Voice of the Child in Legal Proceedings - Online training from CLC.

This training provides advocates with practical tools and legal insights to navigate child representation and participation within the justice system. The session focuses on statutory requirements, practical advocacy, and ensuring the child's perspective is effectively represented throughout legal proceedings.

Key Focus Areas

Competency & Communication: Frameworks for evaluating legal capacity and adopting effective, age-appropriate communication strategies.

Meaningful Participation: Practical approaches to upholding a child's right to be heard and ensuring their views carry appropriate weight in court.

Legal Frameworks & Case Law: Analysis of key statutory considerations and recent case law developments within care proceedings.

Target Audience

Legal Practitioners: To refine courtroom advocacy skills, keep pace with emerging care proceedings case law, and navigate complex child representation challenges.

Social Workers & Child Protection Professionals: To better understand how courts evaluate capacity and evidence, ensuring social care assessments and reports align with legal standards.

Children's Advocates & NGO/Charity Staff: To gain practical frameworks for championing young people's rights, navigating multi-agency systems, and ensuring the child's voice carries legal weight.

Youth Justice & Care Sector Staff: To strengthen operational decision-making around child participation and apply child-centered practices when working alongside justice processes.

Guardians ad Litem & Court Representatives: To enhance methods for assessing legal competency and adopting child-friendly communication in formal legal environments.

Facilitators

Deborah Harvey, BL: A practising Barrister-at-Law at the Bar of Northern Ireland specialising in family and child law. She brings extensive courtroom experience in care proceedings, offering practical guidance on statutory processes and legal safeguards for young people.

Eamonn McNally, Senior Solicitor, CLC: A Senior Lawyer and Mental Health Solicitor at the Children's Law Centre. He specialises in child rights advocacy, regularly representing vulnerable young people with complex needs and contributing to legal policy reform across health, social care, and justice.

This is an online only event. A teams link will be sent out the day before via the email address given when purchasing a ticket.

2.5 Group CPD Hours available.

If you are unable to book online and wish to raise an invoice or pay by another method, please contact paulhamilton@childrenslawcentre.org

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