Children’s Hearings Scotland has launched its annual recruitment campaign to recruit 500 new Panel Members. The campaign will run from Wednesday 21 August to Tuesday 17 September and aims to attract a diverse range of applicants, with an emphasis on recruiting more men and young people.
This year, we have redesigned our campaign which focuses on the types of qualities infants, children and young people look for in a Panel Member.
To help us re-design it, we held a development afternoon in May. The afternoon was attended by people with lived experience, Panel Members and people who work in and around the Children’s Hearings System. We asked them what they think we should be doing in terms of the tone, language and look and feel of the campaign. It was very clear from the afternoon that it was personal qualities, rather than professional background, that were looked for in Panel Members.
Following the development afternoon we produced some initial designs that we tested with members of the public and these designs were guided by an advisory team (made up of nominees from the development afternoon) who provided feedback.
We are committed to ensuring that the Children’s Panel is entirely representative, and so, we’re targeting our campaign at a diverse audience. We’re looking for people from all walks of life, with different backgrounds and skills, who have the qualities that children and young people look for in a Panel Member. Qualities like listening, trust, empathy and compassion are just a few of the qualities needed.
If you’d like to find out more about the campaign, becoming a Panel Member or to see the new designs, visit: childrenspanelscotland.org