Getting it Right for Every Child
Consultation Pack on the Review of the Children's Hearings System
Section 1
The Children's Hearings System
Background
The Children's Hearings system has been operating since 1971, flowing from the recommendations of the Kilbrandon Report on youth offending and delinquency.
Lord Kilbrandon found that, often, young offenders and those with care and protection needs were one and the same. His report recommended that a single system be set up to consider all children.
The balance for the Hearings system has shifted during its 33-year history with an ever-increasing proportion of children referred on care and protection grounds rather than for offending. This is reflective of the wider society in which the Hearings system is operating.
The Hearings system has been developed over the years. The Children (Scotland) Act in 1995 updated the legislation, brought the system more into line with the European Convention on Human Rights and recognised the rights of the child as central.
How The Children's Hearings System Works
The Children's Hearings system is not just about the meeting of Children's Panel members - the Children's Hearing. The system as a whole seeks to provide the most appropriate and effective intervention for each child. The diagram below outlines the main stages in the Hearings system.
Glossary of key terms
Referral: how a child is brought to the notice of the Children's Hearings system. The child is "referred" to the Reporter by anyone, usually the police or social worker but possibly by a neighbour, friend, parent, health worker or court.
Reporter: a locally-based official - the Children's Reporter - who looks into the child's background with information, mainly from social workers, and decides whether action needs to be taken under the Children's Hearings system. The Reporter works for the Scottish Children's Reporter's Administration (SCRA).
Ground for referral: the reason a child is referred. The child may have been abused physically or sexually, played truant from school, offended, been a victim of an offence or bullying, misused drugs or alcohol, been outwith parental control.
Panel: the group of trained members of the public who are appointed to be Panel Members following vetting and training.
Hearing: made up of three panel members. Discussions are confidential to the Hearings but decisions are made in front of the child, protecting the right of the child to be heard and involved in the Hearing.
Disposal: the main decision of the Hearing. The most coommon disposal is a supervision requirement. This means that the child has to do certain things or people have to do certain things to work with the child. A supervision requirement can have any condition attached which the Hearing thinks will help the child. The local authority must put the supervision requirement into effect.
Examples of conditions attached to disposals: seeing a social worker regularly; attending a special programme to address behaviour; being placed in foster care or in a residential school or in a secure unit because of particular concerns; victim-awareness and/or mediation.
Case Studies
The following scenarios let you see the type of issue which might first bring a child to the attention of the Hearings system in 2004. They then provide a little background.
Please read each case and think about what you might do if you were able to act to help the child and/or family and wider community. There is no correct answer. The facts linked to the case studies give examples of the context in which the Children's Hearings system is working. Each child is different and a Reporter or Hearing would have an opportunity to explore issues further in discussion with the child, the parents, the social workers or others to decide what action to take. Panel members are also trained in what the law allows.
Kelly is 14. She does not attend school regularly and when she does she falls asleep in class. She was referred by her guidance teacher. |
Further investigation shows her father left the family two years ago. Her mother is a drug addict. She falls asleep in class because she is looking after her 4-year-old brother and 3-year-old sister at home. She is worried that something will happen to her mum. |
Fact 55,800 Estimated number of adults with drug problems in Scotland 2001* |
Jane is 7 and Jim is 5. Their mother lives with a man who regularly physically assaults her. Neighbours reported their concerns to the police. |
The children have never been assaulted but have witnessed their mother being abused. The police referred the children to the Hearings system because of concern about their safety. The children love their mother and she loves them. |
Fact 36,010 incidents of domestic abuse were reported to the police in 2002** |
Gavin is 12. He has been taken out of class on several occasions because of his behaviour. He has now been charged with damaging cars outside the school. The police reported Gavin to the Reporter. |
The Reporter contacted Gavin's guidance teacher who notes that he has not adjusted to senior school and has difficulty concentrating in class. He now seems to have no friends in class and has been involved in various scuffles. |
Fact around 3,000children in Scotland called the dedicated ChildLine bullying number between October 2000 and March 2001*** |
"Kirstie" is about to be born. Her parents are both heroin addicts. The health visitor referred the unborn child to the Reporter. |
The health visitor is worried about the state of the flat, the lack of hygiene and the absence of any preparations for the baby. Two previous children have been taken into care. Because of these concerns the health visitor made the referral when the mother was 6 months' pregnant. |
Fact There were 17,782 referrals on grounds of lack of parental care in 2002-03**** |
Lauren is 13. She swears constantly using sexually explicit language, abuses teachers, especially male staff, and has harmed herself on several occasions. Lauren's parents referred her to the Social Work Department. |
Lauren refuses to talk about herself. Lauren's social worker referred Lauren to the Reporter because of concerns about possible sexual abuse in the family. |
Ross is 18 months old. He is in hospital with a broken arm. He was in the care of his parents at the time. There is no proof as to what happened. Ross was referred by the doctor to the Social Work Department. |
Records show that Ross has suffered various bruises over recent months. Another baby is due soon. A child protection case conference was held and it referred Ross to the Reporter. |
