Royal visit shines spotlight on life-changing support at Aberdeenshire Bairns Hoose

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal has visited the Aberdeenshire Bairns’ Hoose, a space designed by children and young people to support child victims and witnesses of abuse, neglect, violence or trauma.

During the visit, Her Royal Highness met with children, parents and carers at the space which aims to bring all the services a child needs to support them under one roof, from disclosure to recovery, including child protection, criminal investigation, health and recovery support.

The Princess Royal was greeted by Provost of Aberdeenshire Judy Whyte alongside Co-Leader of Aberdeenshire Council Cllr Stewart Adams and Chair of Aberdeenshire Council Education and Children’s Services Committee Cllr David Keating.

Assistant Director of Children First (Aberdeen) Iona Mitchell and Head of Children’s Services at Aberdeenshire Council Andrew Dick spoke to her Royal Highness about the Bairns’ Hoose which is designed to offer a child and their family trauma-informed support through the child protection and justice systems and the space to recover from their experiences in a safe, welcoming environment. 

Families also receive support to understand what their child has experienced and how best to help them recover.

Her Royal Highness also met with representatives from Police Scotland and the Social Work Team, paediatricians and health leads, representatives from the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service and Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Provost of Aberdeenshire Cllr Judy Whyte said afterwards: “We were honoured to welcome Her Royal Highness to Bairns’ Hoose and I hope she was impressed by the specialist care and support provided here to help children recover from deeply traumatic experiences. This relatively new centre means more children and young people in rural Aberdeenshire have access to the specialist support they need and we’re very proud to have worked with our multi-agency partners to ensure no child is left behind because of where they live.”

The Bairns’ Hoose model – based on the internationally-acclaimed Barnahus approach first developed in Iceland – was introduced to Scotland in 2023 when Children First opened the first Hoose in North Strathclyde.

Mary Glasgow, Chief Executive of Children First, Scotland’s national children’s charity was also in attendance. She said: “It was wonderful to welcome Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal to Bairns Hoose and to share how this pioneering approach is helping children and families across Aberdeenshire. No child who has been a victim of or witness to crime should face further distress from the systems designed to protect them. Bairns' Hoose brings specialist support together in one safe, child-friendly place, helping children to heal from unimaginable trauma. This visit shines a spotlight on what can be achieved when partners take a collaborative approach to supporting children. Together we can build a future where every child in Scotland can access justice without the need to go to court and can receive the care and support they need to thrive.”

The Bairns’ Hoose has been developed in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council Children’s Services, Children First, Police Scotland, NHS Grampian, The Scottish Children’s Reporter’s Administration, The Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Service, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and Edinburgh University.

The Aberdeenshire-based ‘Hoose’ is one of the six Scottish Government Pathfinder Projects which aim to learn how to improve the justice system by testing what works in different places and situations to provide the best support possible to children who have been victims or witnesses of crime.