Our Hearings, Our Voice (OHOV) is an independent board for children and young people from across Scotland between the ages of 8-18, who have experience of the Children’s Hearings System.
The aim of OHOV is to ensure children and young people have a decision making role in the improvement of the Children’s Hearings System. We’re always looking for innovative ways of achieving our goal; either by identifying and recommending improvements across the system or by making those improvements ourselves. One of the ways in which we hope to improve the Hearings System is through our new magazine, ‘VOICE’.
During a board meeting in the summer, OHOV worked with Kirsty and Rachel from the Office of the Chief Designer to prototype ideas for improving the Children’s Hearings System. Board members Ben and Sharpay said that Hearings can often be stressful and that many young people go into Hearings feeling anxious and not knowing their rights. To address this, they designed ‘VOICE’; a magazine for children and young people to read while they’re in the waiting room before attending a Hearing.
Our hope is that VOICE will:
- Provide distraction and relaxation for young people before a Hearing
- Give young people important information about their rights, and about what to expect in a Hearing
- Make links across other organisations who work with young people
- Reach out to young people across the country, letting them know they’re not alone
Since that board meeting we’ve been working hard to brain storm ideas, carry out interviews, and write up articles. Now, four months later, we’re excited to announce that Ben and Sharpay’s idea is a reality. VOICE magazine is available for children and young people to read in every Hearings centre in Scotland, and can be accessed online too.
In our first issue you can read our top tips for attending a Children’s Hearing, as well as some of our favourite ways to de-stress. There are fabulous poems to enjoy along with recipes, crafts ideas, an Autumn-themed quiz, and much more!
What do you think of VOICE? We’d love to hear what you think of our magazine! Drop us a line at: amymiskimmin-logan@scra.gov.uk or tweet us at: @OHOV_Scotland
