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Fife is one of six areas to be selected as a test site for Scotland’s Bairns Hoose initiative - a new bid to transform the way we care for children and young people in the justice system.

The Scottish Government announced the locations this week with £6m of funding to set up pathfinders which will cover child protection, recovery, healthcare, therapeutic support and justice, and lead to a blueprint for a full pilot in 2025.

Establishing the network was hailed as major step forward to help young people, many of whom will have experienced serious trauma - and the announcement came during Care Experienced Week. Bringing the international Barnahus model to Scotland has been a long-standing ambition for the Scottish Government.

It was first established in Iceland in 1997, by Bragi Guðbrandsson, who was director of the Icelandic Government Child Protection Agency at the time. The model then spread to other Nordic countries and began to be adopted more widely across Europe.

Fife is one of six places top pilot the new Bairns Hoose initiative (Pic: Pixabay)

Mr Guðbrandsson said: “This important milestone shows that Barnahus can be adapted to different contexts, cultural traditions, and legislative structures, but its core concept remains the same - to support children who have experienced trauma, in the best possible way, through multiagency responses. I look forward to following the progress of Scotland’s Bairns’ Hoose Pathfinders closely.”

Fife’s role in the pilot was also warmly welcomed.

Dougie Dunlop, independent chair of the Fife Partnership child protection committee, said: “This provides Fife with an opportunity to build on the strengths of our existing partnership arrangements to further develop our approach to supporting children and their families where they may have suffered harm.

“It will bring all key services together within one child centred facility that will make it easier for children and their families to get the support they need in what can be very difficult circumstances. It will be a very important addition to our range of responses and will be a significant benefit to the children involved.”

Natalie Don, Minister for Keeping the Promise added: “Establishing this network is a major step forward in our aim to transform the care and justice systems for children and young people, many of whom will have been through serious trauma. “

Fife to be part of new Bairns Hoose pilot project to transform care for children