Children's hearings

A children's hearing is a legal meeting to decide what's best for a child or young person who has a problem, such as: 

• they're not being looked after properly
• they've been in trouble with the police

You might be asked to go to a Children's Hearing so you can talk about the problem and get help to sort it out.

If a decision cannot be made at the Children's Hearing, the case will go to court so a sheriff can review the case. This is called children's proof. 

If you disagree with a decision made at the Children's Hearing you may have the right to appeal to the sheriff court.

Children's legal aid can help with the costs of using a solicitor for:

• legal advice about a children's hearing (this is called 'advice and assistance)' – for example, a solicitor can tell you what to expect, what decisions can be made and how to appeal
• representation at a children's hearing (this is called 'assistance by the way of representation')
• representation at a children's hearing court case (this is called 'legal aid')

Most children do not need to pay for legal aid, but your solicitor can tell you if you'll need to pay anything.

Use the children's hearing online estimator on the Scottish Legal Aid Board website to find out if you could get children's legal aid.