Foreword by Board Chair, Cathie Cowan

As I look back on the year past, I remain very proud of the management and staff of SCRA and their commitment to support, care and respect children, young people and their families, whilst being accountable for contributing to improving their lives and opportunities.

In 2025/2026 we said goodbye to two Board Members – Jim Edgar and Lynne Clow. Jim was first appointed in 2017 and extended his tenure to January 2026. Jim made a significant contribution over the last eight years including as the Chair of Audit and Assurance Committee. Jim will be remembered for his pragmaticism and sense of humour. Lynne despite her very short tenure, brought previous children’s panel experience and curiosity to Board discussions – I thank Jim and Lynne and wish them both all the very best in their new ventures.

2025/2026 has been another productive year and in actively championing a non-punitive, welfare-based Children’s Hearings System, we welcomed the passing of the Children (Care, Care Experience and Service Planning) (Scotland) Act and its pledge to fulfil Scotland’s commitment to ‘The Promise’. Much work is already underway to support the implementation of this legislation and the

Children (Care and Justice) Scotland Act 2024 and in readiness we have continued to support and recruit to our workforce.

Workforce modernisation has been a Board priority and in recognition, we have overseen and supported the outcome of a review of the Children’s Reporter job description. This work will be expanded to other roles and as part of our commitment to valuing and developing our staff, we approved SCRA’s Wellbeing Strategy. This Strategy embeds wellbeing at the heart of our culture, and leadership in pursuit of supporting staff deliver better outcomes for children, young people and their families referred to the Children’s Hearings System. Being an inclusive employer also means delivering inclusive services, and it was great to see this recognised in achieving the Gold Tide Award.

Our commitment to inclusive child-centred services continues through the implementation of child friendly scheduling and ‘Communi-crate’ a communication tool designed to enhance and support participation and engagement whilst seeking the views and experiences of children and young people.

In addition, it was great to see firsthand the impact of Hearing Centre Design Standards when in November I visited the opening of the Hearing suite in Glasgow. Thank you to everyone including the children and young people from Glasgow children’s homes, Our Hearings, Our Voice and Inverclyde Champions Board for your participation in developing these design standards. The new Hearing centre transformation demonstrates our ongoing commitment to improving the experience of people and to supporting our partners engaged in the Children’s Hearings System. This commitment also extends to our research, digital, change management and sustainability programmes, all of which are designed to both enhance and support the experience of people accessing services and staff and partners providing services.

Partnership working remains a key priority for the Board and we are delighted that SCRA’s online Learning Hub is of benefit in its support of professionals working within the children’s hearing system. I also have high hopes for the collaborative approach between Police Scotland and SCRA. This joint ambition to refer children and young people at the right time will – I have no doubt – improve their outcomes. Our work with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to improve the joint referral process will also ensure a timelier and more coordinated response whilst also addressing any public safety concerns.

To Board Members – thank you for your ongoing contribution to board effectiveness. Our most recent independent internal audit findings demonstrated our achievements in delivering good governance and sound decision making. It is good to see the contribution our new Committee structure is making when it comes to managing risk, influencing culture and holding each other and the Executive Management Team to account for SCRA’s performance. Funding continues to be an issue for the Board, and whilst I am grateful to our Scottish Government Sponsorship Team for their ongoing engagement and support to ensure we meet our statutory duties, greater certainty about funding is needed. In going forward, I am keen that we address the widening cumulative funding gap to create the stability required to meet the new and ambitious legislative changes to the Hearings System.

In summary, 2025/2026 was a busy and productive time, for staff, and our partners engaged in the redesign of our Children’s Hearings System. 2026/2027 will require our ongoing combined efforts to support the successful implementation of new legislation and our ongoing commitments to ‘The Promise’.

In commending this report to you, I wish to reiterate my thanks and appreciation to staff, partners and Board Members for your contribution to the work of SCRA. I very much look forward to working with you as we seek to improve our performance and effectiveness. I am in no doubt that our collective accountability and enthusiasm will contribute to more children growing up safe, loved and respected so they can realise their full potential.