A letter sent to schools by the Scottish Government has revealed that teachers could face unmanageable workloads under the Named Person scheme.
Reacting to the letter, The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the country’s largest teachers’ union, said it would have “serious concerns” about placing further demands on teachers.
A spokeswoman for EIS told The Herald newspaper that the union would have “serious concerns about any workload demands being placed on teachers to fulfil the named person role during the holiday period”.
Workloads
She added that in the run up to the scheme, set to be officially rolled out next year, “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.”
Simon Calvert, spokesman for campaign group No to Named Persons 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.
“No doubt, health workers will be subject to the same demands from the Scottish Government officials behind the Named Person scheme. And they are likely to face the same kind of requests to make themselves available on holiday.”
Unconvinced
These latest concerns follow a warning by the Scottish police service that the scheme could make it harder to identify children who are at risk of abuse.
Further concern came from the Scottish Association of Social Work, which said: “We remain unconvinced that the NP provision will make the difference intended, and the very long list within the guidance seems to reflect a desire to raise every eventuality, a daunting prospect for the people taking on these roles on top of a frequently already heavy daily work load.”