It is wrong to use volunteers in children’s hearings

I AGREE with Alistair Gaw, president of Social Work Scotland, that the children’s hearing system requires an overhaul (“Social work chief calls for review of child hearings”, The Herald, June 15). For many years it is has been virtually taboo in Scotland to criticise this system but the professionals involved with it have been fully aware of its very deep flaws since inception.

The amateur, volunteer nature of the panels has resulted in inconsistency across cases, leaving professionals floundering as to reasons for decisions. Predicting outcomes is a total lottery, literally, as it depends completely on the particular panel members. Even worse, inconsistency from one panel hearing to the next in dealing with a single, individual child is routine. For example, a panel might promise a particular course of action following a six- week recall, and at the recall hearing, with a completely new set of volunteers, the promise would be overturned. The credibility of panel decisions is therefore utterly undermined.

Although this random inconsistency is actually the norm, on one occasion I did make a formal complaint to the reporter. I was advised that my concerns would be treated seriously and I would receive a formal response in due course. Naturally I heard nothing further.

Dealing with children and adolescents is difficult. It requires both extensive training and experience. The use of well-meaning volunteers is absolutely the wrong approach. Carole Ford, Former Headteacher, Kilmarnock Academy, 132 Terregles Avenue, Pollokshields, Glasgow.