advocacy 
Questions and answers

Advocacy workers have a crucial role in supporting children and young people in the hearings system. Advocacy workers are professionals who advocate for you by helping you to give your views and make sure the people at your children’s hearing know your views and what you want to happen. The advocacy worker will be there for you only.

An advocacy worker can:

• listen to your views and concerns
• help you to explore your options and rights (without advising a particular course)
• give information to help you make informed decisions
• help you to contact relevant people, or contact them on your behalf (for example a solicitor)
• accompany and support you in meetings or appointments
• help you say how you feel or what you think in a meeting (if you would like them to)

An advocacy worker will not:

• give their personal opinion
• solve problems and make decisions for you
• make judgements about you

Yes. There are lots of different kinds of advocacy, depending on the situation and the kind of support required.

For example:

• a professional advocacy service can be accessed through some organisations and charities
• friends, family, or carers can act as advocates
• a person can also be an advocate on their own behalf (called self-advocacy)

To help understand this more, you can see the Scottish Government’s Children’s advocacy guidance on how to support children and young people to make informed decisions on matters which influence their lives.

If you want to know about other advocacy services across Scotland to help with any other purpose, visit Scottish Independent Advocacy Association website.

Advocacy workers can come to the hearing with you and help you decide how you want to be heard – for example, maybe talking to the panel by yourself, by making a short voice recording or video, or you don’t need to speak at all – your advocacy worker can pass on your views for you. For some children and young people, advocacy support at a hearing will increase your ability to participate.

If you have been asked to go to a children’s hearing, you will get a letter from the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration with all the information about when and where it is. The children’s reporter website also gives information about how else you can get advice.

If you have any questions before you attend your hearing, there are lots of different people you could talk to, for example, the person who sent you the letter about the hearing (called the children’s reporter), your social worker, or your teacher.

You can get information or advice; from your social worker, advocacy worker, or a lawyer. You can also ask a trusted friend or family member, or someone you know would help you at your hearing.  

Remember; it’s really important that you get good advice and information, ideally from someone who understands the children’s hearings system, so it’s always best to think about getting help from a person who is in a position to help you. 

How to contact an advocacy organisation to arrange a meeting with an advocacy worker to help you at your children’s hearing.

• meetings should be arranged where and when you would like them to happen
• you can choose to start and end your advocacy support if and when you want
• you can ask someone to help you make contact with the organisation

If you already have an advocacy worker please tell the person talking to you about this to see if the same person can help you at your children’s hearing.

Click here to see the full list of advocacy providers across Scotland.

If you already have an advocacy worker please tell the person talking to you about this. Don’t worry if the organisation that your advocacy worker isn’t named for the place where you live/stay or local area. Speak to your advocacy worker to see if they can help you at your children’s hearing.

Your advocacy worker is independent of all other services, such as social workers, teachers or local authority staff and will not pass on anything you tell them without your permission, unless you or someone else is at risk of harm.

You can give your own permission if you want to speak to an advocacy worker. You can choose when you would like to start and stop advocacy. Advocacy workers can also speak with your parents/carers to explain what advocacy is and how they can help you. An advocacy worker may ask your parents or carers if it’s ok to contact you. 

If you would like advocacy support but a parent/carer will not give their permission, your social worker can let the Children’s Hearing know that you would like an advocacy worker or more information about advocacy.

If you have been invited to attend a Children’s Hearing to give your views on when or how you see your brother or sister (sometime people will call your brothers and sisters your siblings) you can contact an advocacy organisation to arrange a meeting with an advocacy worker to help you at their Children’s Hearing.  

If you already have an advocacy worker please tell the person talking to you about this to see if the same person can help you at your brother or sisters Children’s Hearing.

Click here to see the contact details of advocacy providers across Scotland. You can also ask someone to help you contact the advocacy provider.

 If you have rights to be at your brother or sister’s hearing, you will get a letter from the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration with all the information about when and where it is. You can also find out about participation rights for brothers and sisters here.  The children’s reporter website also gives information about how else you can get advice.

If you have any questions before you attend a Children’s Hearing, there are lots of different people you could talk to, for example, the person who sent you the letter about the hearing (called the children’s reporter), your social worker, advocacy worker, teacher, family, or someone you know would help you at a hearing.  

Remember; it’s really important that you get good advice and information, ideally from someone who understands the Children’s Hearings system, so it’s always best to think about getting help from a person who is in a position to help you. 

Click here to see the contact details of advocacy providers across Scotland.

If the Children’s Reporter has decided to arrange a Children’s Hearing all children and young people who need to go to a Children’s Hearing with their family or carers should be told about independent advocacy services.

If you would like an advocacy worker to help you at your hearing, you can have one. It doesn’t matter what age you are.

Usually your social worker would speak to you about independent advocacy if they know you may need to go to a Children’s Hearing.  Finding out about independent advocacy at the earliest point should mean you have time get to know how an advocacy worker can help you and allow you to decide if you want to speak or meet with an advocacy worker to get their help for your hearing.

When you have been asked to go to a Children’s Hearing, you will also get a letter from the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration with all the information about when and where it is and will include how to get help from an advocacy worker.  

During the Children’s Hearings process a young person may have to go Court.  Find out more about this on the Scottish Children’s Report Administration website here Going to Court – SCRA If an advocacy worker has been helping you at your hearings, they can also help you if you are asked to go to Court as parts of your hearings.