Our Story ...
Timeline of our journey
Way back in 2015 some of our partners had the ‘cracking’ idea of creating a Board for children and young people to help improve the Children’s Hearings System. Now that idea is fully hatched and is a reality! Check out all the steps we waddled through to get to where we are today!
2015
Partners start to explore developing a children and young people’s Board for the Children’s Hearings System.
Partners built links with the Cafcass Family Justice Young People’s Board in England and felt it was a good model that could work in Scotland.
A Steering Group was which included a wide number of key partners in the Hearings System.
2016
‘Engagement Jams’ were held to enable young people to develop the vision and plans for a children young people’s Board.
2017
Young people vote for the name
Our Hearings, Our Voice for the Board.
2018
OHOV Project Lead begins in post.
Launched communications plan to engage with children, young people and partners.
Project Lead meets children, young people and key partners/Boards.
Research phase into models of practice and policies for OHOV.
Multi-agency Steering Group reconfigures to become short-life OHOV Operational Group.
Young Advisors join the OHOV journey
Young Advisors co-design the first recruitment campaign
The search for the first OHOV Board Members begins with our month long recruitment campaign.
Our Board Members meet in Glasgow for the first time!
2019
Held our first series of Board Meetings
Designed and launched out OHOV Logo
(and got cool hoodies!)
Met the Minister for Children and Young People
Have begun working on identifying our
Priorities for Change
Submitted a response to the Scottish Government
on the Incorporation of the UNCRC into Scots Law.
Have spoken about OHOV at a range
of conferences and training events
Launched OHOV on Twitter
Met the First Minister as part of
the 1000 Voices Campaign
Held a ‘What is a Children’s Hearing’
exhibition and event at the Scottish Parliament
2020
Presentation to Fife AST and delivered 3 x 90 minute ‘Hearing Children?’ workshops
Board Meeting – Digital rights session and decided on priorities
Launched BAND Platform for Board Members Communications
Virtual Hearings testing and feedback
OHOV Zine Team co-designed and produced interactive Zine
Board Meeting – OHOV Bake Off on Teams
SCRA Returning to Face to Face Hearings Consultation
Launched ‘Our Voices’Zine
CHS Children’s Rights and Inclusion Strategy consultation
Back to the Future – 2 Years On!!! Where have we been, where, are we now and where are we going?
Scottish Government – Advocacy Provision consultation
Board Meeting – Festive Fun and Finish for the year.
2021
A new team is in place with a new project lead and return from maternity leave of the project assistant.
Project work continues virtually, focussing on how advocacy can help and the key qualities needed in Safeguarders.
Face-to-face board meetings return, with 4 taking place across July to November. Included an overnight stay in Edinburgh with pizza and a ghost tour!
Work began to recruit more OHOV board members.
Designed research into virtual hearings and time with family members.
First anniversary of the launch of the Zine and 40 Calls to Action.
Met key influencers and decision makers in the Hearings System: Clare Haughey, Minister for Children and Young People, and Sheriff David Mackie, Chair of the Hearings System Working Group.
Evaluation of OHOV’s approach published.
2022
Recruitment campaign for new OHOV board members.
Interviews for a Participation Development Worker to support the work of the OHOV board.
Board member’s thoughts on advocacy shared at a national advocacy webinar.
3 new board members welcomed to OHOV.
Meeting in Glasgow with David Mackie and Christina Spicer to discuss reform.
Development of a peer mentoring programme.
Prototyping ideas for improving the hearings system with Kirsty and Rachel from the Office for the Chief Designer.
Adding our voices to the Children’s Care and Justice Bill consultation.
Influencing practice by presenting at the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice National Conference.
Writing and printing our very own magazine – ‘VOICE’.
Undertaking peer-mentoring training at our 20th board meeting in Glasgow.
Taking part in research into virtual hearings.
Evaluating ideas from the Hearings System Working Group, and creating prototypes of our own.
Two new board members welcomed to OHOV.
Getting involved in recruiting and selecting a new chair for Children’s Hearings Scotland and board members for the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration.
Working with members of the Voice Inclusion Project to reform of the language used in the hearings system through our ‘Word Busters’ group.
2023
The Language Leaders designed and launched a virtual bin as a way to gather the views of children, young people and professionals about the language used in the Children’s Hearings System.
OHOV board members were interviewed in a podcast about Keeping the Promise in the Hearings System.
OHOV designed a superhero character who would act as an advocate for children going through the Hearings System – sharing this with the Hearings System Working Group.
We led a workshop at Glasgow Clyde College on the impact of using stigmatising labels when communicating to and about children and young people.
Delivered a presentation to 200 delegates on language at the CYCJ conference.
OHOV wrote the foreword for the Hearings for Children Report, working with The Promise Scotland and Sheriff David Mackie.
Many of OHOV’s asks from the 40 Calls to Action were reflected in recommendations made in the Hearings for Children Redesign Report. We were delighted to be invited to Edinburgh for the launch of this report. Several of our board members were interviewed and we appeared on the news.
One of our board members became the new voice of Isla in the ‘Isla’s Story’ video produced by The Promise Scotland.
The Language Leaders created four important language principles which have been instrumental in informing our ongoing work on improving language in the Children’s Hearings System.
Work is ongoing on the creation of a good practice guide for solicitors in Hearings.
OHOV board members are involved in several improvement projects in local areas, including supporting children to have more control over their own Hearings and to better understand decisions made at them.
OHOV created two new window displays for the Hearings Centre in Bell Street, Glasgow.
OHOV met with board members from SCRA and CHS to discuss and reflect on the recommendations made in the Hearings Redesign Report and what these might look like in practice.
OHOV members supported the writing and illustration of a research report on virtual Hearings.
