Bairns' Hoose: project plan

Bairns' Hoose Governance Group

The focus of the Group will be to provide the necessary specialist input and strategic governance to promote and support the development of an evidence-based, comprehensive, child-friendly national Bairns' Hoose model for Scotland. The Group will provide policy and practice expertise to support the development, shape testing and piloting of the Bairns' Hoose, and offer oversight for the Scottish Barnahus standards development.

The membership of the group will bring together cross–sector representation from justice, health, children's services, and third sector stakeholder partners, along with academia and subject matter specialists.

Connectedness

As noted earlier, our approach to developing a national Bairns' Hoose model will reflect all relevant current and developing policy and legislative developments across children's services, justice and health and social care in Scotland.

A key element of this will be embedding the new model for Joint Investigative Interview within the Bairns' Hoose - the Scottish Child Interview Model - and being aware of wider developments around the use of pre-recorded evidence in the most serious of cases. Our work to explore the Barnahus concept in Scotland in line with the Vulnerable Witnesses (Criminal Evidence) (Scotland) Act 2019 is an important factor in that consideration.

We will work to align the Bairns' Hoose with

• the GIRFEC national practice model
• our commitment to the UNCRC and to Keep The Promise

and the implementation of

• the revised National Child Protection Guidance
• the Clinical pathway for Children and Young People who may have experienced sexual abuse.
• the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019
• the Forensic Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2021
• the Vulnerable Witnesses (Criminal Evidence) (Scotland) Act 2019

We will also ensure that developments align with any proposed changes to children's services in the review of the national care system, should children's services be included.