Blog
Keeping you up to date on the progress of the Named Person scheme and the NO2NP campaign.
NO2NP ACTION DAY: ABERDEEN
Posted 8 years ago
A massive thank you to the wonderful volunteers who braved a truly dreich Saturday morning in Aberdeen, where the rain was “dingin’ doon”, to hand out hundreds of flyers to shoppers on the Granite City’s busy Union Street. Well done!
After a good week for the campaign, with several newspapers and the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman raising concerns about the Named Person scheme, our Aberdeen volunteers were keen to build on this momentum by spreading the word on Scotland’s busiest high street.
The team gathered for a briefing in a local cafe and as they were leaving, a retired teacher asked us what we were about. When we told her, she said she was totally opposed to the scheme. A great start!
Once on the streets, it became clear that many Aberdonians were completely unaware of the intrusive state guardian scheme, although others knew about it and some had signed our petition already. Many who hadn’t, promised to do so once they got home, while others sheltered under our NO2NP umbrellas to sign the petition there and then.
Two grandmothers who signed the petition took away additional leaflets to give to their sons and daughters, so they could sign it as well. One man commented “I’ll tell you who Named Persons are – parents”, while another took some leaflets from us and started handing them out to passers by – he was so keen, he didn’t even wait to be signed up as a volunteer!
A headteacher said that she had already been given lots of paperwork that really wasn’t a headteacher’s job to do even before she became a Named Person, so she didn’t know how she would be able to find the time to fit in all the Named Person’s duties. We don’t know either!
After a busy couple of hours, the team returned to the cafe for some well-earned refreshments and as we went in, we overheard a young couple talking about the Named Person – the word had certainly got out! The cafe was happy to have a bundle of our flyers on their counter, so a big shout out to the Coffee House in Gaelic Lane for being onside!
The campaign is taking a break for a week, but we’ll be down the coast in Arbroath on Monday 14th March at The Webster Theatre at 7.30pm. If you live in Angus, we hope to see you there!
New 2016 Roadshows: Greenock ● Falkirk ● Dunfermline
Posted 8 years agoWe’re pleased to announce new NO2NP Roadshows for 2016. Our teams of speakers will visit Greenock (18 January), Falkirk (01 February) and Dunfermline (09 February) in the next couple of months.
Come and hear experts share about the many concerns surrounding the Scottish Government’s Named Person scheme. Hope you can make it! Please visit our Roadshow page for more information.
GREENOCK ● MONDAY 18 JANUARY ● 7:30PM – 9PM
Holiday Inn Express, Cartsburn West, Greenock, PA15 1AE
FALKIRK ● MONDAY 01 FEBRUARY ● 7:30PM – 9PM
Camelon Suite, Best Western Park Hotel, Camelon Road, Falkirk, FK1 5RY
DUNFERMLINE ● TUESDAY 09 FEBRUARY ● 7:30PM – 9PM
Pitbauchlie House Hotel, Aberdour Road, Dunfermline, KY11 4PB
Download a NO2NP Roadshow flyer to share with friends