OHOV worked with CHS on the design and launch of a panel member recruitment campaign.
We delivered presentations on language and co-production at the SCRA staff event in Perth. They also interviewed Neil Hunter, Sheriff David Mackie and Children’s Minister Natalie Don.
OHOV delivered a presentation on the barriers and facilitators to effective participation at the Social Work Scotland event in Glasgow.
The Language Leaders attended a weekend residential in Stirling where we explored language and connected with young people and professionals from a range of organisations.
We gave a presentation to the Cross Party Group on Social Work, including to MSPs. The focus was on the challenges children face in Hearings and the solutions OHOV are building with others.
Pre-Hearings Scrapbook in Fife was launched to multi-agency audience. The concept came from OHOV board members.
2024
Launch of Articulate Animation which was co-written, designed and voiced by some of our Board Members, bringing to life the importance of language in the Children’s Hearings System.
CHS and SCRA worked on language guides, supported by Language Leaders’ co-produced principles, to advise professionals on child-friendly language in the Hearings System. Some of the young people at OHOV scrutinised initial drafts of the guides and gave valuable feedback and quotes.
Presented at the Keeping The Promise digital conference on the barriers and facilitators to effective co-design and the importance of involving young people in work that affects their lives.
Delivered a ‘language labels’ activity at the Participation Network event in Glasgow.
Working with Angela Phillips from CHS and animation company ‘Braw Talent’ to design and create a short animated video that will be used to guide professionals on child-friendly language in the Children’s Hearings System.
Attended the CHS staff conference in Edinburgh to talk about the importance of working with groups like OHOV.
Met with an architect at the Glasgow Hearings Centre on Bell Street to help design a more child friendly space and experience for Hearing centres in Scotland.
A group of board members met with Collette Gallagher from SCRA to discuss what support could be put in place to support children with neurodiversities such as autism and dyslexia, who may attend Hearings.
We met with Angela from CHS to talk about the different needs that 16 and 17 year olds might have, going into a Children’s Hearing. We reflected on what we would like panel members to consider, and what age-specific support a young person of this age might need in their lives.
VOICE magazine issue 4 is published. Hundreds of copies are distributed to Hearing centres across Scotland.
Four board members recorded a video that is being used in panel member recruitment. They spoke about what it feels like to be judged by panel members. We worked with CHS to help develop training materials for panel members and then took part in panel member interviews.
We spoke at a training session for panel members about what they could do to make children feel more comfortable in their Hearings.
Several board members developed a presentation to help teachers improve their practice. They delivered this to class of 4 year teaching students at Strathclyde Uni and are due to do the same with social work and speech and language students, along with more education students, in January. We recorded an interview between three of the board members and Gillian, an education lecturer at Strathclyde. This is going to be a really useful resource in teacher training.
Our first ever podcast aired on our YouTube channel!
Ciara was commissioned by Each and Every Child to create some illustrations about the power of language. Ciara created two powerful pieces of art and has since shared them at a number of conferences.
OHOV responded to the Scottish Government Hearings for Children Redesign consultation. Our three key priorities were the importance of supportive relationships with adults, access to clear and easy to understand information, and the removal of barriers to children’s participation in their hearings.
We were proud to march in the annual Love Rally again this year to raise awareness of the right of care experienced children and young people to be loved.
One board member wrote a beautiful poem for Pride and was brave enough to read it aloud at the SCRA pride picnic where it received a fantastic reception.
Some of our board members spoke at the STAF conference about what aspects of keeping the promise are most important to them.
2025
Board members enjoyed a weekend of fun and connection at our residential in Aviemore at the start of the year.
We started to plan our approach to writing a guide for professionals who work with care experienced children and young people.
The planning committee started to design a celebratory event for professionals to listen and learn from care experienced voices.
Some of our Language Leaders delivered a workshop at the Children in Scotland conference in Glasgow.
Issue 5 of VOICE magazine was published and sent out to hearings centres across the country.
One board member recorded a podcast with Team Teach about language in education settings.
We undertook training in order to carry out research with children and young people in a safe way. From this training, we designed our own trauma informed guide.
During board meetings we trialled various research tools and worked to improve them before arranging to meet with groups of young people.
Over the summer months we visited children, young people, and young adults with care experience to carry out research for our guide. Some of us created poetry, artwork, videos, and voice recordings. We travelled all over Scotland to meet with groups of young people and capture their thoughts for our guide. During this research we aimed to demonstrate the skills we needed in order to achieve the Participation and Democracy Award from Youth Link Scotland. Many of us are working towards this award and hope to achieve it in the coming months.
We worked with John Morrison and two other creatives from Liminal Studios who supported us to design interactive activities for our upcoming conference.
Two board members visited University of Strathclyde to deliver a presentation to education students about what pupils with care experience need from the professionals who support them in school.
Some of our young people met with board members from the CHS Experts by Experience group to visit Scottish Parliament. They spoke with Natalie Don-Innes, MSP, Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise. They were given a tour of the Parliament by staff of the office of Angus Robertson MSP, Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, and they watched First Minister’s Questions.
In October we put out our Rise Up celebratory conference, at which we launched our guide – Seeing Beyond the Surface: What Children and Young People Wish All Adults Knew. The event was attended by Natalie Don-Innes, whom two of the young people interviewed. Other attendees included professionals from a broad range of organisations who have a role in supporting children and young people with care experience, along with representatives from the groups of young people involved in the creation of our guide. Some of our young people invited family members and friends along to celebrate alongside us.
Keeping up to date with OHOV
So, that’s our journey so far. To keep up to date with what’s next for OHOV, visit the latest news section of our website.
Our Hearings, Our Voice
An independent children and young people’s board for the Children’s Hearings System
© 2025 OHOV
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