Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration

The Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA) is the national agency responsible for administrating Scotland's unique system of juvenile justice and child welfare. In 2005/06, more than 54,000 children from communities all over Scotland were referred to the Children’s Reporter.

Created in 1996, SCRA took over a mixture of properties from Scotland’s former regional councils. In addition to housing more than 500 members of staff across the country, SCRA also has to provide suitable accommodation for Children's Hearings.

SCRA’s property strategy, which was launched in 2005, aims to transform the portfolio of offices and Hearing Centres and improve space utilisation, flexibility and business efficiency. Generally this has meant a move towards open plan spaces, contributing to cultural change within the organisation.

Our first fit out was a pilot project in Aberdeen which showed how open plan might work while preserving privacy and protecting staff from the disruption of the various business support processes. The image of the offices is radically different also, being bright, colourful and 'non-bureaucratic'. Even the Hearing Rooms, which require full confidentiality and security, manage to feel informal and friendly.

The Aberdeen office is working well and the same principals and design image were used in their Hamilton office which was completed in December 2006.