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Section Six: What would be better?

Each participant had the chance to vote on a number of suggestions. These included whether: Hearings should be held in school time or out-of-school time; Hearings should be held before school, after school or at the weekend; Hearings should be held more frequently if children need more help or keep getting into trouble; and whether at least one panel member should be the same for each Hearing a young person attends. The results are detailed below. ¹

• When should Children's Hearings be held?

As demonstrated by table 1, whilst more children and young people wanted Hearings to be held in school time, there were mixed feelings about the timings of Children's Hearings. The main reason children and young people gave for Hearings to be held in school time was to miss lessons. The main reason children and young people wanted Hearings to be held out with school hours, related to privacy:

"Out of school time because then you wouldn't have to tell your friends where you had been"

"In school time because you would get to miss your classes"

Table 1.

The majority of children and young people said they would prefer to attend a Hearing either before or after school, rather than at the weekend (see table 2). However, opinions were mixed and based on individual preference.

Table 2.

• Should one or more of the panel members be the same at each Hearing?

This issue was raised consistently throughout the consultation process. For children and young people, one of the major problems with the Children's Hearings system in its current form, is the number of different, unknown adults they are required to meet and talk with. It is therefore unsurprising that the vast majority of participants warmly welcomed this proposal.

"[Yes] because then they would get to know you and you would get to know them" Young Person - Event 3

"They should be the same people on the panel each time so you don't have to keep repeating your business and personal information"

Ideally children and young people would like to see changes made to the system so that all three panel members are the same each time they attend a Hearing. However, it was recognised that the logistics of this could be problematic. Nevertheless, children and young people thought that the system should aim to ensure that there is as much continuity as possible throughout a young person's contact with the System.

"They should be the same, all three of them" Young Person - Event 5

Table 3.

The two children and young people who thought that panel members should not be the same at each Hearing a young person attends, did so because they were concerned that children and young people would get more lenient treatment from panel members they had met previously.

• Should Hearings happen more often if children and young people need more help or keep getting into trouble?

All children and young people who voted agreed that Hearings should happen more often if children and young people keep getting into trouble or need more help. The general reason given was that it would help make decisions that would then improve the situation.

Table 4.

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