Children’s Rights in Scotland: Using the law to advance policy – Project Report

Read our recent Project Report on our project “Children’s Rights in Scotland: Using the law to advance policy”, which is funded by the Baring Foundation’s Strengthening the Voluntary Sector Programme. The report looks at the project over the 2016-17 grant period. The grant provided a resource for the Strategic Litigation Group Clan Childlaw has coordinated since 2012.

We are delighted to have continuing support from the STVS programme to continue the project until 2020.

Project: Children’s Rights in Scotland: Using the law to advance policy

Latest

Current Vacancies

We are recruiting two new board members! Deadline to apply 30 April 2021.
Clan Childlaw Covid-19 Response Project

Protecting the rights of care experienced children and young people during the pandemic
Housing Law Advice - Professional Qualification

Starting 27 April. This is an SQA accredited Level 7 Professional Development Group Award (PDA) in Housing Law Advice.
Brexit and Housing Workshop

22 April, 2 - 3.30pm This lawyer-led online workshop will focus on the impact of Brexit on the ability of EEA nationals to access homeless services.

Current Vacancies

We are recruiting two new board members! Deadline to apply 30 April 2021.
Are you a child or young person without British citizenship? Here’s some advice on how to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme

Children and young people, including care leavers, must apply to the EU Settlement scheme if they are an EU, EEA or Swiss national. The deadline to apply is 30 June 2021.
Clan Childlaw welcomes first 3-year Plan to implement The Promise

Clan Childlaw warmly welcomes the publication of Plan 21-24, the first of three plans which will implement The Promise over a ten-year period.
Clan Childlaw welcomes the strengthening of sibling rights in Children's Hearings

Children's Hearings Rules are changing to make sure brothers and sisters can give their views when decisions are being made which affect them seeing each other. Join us to hear more about the Rule changes on 19th April.
Urgent Homelessness Advice - Covid 19

If you need somewhere to live or are worried that you might become homeless contact us for help.
Have evictions been banned during Coronavirus?

Find out what you need to know about tenancies and evictions during Covid-19
Clan Childlaw welcomes important new legal protections for siblings passed by the Scottish Parliament today

25th August 2020: Today the Scottish Parliament passed the Children (Scotland) Bill, an important step forward for children's rights and legal protection for children's sibling relationships.
Clan Childlaw calls for participation rights for brothers and sisters in Children’s Hearings in the Children (Scotland) Bill

We are supportive of proposed amendments to the Children (Scotland) Bill. Stage 3 proceedings will take place in the Scottish Parliament on 25th August.
Brothers and Sisters in Children's Hearings - What did the Supreme Court decide? Panel Discussion took place 21st July

Lucy Frazer and Alison Reid from Clan Childlaw were joined by Lynda Brabender QC who represented ABC in the Supreme Court for a Child Law Network panel discussion exploring what the decision means for young people who would like to be part of children’s hearings being held for their brothers and sisters.
New Webinars and Toolkits on legal issues affecting children and young people

We've launched a series of recorded presentations and toolkits on legal issues our solicitors are helping care experienced children and young people with during the Covid-19 pandemic. The resources are free to download and explain the law, how to recognise when there's a legal issue, and steps to take to assert rights.

What we do

We are lawyers for children and young people in Scotland. We use our legal knowledge, and what we learn from the children we work with, to find ways to make the law work better for children and young people.
Law student essay competition

To mark our 10-year anniversary, we asked law students around Scotland: What is the biggest children’s rights issue in Scotland and how can the law be used to resolve it? Congratulations to winner Michael Malvenda!
Child law case summaries

Summaries of cases undertaken by Clan Childlaw.
Training

We provide lawyer-led training about children's rights and the law in Scotland. We use our legal expertise and experience to train lawyers, advocates, and frontline workers who support children and young people.
Alison Reid

Principal Solicitor and Chief Executive
Sibling rights

We have long called for the law to be changed to prioritise care experienced children and young people's sibling relationships and are delighted that these changes are now law and will come into force in July 2021
Get legal help for a child or young person

Information for professionals, support, advocacy, and advice workers or foster carers seeking help with the law or a legal problem for a child or young person they are working with. You will find frequently asked questions, case studies and other information on this page.
Clan at 10

Events & Fundraising marking our 10th anniversary
A-Z resource library

Comprehensive library of material relating to children and young people's rights. This is reference point for all legal questions and problems children and young people might have.
Changes to the law on siblings

Brothers and sisters who are looked after by a local authority or are experiencing family separation often need support to stay in contact. Clan Childlaw is working in different ways to help promote sibling contact.