A  Child Protection Planning Meeting is a meeting that is held when a social worker, or a teacher, or a health visitor, or a nurse, or the police, or any other professional who knows you, believes you are at risk of significant harm. They may feel that extra support is needed for you or your family to ensure your safety.

The meeting will be chaired by someone called a Child Protection Chair. Their job is to make sure any decisions reached, or plans made at the Child Protection Planning Meeting, are done fairly and that everyone, including you, has a chance to have their say.

The purpose of the meeting is to make sure that everyone fully understands the worries for you and is clear about the things that are going well.

Children who have some understanding of the worries are able to attend their meeting if they want to. If you want to come to your meeting, you will be able to attend for some or all of the meeting. It is important that people know how you feel about what is happening in your life. 

Your Mum and Dad or the person who looks after you will come to the meeting. Professional people like someone from your school, your school nurse or your doctor will also be invited and should attend.

If you attend the meeting, before the meeting starts the Child Protection Chair will meet you and will go through with you how the meeting will run.

You can ask any questions that you may have about the meeting and let the Child Protection Chair know if there is any way in which they can support you, to make sure that you can attend and take part in all of the meeting.

The meeting will decide what needs to happen to keep you safe.

What happens after the meeting?

After the meeting, regular meetings with children’s social work will take place to look at any other help that may be needed for you and your family.

Your social worker and the Child Protection Chair will explain the purpose of these meetings and agree the dates with you and other professionals at the end of the meeting.

The Children's Hearings System is Scotland's unique care and justice system for children and young people in need of care, protection and support.  

Panel Members take part in children's hearings. Their role is to listen and make legal decisions with and for:

• infants
• children
• young people

 They can decide:

• to give the child or young person a Compulsory Supervision Order – this can say who they should live with, and who they can see and when
• that formal, compulsory supervision measures are not needed and end the case
• that they need more information to help them make a decision about what's best

The Children's Reporter

The Children's Reporter is managed by the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration and the role of the Children's Reporter is to manage access to the Children's Hearing System. 

A Hearing is a meeting that takes place to decide what needs to be done in the best interest of the child.

Who decides if a child has to attend a hearing?

The Reporter to the Children's Panel is primarily responsible for recommending that a child attends a Hearing.

A Children's Reporter will receive a referral, on receiving a referral they will decide if compulsory measures of intervention are required and if so a Children's Hearing will be held. 

Referrals can be received from anyone who has a concern for a child's welfare and protection, including members of the public.

 Advocacy means giving a person support to have their voice heard.

An advocate is independent, someone who will meet with you to talk about your wishes and feelings and how things are for you. They will listen to you and support you to express your voice. Advocacy is available for a range of meetings as well as providing advice & assistance and supporting you if you wanted to make a complaint.  Advocates will only say what you have agreed and if you don’t want to be at a meeting, they will go for you.

Independent advocacy is there to help you decide what you want to say and then support you to say it. Your advocate will explain to you who your wishes and feelings will be shared with and agree with you what you would like others to know. They have a responsibility to pass on information if they thought you or someone else are at risk of harm. They would always tell you if they needed to do this.

Why do I need one?

When meetings and decisions are being made that affect you, it is important that you can speak with someone who is neutral and independent and that your wishes and feelings are listened to and heard. An advocate can help if you find it difficult to talk at a meeting with lot of adults, or an advocate can attend on your behalf.

Having your say is not the same as getting everything you want.  However, it does mean people will know what your wishes and feelings are, and you will be told why certain decisions have been made.

How do I get an advocate?

If you would like to know more about how an advocate can help you;

Home - Hearings Advocacy (hearings-advocacy.com)

Partners in advocacy 
Ceartas 
Who Cares Scotland 
My Rights, My Say

The Mind of My Own app is a great way for you to communicate with the professionals that work with you in East Dunbartonshire. You can easily express your views and be heard anytime, anywhere.

You can use the app on your own Android or Apple device, if you have one, or via your worker’s device when meeting with them.

Finding it hard to talk to a social worker or professional? Our Mind of My Own app makes it easy for you to say what you want, when you want.