Make a complaint to Children's Hearings Scotland

We take complaints seriously. We will carefully investigate what you tell us.

Please remember, making a complaint to CHS will not change the decision of a panel. But you might have a right of appeal.

You can complain to CHS if you think the panel did not listen to you. You can complain to CHS if you feel that you did not get the opportunity to tell them how you felt. You can also complain if you think the Panel Members were rude, or if their behaviour was not right.

We cannot deal with complaints about other people who attended your hearing. Those include social workers or an Advocate. Usually, the organisation they work with will have their own complaints procedures.

If you are not sure about your experience, do not worry. It is OK to make the complaint anyway. We will contact you within three working days if it is something we can’t deal with. We will let you know who to contact if we cannot help.

Anonymous complaints

Our complaints procedure is confidential. Details are only ever shared with those who need to know.

But you can make a complaint anonymously if you prefer. That means you do not tell us who you are.

Please remember that if you do not want us to share your details with the person or people you want to complain about, that might limit how we can deal with your complaint. But we will always respect your wishes.

You can fill in this form (click above).

You can ask an adult to help you contact us (see below).

Can I appeal against a decision?

A hearing is a legal tribunal. We cannot do anything about the decision.

But you can appeal against it within 21 days. Learn more about appeals.