Never been to a Hearing before?

If you have never been to a Children’s Hearing before or had any contact with the Children’s Reporter, you will have lots of questions. This section should help you find out more.

The Children’s Hearings System is the legal system for children and young people in Scotland who are either at risk or who have been caught offending.

Families become involved in the Children’s Hearings System if the child or young person is getting into trouble with the police, there are concerns that they are being abused, they are taking drugs or alcohol, or they are not attending school.

The Children’s Reporter is the first contact a child or family will have with the Children’s Hearings System. They will investigate your child’s case by getting information about your child from a number of sources – they might speak to a social worker if your child has one, or their teacher. You can also provide the Children’s Reporter with information about your child.  After that the Reporter will decide if your child has to attend a Children’s Hearing.

Details of all our contact details for local offices and Hearing Centres are available in the Office Locations section of our website.

If you haven’t been to a Hearing before, you or your child can ask for a Pre-Hearing visit, so you can see where your child’s Hearing will take place. Some examples of Hearing Centres are available below.