National 4/5
In this section you will
o Describe how the
Children’s Panel is
different from adult
courts.
o
o
Explain how the
Children’s Panel can help
young people.
Explain the criticisms of
the Children’s Hearing
System.
You will do this by
 Taking notes on the
Hearing process

Debating about the age
of transition into an adult
court

Working in groups to
discuss Children's Hearing
scenarios

Answer practice exam
questions


In Scotland the Children’s Hearing System has been
developed to deal with children under 16 who break the law
or who are in need of special care and protection.
The Children’s Hearing System has been created as an
alternative to children appearing before criminal courts in
Scotland.
Copy
this
down



They are concerned with putting children first, and rather than handing
out punishments to child offenders they look at ways that a young
person can be helped and encouraged not to offend again.
They look behind what they young person has done and try to consider
what might have caused them to behave in this way, and what the adults in
this young person’s life should be doing to try and help them out of a
pattern of behaviour before it becomes too serious.
This way of dealing with youth offences is linked to the idea that crime
can be caused by poverty, poor family relations and lack of structure,
as well as poor educational opportunities.
Copy
this
down
There are four key stages:
1. the referral
2. the investigation
3. the hearing
4. the outcomes

It is unusual for children under the age of 16 to be prosecuted in a
criminal court. Only in cases when children have committed serious
offences such as murder does this happen. In other cases children are
brought before the Children’s Hearing System.
A young person may be called to a Children’s Hearing if they:

Are beyond the control of parents or carers

Are at risk of moral danger.


Are (or have been) the victim of an offence, including physical
injury or sexual abuse.
Are likely to suffer serious harm to their health or development
through lack of care.

Are misusing drugs, alcohol or solvents.

Have committed an offence.

Are not attending school regularly without a reasonable excuse.

Are subject to an antisocial behaviour order and the Sheriff
requires the case to be referred to a children’s hearing.
Copy
this
down
Adverts to
join the
Children’s
Panel


Children can be referred to a Children’s Hearing System by any
member of the public. However, it is usually organisations like
the police, social services and education departments that
refer children.
The Reporter is the name given to the person who decides
whether a child should be referred to a Children’s Hearing
System. The Reporter weighs up all the evidence before
making a decision.


Children who are referred to a Hearing System appear before a panel
of 3 people – this is called a Children’s Panel.
The Children’s Panel is made up of members of the community, aged 18
or over, who have volunteered in this important work.

Even though they are volunteers, they go through important training.

There must be both men and women on the panel.

The Hearing takes place in private and usually lasts between 45
minutes and an hour.







Children usually attend their own panel meeting.
As well as the 3 panel members, the child’s parents or guardians also
attend.
The whole philosophy of a children’s hearing is to support the child.
The layout of the room is informal and panel hearings usually take place
around a table.
The Children’s Hearing will receive a report from social workers and
possibly from the child’s school, which all participants are entitled to
see.
At the panel meeting the child’s need are discussed fully. The child has
the right to speak at any time during the meeting.
After they have considered the evidence, the panel members make a
decision about what should happen next.
1. Why is it good that everyone gets together
and discusses the case before the panel
members make a decision?
2. What are the advantages and
disadvantages to the panel members of
having to reach their decision in front of
everyone at the Hearing?
Panels have a number of powers:
1.
In the most serious cases the panel can make a “Supervision
Requirement” – this can mean the child is taken away from home and
put in foster care or a local authority children’s home. For serious
violent offenders up to the age of 16 these can be specialist
residential schools.
2.
The panel can decide to place the child with foster parents.
3.
Often children are kept at home but are under the supervision of a
social worker.
4.
Counselling can be offered by various different specialists.
5.
They can defer the Hearing to a later date to enable further reports
to be obtained, or to get more information which is needed to help the
panel members to make an informed decision
Any decision that a Hearing takes is legally binding on the child/young person. If they
disagree with the decision, the child/young person and/or their parents may appeal to
the Sheriff against the decision.
o
o
o
o
o
o
Targets their behaviour and welfare concerns.
Provides a safe environment for the child to
discuss problems.
Provides impartial voluntary panel to make
decisions.
Allows input from various agencies – police,
social work, school.
Tries to deal with root problems
Power to allocate social workers to monitor
situations or remove the child if at risk at
home.

