Questions and Answers
This section contains some useful facts about children's hearings, your rights, your child's rights, and how to get help and more information.

What are children's hearings?
They are meetings which are held to provide help for children who may be having problems in their lives.

Who holds these meetings?
The children's reporter organises the meeting and makes sure that the rules which cover hearings are followed. These rules are designed to ensure that a full and frank discussion takes place at the hearing. There is a RIGHT OF APPEAL against the hearing's decision. Children's hearings are often referred to as children's panels.

Who makes decisions at the hearing?
Decisions are made by the children's hearing, which comprises people who have volunteered because they have a special interest in children and young people. They are specially trained and there will always be 3 members present at every hearing. One always acts as the chairperson of the meeting.

Why is your child to go to a hearing?
The decision that a child is to attend a hearing is made by the children's reporter for your area. Children can find themselves with problems for a number of reasons, such as their family not being able to look after them properly, offending, parental control issues, or perhaps problems with school attendance. Whatever the problem, the hearing will deal with it if the reporter has decided that consideration of your child's situation is appropriate.

How does the reporter make the decision to refer your child to a hearing?
The reporter gathers information about your child such as information from school, police, health agencies, and details of family circumstances. The reporter will consider all of the information carefully and will have decided that your child needs the kind of help, guidance or control which can be arranged by the children's hearing.

What else happens before the hearing takes place?
Before the hearing a social worker will meet you to prepare a SOCIAL BACKGROUND REPORT on your child and his circumstances. You may already have met the social worker and had an opportunity to talk over any problems which you and your child are facing at present. You will receive a copy of the reports, which will arrive before the hearing, and a copy of a statement of the reasons for the meeting.

What is the purpose of the hearing?
It is to consider any difficulties which you child may be having and whether any of the measures which the hearing can arrange, would be helpful.

Who must attend the hearing?
The forms sent to you with this leaflet give the place and time of the hearing, and will make it clear who is required to go to the hearing. The law states that "relevant persons" should be involved in the hearing. Broadly this means that whoever is caring for the child at the time of the hearing as a RELEVANT PERSON has a right and obligation to attend the hearing. A relevant person is someone who has responsibility for the child, like a parent or carer. Children have an absolute right to attend at all stages of their hearing. Normally both parents and the child are required to be there but in some cases the hearing may make a decision to proceed in someone's absence. It is very important that you contact the reporter immediately if there is a problem with your attendance, as there can be serious penalties for parents who fail to attend a hearing as required.

Who can go with you to the hearing?
You may bring someone to help you at the hearing if you wish - for example, you might like to bring a relative or friend, or another person such as a youth leader, a teacher, or someone from your church, who knows you or your child well. Each parent and child may bring a different person to help and, certain cases, the chairperson may require that the child is separately represented. You may bring a lawyer as your representative but any fees he might charge would not be covered by Legal Aid.

Who else will be there?
The reporter, the social worker and anyone else, for example, a teacher whom the hearing feels may be able to contribute usefully to the discussion and help them to make their decision. The hearing has a duty to keep numbers attending to a minimum. It is possible that some professionals, such as teachers, may only be present for part of the hearing. The hearing takes place in private and is not open to the public.

Although news reporters have a right to be present, the law prevents details of the names, addresses, schools or any other particulars from being published in such a way as to identify your child.

What will happen at the hearing?
When you and your child arrive at the place where the hearing is to be held, you will be asked to wait until the hearing is ready to see you. When you are called into the hearing room you will meet the 3 members who will be dealing with your child's case. The chairperson will firstly identify everyone. He will then explain the statement of the reasons for the hearing sent to you by the reporter and ask if both you and your child understand them. You and your child will then be asked if you accept that what is written in the reasons for the hearing is correct. You may accept it or object to all or part of it. In some cases the hearing will proceed if only part of the statement is accepted. If you all accept that the statement is true, the hearing will go on to have a full and frank discussion and will normally make a decision as the whether to make a supervision requirement.

There may be circumstances where the hearing has to be continued for further information or for the appointment of a SAFEGUARDER. A safeguarder is appointed where the hearing feels that they require a report from an independent source as to what is in the child's best interests. The safeguarder will speak with you and your child and with the professionals who are submitting reports to the hearing before submitting his recommendations. The hearing will consider the safeguarder's report, together with the other available information. The safeguarder will normally be in attendance at the hearing.

