Lanarkshire Children's Hearing System Pilot

This evaluation examines North and South Lanarkshire Children’s Hearings Pilot that was carried out between 2023 and 2024. The pilot focused on jointly reported young people aged 16-17 who were referred to the Children’s Hearings System (CHS). The pilot mirrored successes found in the Structured Deferred Sentencing courts in Lanarkshire implementing changes regarding continuity (panel/reporters/social work), the writing of measures, and implementing early reviews to improve journeys and outcomes. Fieldwork included documentary analysis, interviews and a focus group (n14) with practitioners, and interviews with 1 young person and 2 carers. The Pilot showed that young people and families experienced significantly improved journeys when continuity, clear measures, early reviews, and relationship-based practice were in place. The pilot demonstrated how needs led, relationship centred practice, particularly through North Lanarkshire’s support-worker model supported young people and their families to move away from harmful behaviours by addressing their needs: loneliness, boredom, trauma, and contextual risks. This was strongly contrasted with pre-pilot experiences, where families described years of unmet needs, lack of access to mental health support, and escalating risk, precisely the systemic failures The Promise has called for Scotland to dismantle. However, the pilot also revealed areas where the current system still falls short of Scotland’s commitments under The Promise. Significant gaps in statutory services such as CAMHS and education meant many young people’s needs were not met until crisis point, directly opposing The Promise’s call for early, responsive, and accessible support structures. Fragmented multi-agency data systems similarly hindered the ability to understand children’s journeys or demonstrate improvements, reflecting ongoing structural barriers that The Promise identifies as preventing accountability and learning. In addition, while clear and time-limited measures and early reviews helped reduce drift, the reluctance to end orders early as well as reliance on compulsory rather than voluntary supports suggests that risk-averse cultures and systemic pressures remain, limiting the full realisation of The Promise’s goal that children experience the minimum necessary intervention. Overall, the findings show that the practice changes tested in the pilot: continuity, clear measures, and early reviews brought children’s hearings closer to the aspirations of The Promise. Yet, for these benefits to be realised consistently, national improvement is required in the capacity, accountability, and coherence of the broader systems that surround the Children’s Hearings System. The pilot therefore provides strong evidence of what works, while also highlighting the structural barriers that must be addressed if Scotland is to fully keep The Promise.