In pairs, read one of the following scenarios.

Put yourself in the position of the ‘Children’s Reporter’
and choose which decision you would make in each case.

You will then explain your case and the decision to the
class.
Remember that you have
three possible decisions.
• Not to arrange a Children’s
Hearing
• Voluntary support from the
local authority
• Arrange a Children’s Hearing



What help does this young person need?
What is your decision?
Why have you made this decision?
Questions to consider when making your decision
Have I heard about this child before?
• Is the child healthy and doing well?
• Is the child going to school?
• Is he or she being bullied or bullying someone else?
• Is his/her behaviour in school good or bad?
• Are the parents looking after the child well
enough?
• Is this the first time the child has offended?
• Will the child and family work with a social worker
voluntarily?
Kelly is 14. She has been referred by her
guidance teacher. She does not attend school
regularly and when she does she falls asleep
in the class. Further investigation shows that
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 fouryear-old brother and three-year-old sister.
She is worried that something will happen to
her mum.
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
at the hospital to the social work
department, which has contacted you. The
medical records show that Ross has suffered
a number of cuts and bruises over his body in
recent months without any good reason.
Andrew is 11 and has been charged with
shoplifting. This is his first offence. His mum and
dad are angry and upset about what he has done.
They have now grounded Andrew. His behaviour
is good at home and school, and his parents are
at a loss to know why he did it.
John is 14. He has been charged with assaulting
another 14 year old boy and fracturing his jaw.
The police have referred him to you. This is the
first time that you have heard about John.
Further investigation shows that John has been
going out with a group of older teenagers and
drinking. He is very sorry for what he did. His
parents are having problems controlling him
Using ‘Social Issues in the UK’, pages 45 – 47,
answer the following questions in your jotter
1. Describe the Scottish youth justice system
2. Describe, in detail, the Children’s Hearing
System. Include in your answer:
The children's reporter
The Children's Hearing Process
The Children’s Panel
 The decisions that may be made/outcome for the
child.




The focus is on helping the child by providing care,
protection and rehabilitation , rather than on the law and
punishing them.

Can prevent the child from becoming criminal in later life.

