Where do we stand as CLD professionals within the Named Person approach?

Where do we stand as CLD professionals within the Named Person approach?

by James Suttie -
Number of replies: 0

  • I am a programme manager for Plusone Mentoring in Fife. 
    There has been alot of discussions on the implementation of the named person act.

    My question; as a CLD worker within an Early and Effective Intervention project and being a third sector organisation... why is my profession and organisation described as a non core practitioner?

    Can CLD standards assist to ensure we as CLD practitioners have access to information being shared through the VPD database?

    Is anyone from the CLD standards voicing the concerns of CLD workers within EEI?

    Are there CLD workers in discussion about this, if so please inform me?


Marc, we have been using multi disciplinary meetings called GIRFEC Screening Groups, this mostly focuses on children and families who are in crisis or are struggling with school. We share information in the best interests of the children and young people. However, these cases are small in number and manageable at this stage. I think this is a good model for approaching this policy. It is clear that the named person works in this way.

However whether named person needed to be rolled out to every young person, I am struggling with. There are a number of factors in this, not least of which is that the policy as it is written, breaches young people's rights in a number of ways. The scottish child law centre and law society of Scotland as well as others highlighted this during the consultation. The government seemed to take no notice of this, which is a concern for those of us working in youth work.

This policy covers young people up to the age of 18, however the vast majority of young people with a few exceptions reach majority in Scotland at 16. So we could have young people leave school, get married and still have a named person in place? This makes no sense at all.

Most of the people for school aged young people will be their head teacher. What happens in school holidays, or when they have left school, who takes on that role?

Sorry for rambling a bit. I have much more to add to this at some stage.