In early 2023, the UK Column began covering the Fornessey Survivors Group, an organisation of women who were mentally, physically and sexually abused as girls from Glasgow between 1960 and 1991 at the Fornessey boarding school in a remote part of Perthshire, Scotland. The group has been working for four and a half years to find answers to why they were sent there and to seek justice for themselves and their perpetrators. In recent months, the fight for justice has made great strides. The latest UK Column updates start with this article.
The group: Plea In 2022, the Scottish Parliament will allow access for Fornessey survivors. Scottish compensation scheme Assistance for victims of institutional child abuse is an improvement that would require broadening eligibility criteria. It is still under review two years later and will be reviewed again by a public participation and recruitment committee. March 20, 2024With new evidence. Scotland's SNP Deputy First Minister, Shona Robison MSP, Questioned by the committee Regarding why Fornessy survivors are not eligible to apply for compensation. Why are survivors now not eligible to apply for compensation and what is the new evidence?
The Scottish Government appointed an “independent researcher”, Dr Emma Fossey, in September 2023 to gather evidence relevant to the petition. She will primarily speak to government officials and search the archives of Glasgow City Council and the National Archives of Scotland to answer the questions: (a) why were the girls sent to Fornessey and who sent them, and (b) what has Glasgow City Council done to locate the Fornessey records?
Why was Dr. Fossey selected to investigate the Fornessey case and submit a report to Deputy Prime Minister Robison? Her 1996 PhD thesis: Growing up with alcohol: A developmental study of young children's cognition., Helping historically abused women seek justice doesn't seem like a good fit: She doesn't appear to have published a research paper since her PhD, instead running a business called PhEW (Plain (helpful) English Writing). Her Website:
In a career spanning academia, central government and the wider public sector, I’ve had plenty of opportunity to experience first-hand the misery of incomprehensible English – and have often imposed it on others myself. But one day, after being confronted with a particularly incomprehensible report, I finally realised:
If I, with all my inside knowledge, have a hard time reading the information we put out, how can we expect the people we are trying to help to understand it?
Now, with all the work I do, I help others make the world a little more fair, and in this age of misinformation, disinformation and alternative facts, the clarity that Plain English brings feels more important than ever.
After learning of Dr Emma Fossey's qualifications, the Fornessey Survivors Group decided to appoint me as a researcher. This came about through my connection with the UK column. I obtained my Masters degree in 2001, the qualification required to become a professional librarian, and my PhD in 2006. Since 2002 I have worked full-time in the field of library and information studies. I am currently Professor of Social Informatics at the University of Edinburgh. The choice of researcher, according to the survivors, was clear and I was honoured to be selected.
Between September and December 2023, I accessed archival material at Glasgow City Archives, the National Archives of Scotland Historical Search Room and the Scottish Historic Environment Library in the same way as Dr Fossey, to gather all available information about Fornessey and the circumstances surrounding its history, inception and closure. The sheer amount of material found was surprising given that Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Parliament have stated that they have “no records” of Fornessey. My evidence consists of the following material:
- Glasgow City (CG) and Strathclyde Regional Council (SRC) committee minutes and reports
- Annual report from the CG Board of Education and School Health Services
- C.G. Board of Education Handbook and S.R.C. School Directory/Education Directory
- CG Education Department Regulatory Handbook and Information for Principals
- Destroyed Records, Records Management Division, Glasgow City Council (GCC)
- National Archives of Scotland
- Education (Scotland) Code and Acts
- Previous UK column
- Past and present mainstream media sources
Robison's public testimony contains several errors and misleading statements. Officially Announced Submissions In support of the petition, which was limited to 1,000 words, a longer version was provided that pointed out problems present in Dr. Fossey's testimony.
1. Name of school. In his report, Dr. Fossey referred to the school as “Fonessey House Residential School.” Fornessy House Boarding School EnquiriesWhen the survivors attended the school, it was called “Fonessey Residential School.”
2. The length of time the school operates (Fossey, p. 14). Dr. Fossey's report states, “Fonessey House (Original text) The boarding school is understood to have closed in 1993 (although I have not seen any documentation confirming the exact date).
Fornessy is Boarding School It served as a facility for female students from 1960 to 1990. During that time it functioned as an “outdoor activities center” and was called the Fornessey Residential Education Center. Paisley Daily Express It opened on September 18, 1990. Boys and girls could usually spend a week there with their classmates and teachers until the building was closed.
On March 17, 1993, the SRC declared the building “above educational necessity.” On March 20, 1993, Paisley Daily Express He wrote that in June 1993 Fornessey was scheduled for closure by Strathclyde District Council.
3. Why were the girls sent to Fossey? (Fossey, p. 6). Dr. Fossey writes: “Primary school girls from Glasgow were sent there to recuperate after illness or to enjoy the benefits of 'medical leave.'”
There is no actual evidence that this is the only reason, but it is listed as one of the reasons in government documents. There is other evidence that Glasgow children were sent to “treatment” schools like Fornessey because they came from poor or disadvantaged backgrounds. That said, there is at least one group survivor who was neither treatment nor poor at the time they were sent to Fornessey.
(In 1945 the Glasgow City Commissioner for Education submitted a report (National Archives of Scotland ED48/932) outlining plans for the establishment of short-term boarding schools. This report contained experimental ideas which remained essentially unchanged throughout the existence of Fornessey Boarding School. The advantages listed for setting up boarding schools included: Note that he placed emphasis on disease prevention, rather than recovery from illness or social education.)
