Blog

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October 5th 2022
If we are to achieve the fundamental system change required by The Promise and ensure that rights are always respected, then lawyers and legal services for children and young people need to change too.
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July 18th 2022
Dr Claire Lightowler shares emerging findings and insights from her work on a scoping study to better understand the legal needs of children and young people in conflict with the law.
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May 16th 2022
Legal Policy Manager Katy Nisbet writes about the importance of the right to Continuing Care and considers Clan Childlaw's role in helping children to access their rights.
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February 1st 2022
Our new Legal Policy Manager Katy Nisbet reflects on why the recent BBC documentary ‘Split Up In Care - Life Without Siblings’ resonated so deeply with her as she settles into her new role at Clan Childlaw.
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December 3rd 2021
Together with CELCIS (the Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection) and the Care Inspectorate, we have written a Practice Note to help explain the rights of looked after young people to stay put in positive care placements after they leave care
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May 26th 2021
Our Legal Policy Manager Janet Cormack explains what has happened so far with UNCRC in Scotland and what could happen next.
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May 18th 2021
It seems inevitable that a significant number of children and young people will find themselves without legal settled status when the deadline passes on 30 June. They will find themselves ineligible for housing benefits with no right to work, study and live in the UK.
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November 30th 2020
New laws mean it’s much less likely someone with childhood convictions will have these disclosed when applying for jobs, courses, or volunteer work
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September 4th 2020
The Children (Scotland) Act 2020 improves legal protection for children's right to be heard in courts and children's hearings and their right to a family life with their brothers and sisters - this blog explains the changes it will make
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April 16th 2020
New laws have been put in place for children’s hearings and for looked after children during Covid-19. This blog explains what it means.
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April 9th 2020
Justice First Fellow and Clan Childlaw trainee Louise Herd blogs about the first three months of her social welfare traineeship
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February 10th 2020
Rebecca Scott, Managing Solicitor at Clan, discusses changes proposed in the Children (Scotland) Bill that would place a duty on courts to ensure decisions are explained to children - and argues it should be judges themselves who speak or write to children
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November 28th 2019
From 29th November 2019, children who commit an offence when aged under 12 will no longer be able to be referred to a Children’s Hearing on offence grounds. They can only be referred on care and protection grounds.
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September 15th 2019
Ahead of welcoming another Justice First Fellowship trainee at Clan Childlaw, we take the opportunity to ask our solicitor, Jenna, about her experience as Justice First Fellow.
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September 5th 2019
The Scottish Government published the Children (Scotland) Bill on 2nd September to amend the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and other legislation concerning children, and alongside it a Family Justice Modernisation Strategy - here's a quick overview
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August 28th 2019
Street Legal's Project Co-ordinator, Rachel Farrier, reflects upon the work of the project and its future expansion.
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August 16th 2019
Clan Childlaw's client's case is one of two Scottish appeals involving the rights of siblings in the Children’s Hearings System to be heard by the UK Supreme Court later this year.
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June 27th 2019
Michael Malvenda, who recently completed his LLB at Edinburgh University, spent a week in May on work experience with us after winning our Children's Rights essay competition, organised as part of our 10-year anniversary celebrations. He writes here about his experience.
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June 27th 2019
Bill to be published later this year.
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June 27th 2019
The Scottish Government is asking the public how the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child should be incorporated into the law in Scotland. Have your say before 14th August.
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June 4th 2019
Information on our Care Leaver's Law Service, as featured in The Fostering Network's May 2019 newsletter
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June 27th 2018
Sibling contact is one of the issues the Scottish Government is seeking views on as it reviews the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and shapes its family justice modernisation strategy.
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November 1st 2017
In Caught in the Past, published in the Law Society of Scotland Journal, Alison Reid highlights the need for an urgent review of the effect of childhood offending behaviour later in life.
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August 11th 2017
Everyone agrees about the benefits of siblings relationships, but all too often looked after children face barriers to seeing brothers and sisters. It's time to change this, writes Janet Cormack