MORAY’S POSITION AS an early testbed for a controversial Scottish Government child protection scheme has come under attack from a national newspaper.
The Scotland on Sunday has highlighted the case of a former teacher in Forres and Elgin who received a community payback order and was placed on the sex offenders register earlier this month.
According to the newspaper the case of Dayna Dickson-Boath will be “highly damaging” to the Scottish Government’s plans to appoint a named person for all school-age children in Scotland.
The scheme is not due to be introduced until next August, but Moray Council is one of several Scottish local authorities who operate an early version of the scheme. Dickson-Boath was the ‘named person’ for 200 children in the region on her transfer from Forres Academy to take up an acting post as teacher of guidance at Elgin High School.
On October 1 she appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court after a trial had found her guilty of sending messages through the public communications network that were grossly offensive or indecent, obscene or menacing in character when conversing with an unnamed person on the sexual abuse of children.
The Mail on Sunday report claimed the case is a “profound embarrassment” for Scottish Government ministers and could be a major blow for their Named Person scheme.
Moray Council suspended Dickson-Boath when the allegations first came to light in March and she subsequently resigned from her post.
A spokesman for the local authority told the newspaper: “Ms Dickson was a probationary Named Person at Elgin High School for four months following her appointment in November 2014.
“As a probationary she was supervised by a deputy heat at all times in this role until her suspension in early March 2015.”