m guessing that there must have have been a letter home explaining it all at some stage, but I’m not sure I could lay my hands on it now. Our named contact will have been either the head teacher, or the depute rector with responsibility for the year group. But because, like the vast majority of families in Scotland, we have neither needed additional help, nor has our child been markedly withdrawn or neglected, or unusually absent from school, the system has remained dormant, and the Named Person has had no need to act on our child’s behalf.
Our experience, which will mirror the vast majority of families across Highland, Fife and the other test areas, suggests that the detractors’ concerns about this scheme giving the state unlimited access to pry into the privacy of our family and our home, are pretty well unfounded. The Court of Session has already thrown out a case raised by the ‘No To Named Persons’ campaign group, which claimed that it was a breach of European Human Rights Laws.
The Named Person scheme is part of the Government’s ‘Getting It Right For Every Child’ pledge, which, in turn, is part of their stated aim of making Scotland ‘the best place in the world for children to grow up’. The happy reality is that most children and young people will grow up in fairly well-functioning families without the need for a Named Person. But sometimes extra help – or intervention – is required, and that’s where this scheme will be invaluable. And it’s not just me saying that – four major charities who have the welfare of children as their core purpose – Action for Children, Children 1st, Barnardo’s and Aberlour – have pointed to the great success of the scheme in the Highlands.
Barnardo’s has said that ‘giving a health visitor or teacher formal responsibility for collating information is a key part of the early warning system we need to make sure every child in Scotland is protected’.
And Calum Munro, the former policy lead to Highland Children’s Forum (2004 – 2014) has first-hand experience at the sharp end of the system in practice in Highland. He has written that for the families of children with additional needs, the Named Person scheme ‘should ensure the end of the ‘pass-the-parcel’ syndrome in some areas where difficult cases were passed from agency to agency with carers becoming more fraught as nobody wanted to listen. It is now the named person’s duty to listen and to seek appropriate help for the family/child.’
So the Named Person scheme is a one stop shop for families who need additional support, and an early warning system to help identify kids who m
ay be being abused or neglected. And for families who don’t need it, it’s a dormant safety net which sits quietly in the background.
If I were to have any reservations it would be about resources – ensuring that the midwives, health visitors and teachers ‘named’ have the time and capacity to act, and that there is appropriate cover during school holidays.
But otherwise, as far as I can see, it’s another step in the right direction for Scotland’s children. For those who have nothing to hide there is nothing to fear. Let’s get this in place.
Barry good distractions caused by the builders ;)
Working from home I’m already at the mercy of a million distractions. Many can be found in the fridge, but others lurk online in the form of social media and shopping. But with this recent spell of good weather there has been a further distraction; the neighbours over the back are building an extension, and with my office windows open, the birds have been drowned out by a chorus of angle grinders, pile drivers and huge pneumatic drills.
But far more distracting this week has come from the workers retuning their radio to Radio 2. The whole team seems to be word perfect with every song played by both Ken Bruce and Steve Wright – especially ‘the oldies’.
The spectacle of grown men on scaffolding, dancing along to Barry White, is something you cannot ‘unsee’. If I’m quicker next time I’ll get some video. There’s no way I should be the only one to suffer…
Barry White. The builders will have to wait till next time ;)
This column first appeared in six SPP Group newspapers week ended 10th June 2016.
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