What happens if you or your child do not accept the reasons for the hearing?
The hearing will not go on with your child's case that day. The hearing may decide to discharge the case altogether or they may ask the reporter to arrange for the case to be heard by the Sheriff. Within a few weeks the Sheriff will hear witnesses and decide whether the reasons for the hearing have been proved or not. The appearance before the Sheriff is in private. Where the Sheriff decides the reasons for the hearing are correct, he will send your child back to a hearing which will meet to decide what should be done. On the other hand, if the Sheriff decides they are not correct, he will discharge the case. A safeguarder can also be appointed where the case is to go before the Sheriff.

You may have a lawyer to help you when the case goes before the Sheriff. Legal Aid may be available for this. If you are unsure how to go about getting help from a lawyer, the reporter or social worker should be able to give you information. Alternatively, you might wish to contact the sheriff clerk at your local Sheriff Court for more information about the proceedings. The address and telephone number of the local Sheriff Court is in the telephone directory. You should contact a lawyer as quickly as possible.

NOTE: As previously stated, the hearing has to be sure that the child understands the statement of the reasons for the hearing. If the child does not understand them, for example because he is a baby or a very young child, the hearing MUST send the case to the Sheriff if it wants to continue with it, whether or not you, as the child's parents, accept the statement.

What does the hearing take into consideration?
The purpose of the hearing is to decide whether any COMPULSORY MEASURES OF SUPERVISION would be helpful to you child. In making this decision, the members of the hearing will consider not only what has happened to bring the child before them, but also the SOCIAL BACKGROUND REPORT and any other information. You will have a copy of the relevant reports which are to be discussed.

The hearing will talk with you and your child. You may be asked to leave the hearing in order to assist your child to speak to the members. If this happens, when you return to the room the hearing must tell you the main points of the discussion which took place in your absence. Your child has a right to be present at all times but the hearing may excuse him from attendance in certain circumstances.

What can the hearing decide to do?
Where it is decided that no compulsory help is needed, the hearing will discharge the case. Where the members feel that your child needs compulsory guidance, help, care or control, a supervision requirement will be made. This may require your child to be under the supervision of a social worker while he remains at home. The hearing may also make a supervision requirement with the condition that you child lives away from home for a time, perhaps with a relative, or in a children's home, foster home or residential school.

Where the hearing continues a child's care for further information, as mentioned earlier, it may require you child to attend a child guidance clinic or hospital for the purpose of investigation and reporting of any problems. Sometimes it is necessary for the child to live away from home for a short time in order to obtain fuller information so that the hearing can come to the best decision.

Can you appeal against the decision of the hearing?
You, your child, or any safeguarder who has been appointed to the hearing, can appeal against the decision. Any appeal by the safeguarder is an appeal on behalf of the child and not an appeal in his own right. The appeal has to be made within 3 weeks. You may have the help of a lawyer. Legal Aid may be available for this.

If you are considering making an appeal, the reporter or social worker can give you more information about how to go about it. You will be sent a copy of the hearing's reasons for decision. It is important to take this document to your lawyer as soon as possible, together with the other documentation relevant to your child's case when considering an appeal.

How long does the supervision requirement last?
Supervision should last for as short a time as is necessary but there is no set duration. After a certain time a children's hearing will consider your child's case again. this kind of hearing is called a REVIEW HEARING. The hearing can specify when this is to be, or you or your child can ask for a review hearing after 3 months. The social worker can ask for a review hearing at any time.

If none of these things have happened a review must take place within a year of the date when the supervision requirement was made. At a review hearing, the supervision requirement may be ended, continued or changed if this is though to be more helpful. After each review hearing you or your child ha the right to appeal against the decision and to ask for another review hearing after 3 months.

Remember - your child has been sent similar information but in a format which is age appropriate. You may wish to discuss the contents together before attending the hearing. If you have any queries prior to attendance at the hearing, please contact the social work department or the local reporter for further assistance.

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Places to get in touch with for advice and help...
If you would like to speak with your local children's reporter the number is in the telephone directory.

For someone to speak to about things that might be worrying you:

ParentLine Scotland

Tel: 0808 800 2222