Children's hearing

A children's hearing is a private legal meeting where three trained volunteer panel members decide what help or supervision a child needs.

Children's hearings are at the centre of Scotland's Children's Hearings System, which deals with children who need care and protection or who are involved in offending. A hearing is not a criminal court and focuses on the child's welfare rather than punishment. It is held in private, with three trained volunteer panel members, the child and their parents or carers, the Children's Reporter and usually a social worker. The panel can make a compulsory supervision order, which may require the child to live somewhere or work with social work, or it can discharge the referral. At present, 16 and 17 year olds can only come before a hearing in limited cases. If the child or family do not accept the grounds for referral, a sheriff decides whether they are established. A decision on offence grounds is treated for disclosure purposes as spent immediately.

Checked as at 25 September 2026. General information only, not legal advice.