Across the last 19 months, OHOV board members have been working alongside the Hearings System Working Group (HSWG) – Sheriff David Mackie, The Promise Scotland, the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration and Children’s Hearings Scotland – to redesign the Children’s Hearings System, drawing on OHOV’s 40 Calls to Action
The Promise Scotland has created a stunning animation which demonstrates how the proposed HSWG reforms will fundamentally improve children and their families’ experiences. Our very own board member Ciara has been involved with OHOV from the very start and has beautifully added the voiceover for the new animation called Isla’s journey.
Ciara and her fellow board member, Lisa, also wrote the foreword for the HSWG redesign report, stressing the importance for leaders, practitioners and volunteers of stepping into children’s shoes and taking real action. They make this plea:
“Although this can be easily seen as just words in a report, there are real people and real lives behind these pages. To those responsible for making these changes happen, we ask that you don’t miss this opportunity to change lives”.
The Promise Scotland’s Policy & Public Affairs Manager, Christina Spicer, worked closely alongside OHOV’s board members and the HSWG to ensure their voice was listened to and that young people were able to test out changes at each stage of reform. After working with Ciara on Isla’s animation, she had this to say:
“It is important to demonstrate how the recommendations in the report can drastically change the experience of children, young people and families for the better. The story of a designed system is told in our new film of Isla’s journey through a redesigned Children’s Hearings System.
“To reflect the voices of the young people, the Hearings System Working Group and The Promise Scotland met with, listeners will hear a board member from OHOV giving ‘Isla’ her ‘voice’. This embodies the core vision of a redesigned Children’s Hearings System – one with the voice of children and young people at the centre.
“It was such an honour to work with Ciara over those recording days, but also throughout the redesign process. I continue to be amazed and inspired by the wealth of knowledge the young people have brought to this process.”