Provides safety and supervision where it is needed for the
child.
 60%
of cases are to do with the welfare and care
of children which are better dealt with else
where.
 Some
see this as a ‘soft’ way of dealing with
criminal behaviour and it does not prevent crime
in later life.
 There
are a lot of changes in staff on the
Children’s Panel and some children feel
intimidated by having to appear in front of one.
Task
Even though the Children’s Hearing System has many strengths
and has been praised internationally, the system is still not
prefect. Below are some statements that highlight this:
Other changes to society e.g. drug use
Often fails to carry out hearing decisions.
Morale of panel members
There are still too
many gaps: too many
spaces and offenders
can fall through
Choose 4
criticisms
and copy
them into a
spider
diagram in
your jotter.
Lack of resources
Inadequate information given to children and
parents
No single agency meets all of its
standards
Social work recruitment problems
These criticisms led to a number of changes:
 developed a more unified approach
 a stronger focus on outcomes for children,
and on what works
 ensure equality of service regardless of
income or geography
 To
try and combat some of the criticisms the role
of National Convener was created. They will act
as a figurehead for Scotland’s 2,700 volunteer
panel members.
A
national body was created, Children’s Hearings
Scotland, to support the National Convener with
the recruitment, selection, appointment, training,
retention and support of panel members.
Using ‘Social Issues in the UK’, pages 48 – 49,
answer the following questions in your jotter
3. This house would raise the age of transition
from Children’s Hearings to adult courts to 18
years’
What are the arguments for and against this
statement?
4. Read the case study on ‘Time for Change’
carefully. Write down your thoughts on the
benefits of projects like this.
Answers to the quiz!
The Children’s Hearings system is Scotland’s
unique system of combining welfare and
justice for vulnerable and troubled children
and young people from birth to 17.
True
The Children’s Reporter is often referred to
as the ‘gatekeeper’ of the system. He/she
will investigate any referrals about children
and young people that he/she receives and
will decide what to do next.
True
Most referrals to the Children’s Reporter are
made by the police or social workers, but
anyone can speak to the Children’s Reporter
if they are worried about a child/young
person. A child/young person can contact the
Children’s Reporter themselves, although this
rarely happens.
True
The Children’s Reporter investigates the
child/young person’s case by asking for
information from different sources, for example
from social workers, police, schools, and health
and voluntary organisations. He/she evaluates the
information and decides whether to take no
further formal action, refer the child/young
person and family for voluntary support from the
local authority or to arrange a Children’s Hearing.
False
The child/young person may be the victim of
a crime, may not have been going to school or
someone, for example a neighbour or a
relative, may be worried that he/she is not
being looked after properly
False
The panel members are volunteers from the
local community. They come from a variety of
backgrounds and most have full-time jobs.
False
Children’s Hearings take place in a local
Children’s Hearings Centre and the style and
setting of the Hearing is relatively informal,
with everyone usually sitting around the same
table, to encourage everyone to take part in
the discussion.
False
The three panel members make their decision
in front of everyone present and they have to
explain why they have made that decision. It
need not be unanimous.
False
A Supervision Requirement is a plan of work, support
and services to help the child/young person and their
family. This means that the child/young person and
their family will have to work with professionals such
as a social worker. Usually the child/young person
remains at home. But the Supervision Requirement
can include a condition about where a child/young
person can live, if for any reason the panel members
think that it is in his/her best interests to live away
from home for some time.
A Supervision Requirement will only last for
as long as it is needed, but it must be
reviewed within a year at another Children’s
Hearing.
Discuss the answers to the following questions
with your partner – get ready for questions!
1.
2.
3.
Why may a child be referred to a hearing?
How does the hearings system work?
What are the strengths & criticisms of
hearings?



Collect and read the following article from your teacher:
‘Government ‘criminalising young’.’
The following news article focuses on the English justice system,
but it is very relevant to todays society:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7580285.stm
Task:
 Class discussion on:
1.
How do you believe young people are portrayed by the media?
2.
Do you feel the criminal justice system deals effectively with
youth crime?
3.
Do you think criminal action should be taken against young people
who offend?

Class vote: Does the Scottish justice system criminalise young
people?
Yes, No or Not sure
Think
Why
do young people offend?
•
•
•
•
In 2012, 74% of the referrals for boys were for
alleged offences.
The remainder of the referrals to SCRA are for
reasons other than committing an offence.
Boys feel obliged to live up to their reputation for
aggression and to show that they can ‘stick up for
themselves’.
In cases of family breakup there is evidence to suggest
that boys react with aggression, delinquency and crime,
whereas girls are likely to react quietly.
Copy
•
•
•
•
Polmont is Scotland's national holding facility for
Young Offenders aged between 16 - 21 years of age.
The prison functions as a national resource,
accommodating sentenced prisoners from all over
the country.
The contracted numbers are 760, with a maximum
space for 830, making Polmont arguably the biggest
Young Offenders Institution in Britain.
Sentences range from 6 months to Life. The
average sentence length is between 2 - 4 years.
Children may be referred to the Children’s Panel
(Children’s Hearing System) for a number of reasons.
Give two reasons why children may be referred to the
Children’s Panel.
2013 Int 1 paper
The Children’s Hearing System in Scotland is different
from the adult court system.
Describe two ways in which the Children’s Hearing System in
Scotland is different from the adult court system..
2010 Int 1 paper
Complete
under
timed
conditions!
Complete
under
timed
conditions!
The Children’s Hearing System tries to help some
young people in Scotland.
Describe, in detail, the ways in which the Children’s Hearing
System in Scotland tries to help some young people.
6 marks
2012 Int 2 paper