Fact 10,796 children were referred on grounds of being victims of assault or abuse in 2002-03, the majority being sexually abused**** |
Andy is 11 and has been charged with stealing from shops. |
The police referred Andy to the Reporter. Further investigation shows his parents are alcoholics and they give him no attention or control. He has two older brothers who are known to be "trouble-makers" but there is no evidence to take action against them. |
Fact 1,718 children under 12 were referred for offending in 2002-03**** |
Claire is 14. She threw a bottle through a shop window. She was caught doing this on CCTV and the police referred her to the Reporter. |
Her parents were shocked at her actions. Claire says little about the incident and claims not to care. She does not know why she did it. From initial reports by the social worker there are no other apparent issues in Claire's life which cause concern. |
Fact 3,227 girls were referred for offending in 2002-03**** |
John is 14. He has been charged with assaulting another 14-year-old boy and fracturing his jaw. The incident was reported to the police who referred John to the Reporter. |
John has not been in trouble before. Until this year he coped well with school. His parents cannot contain him and he has begun going out with a "bad crowd". In discussions with social workers, after initial bravado, John regrets his assault. It emerges he has begun drinking regularly. |
Fact In a 2002-03 survey 23% of 13 year olds and 46% of 15 year olds reported that they had drunk alcohol in the previous week***** |
Helen is 5. She is often seen out late at night. She is either on her own in the local park, or out with older children. The police returned Helen home one night and referred the child to the Reporter. |
Helen's father is often out drinking. There is no control in the family home. Her mother is involved in prostitution. |
Fact 27,096 children were referred on care and protection grounds in 2002-03**** |
Sources of statistics:
* National Prevalence Study into Drug Misuse 2001
** Scottish Executive's Statistical Bulletin on incidents of domestic abuse recorded by the police, November 2003
*** Childline Bullying Line Report 2001
**** SCRA Annual Report 2002-3
***** Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey 2002
We are keen to get views on what you think the system as a whole should do for the children referred. Having read these cases, you may have a better idea of what the Hearings system deals with. The note on the Children's Hearings process and the glossary below it give an idea of the type of decisions a Hearing can make.
Please think about what would be a good outcome for a child involved in the Hearings system. If it was your child, what would you want done?
We are not looking for answers to these cases. Rather we want the case studies to help inform your comments on the feedback form.
EVERYONE HAS A PART TO PLAY
The Children's Hearings system cannot be viewed in isolation. When a child is referred for whatever reason, the system has to take into account what service providers and parents have done in the past to support and develop the child, and what they might do in the future. Where further action is needed, the Hearings system is dependent on all those involved taking responsibility and acting to support children.
Everyone has a part to play in getting it right for every child. Effective early action to improve a child's circumstances and behaviour should reduce both the need for compulsory measures and the role of the Children's Hearings system.
WHAT ELSE IS THE EXECUTIVE DOING?
There are several other policy developments and initiatives with significant links to the Children's Hearings system which are also important in making sure that Scotland's children and young people receive the support and attention they need.
These include the ongoing Child Protection Reform Programme, the development of the Executive's Youth Work Strategy and initiatives to improve the educational attainment of, and throughcare support for, looked after children.
The Scottish Executive is also taking forward the development of youth justice programmes and standards and re-developing the secure estate. Under the Children's Hearings system children who offend must face up to the consequences of their actions. Where appropriate, they must attend programmes to address their behaviour, undertake reparation and victim awareness programmes, be kept under supervision and may have their movement restricted. Those most at risk of harming themselves or others will be deprived of their liberty and looked after in a secure setting. The Scottish Executive is actively supporting and developing a range of measures to reinforce what the Children's Hearings system may do.
Fast track hearings are being piloted in six local authority areas and are already applying youth justice standards which are due to apply across the whole of Scotland from 2006. In the criminal justice system, a youth court pilot is currently running in Hamilton Sheriff Court with a second pilot due to start shortly in Airdrie Sheriff Court. These pilots aim to fast track the time it takes for young offenders to reach the court and to be processed through the court. The Executive is also consulting on how to reduce re-offending through effective intervention and involving offenders more in the community. Parental rights and responsibilities are being considered as part of family law reform, and in the context of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Bill. The Bill is also strengthening the ability of the Children's Hearings system to deal effectively with young people who disrupt others' lives, and ensuring that local authorities are held accountable for delivering on supervision requirements. The report from the Independent Summary Justice Review Committee, chaired by Sheriff Principal McInnes, was published in March. Among the recommendations was the proposal that lay justices should be replaced by a fully professional judiciary. The Executive will be consulting on the Report's recommendations before publishing its own response.
Within the Executive's policies on schools, work is being done on developing a positive school ethos, discipline, bullying, non-attendance and exclusion, as well as on integrated community schools.
Work in all of these areas is being taken forward in a coherent way to achieve increasingly consistent and effective support for Scotland's children and young people.