One year on: Seeing Beyond The Surface continues to inspire change across SCRA

A year after the launch of Seeing Beyond the Surface: What Children and Young People Wish All Adults Knew, SCRA has reflected on how the powerful guide created by members of Our Hearings, Our Voice (OHOV) has helped shape learning, practice and conversations across the organisation and beyond.

Launched in October 2025, the guide was created by care experienced children and young people to help adults better understand their experiences and the impact of language, stigma and assumptions. Since then, SCRA has worked closely with OHOV to ensure its messages continue to reach staff, partners and stakeholders across Scotland.

Following the launch, the guide was widely promoted to colleagues through SCRA’s staff intranet and internal communications. Dedicated learning sessions were also held to bring the guide to life, allowing staff to hear directly from OHOV Board Members about the experiences and messages that informed its creation.

Throughout 2026, Karen Kruszewski, SCRA’s Corporate Parenting Manager, and OHOV colleagues have delivered Corporate Parenting workshops to teams across Scotland. The sessions have encouraged staff to reflect on SCRA’s role as a Corporate Parent and consider how everyday interactions can positively influence the experiences of children and young people. By the end of the year, every SCRA locality and head office team will have taken part.

The guide’s influence has extended beyond SCRA. Earlier this year, SCRA’s Glenrothes team worked with OHOV to deliver a workshop for the Fife Children’s Hearings Improvement Partnership (CHIP), helping professionals across the Children’s Hearings System understand what matters most to children and young people. The session prompted significant discussion and reflection, with artwork created by OHOV Board Members displayed in social work offices across Fife.

To further share the guide’s messages, SCRA and OHOV have also created a travelling art gallery featuring artwork produced by OHOV Board Members. The exhibition has been displayed at events and learning sessions, helping audiences connect with the experiences, insights and creativity behind the guide.

The guide remained a key focus of SCRA’s corporate parenting activity during 2026, featuring prominently in the organisation’s first Corporate Parenting newsletter and at SCRA’s Staff Event in October, where OHOV members delivered two fully subscribed workshops. Delegates described the sessions as thought-provoking, informative and impactful.

Most recently, the travelling art gallery and workshop were shared with SCRA’s Board and Executive Management Team. Board members reflected on how they can continue to champion the voices of children and young people and challenge stigma in their own work.

Reflecting on the past year, Karen Kruszewski, SCRA’s Corporate Parenting Manager, said: “It’s hard to believe that Seeing Beyond the Surface: What children and young people wish all adults knew is already a year old. What has been really encouraging over the past year is seeing it move from being a powerful resource created by children and young people, to something that is prompting real conversations and reflection in practice.

“We’ve been using the guide in our Corporate Parenting workshops with SCRA staff, and its messages are also reaching partners across the Children’s Hearings System. A year on, the voices of children and young people continue to challenge us, inspire us and remind us to look beyond the surface and focus on what really matters to them.”

Jennifer Orren, SCRA’s Participation Lead, added: “One year on from the launch of Seeing Beyond the Surface, OHOV board members should be incredibly proud to see the impact their messages continue to have. Over the past year we’ve been working hard to share key messages from the guide and create opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice and the difference each of us can make to children and young people.

“The challenge now is to keep that momentum going and ensure children and young people’s voices continue to shape how we work every day. In addition, we will continue to share with partners and keep spreading the word about the guide.”

One year on, Seeing Beyond the Surface continues to encourage reflection, challenge assumptions and amplify the voices of children and young people, ensuring their experiences remain at the heart of efforts to improve the Children’s Hearings System.

To mark the first anniversary, we have prepared a short report on our activity to promote the guide.