If you are a good listener and good at making important decisions, becoming a member of the Children’s Panel could see you make crucial decisions that improve the lives of young people.

We are appealing for volunteers from all backgrounds to take the vital step in committing their time to help and support young people in our communities.

Mark Hamill, Panel Committee Officer said: "Helping young people enjoy a brighter future is the key objective of the Children’s Panel. As a Panel member, you can help ensure the correct decisions are made – no matter how big or small – that will help care and protect children and families who desperately need it.

“We need volunteers who care about young people, who care about our communities and through their own backgrounds and life experience can connect with young people.

“With everything that’s going on in the world at the moment with the health pandemic, many young people more than ever, need good support to help them achieve their potential.

"The decisions you will help make can have a lasting effect on a young person’s life such as being taken into care or moved into a loving and stable foster home allowing them to develop in a safe and nurturing environment.

“Being a Panel member can be a hugely rewarding experience as you act as a force for good to help young people.”

Panel members receive full training to sit on hearings in their own local authority area.

To join the North Lanarkshire Children’s Panel visit: www.chscotland.gov.uk/volunteering-with-us/panel-members/