It has been pleasing to see all the positive publicity devoted to our Children's Hearing system over the last wee while, as they sought new volunteers for their Panels.

As everyone has noted, they are an inspiring success story in the lives of many of our most vulnerable young people, and it is perhaps typical of Scotland that, generally, we leave the Children's Panel to get on with its work in a largely unheralded manner.

Maybe it is only when we compare youth justice and support systems in other countries, that we realize a system which gives a voice to the young and their families, and seeks to support and rehabilitate, rather than arbitrarily punish, should be lauded and proclaimed.

In addition, that such a system is peopled by volunteers from the community lends  it credibility and strength, as well as demonstrating the kind of civic awareness which we would  like to think marks out Scotland as a nation.

During a long career in guidance and school management, many of my most moving moments have occurred at Children's Panel Hearings. The suggestion that 'all human life is here' could well have been emblazoned over the door to the Panel. Tears - of joy and despair, laughter, relief, inspiration and sorrow, as well as, on a couple of occasions, flying objects, were all shared around that big round table.

Whether the outcome was uplifting or despairing, and occasionally it was the latter, it was impossible to leave a hearing without being convinced that the state had tried its best to interact with, and support, some of its most vulnerable and lost citizens.

Whether it was performing a duty of care or seeking to protect others from the effects of anti-social behaviour, nearly every hearing I attended reached a decision out of some level of dialogue. Justice wasn't being done to people, it was, at its best, being provided for people, in consultation with people.

I was once asked, at a forum on Youth Strategy in Belfast, to explain the success of the system. In one of those answers which starts off with blinding inspiration and ends up in a blind alley, I replied: "Noddy and Big Ears!" to predictable bafflement.

My point was, for many of the vulnerable or troubled families who attended the Panel, it was their first experience of an  interaction with authority where they  were listened to (Big Ears),  and where there was some empathy from the Panel (Noddy).

It doesn't always work, sometimes its options aren't appropriate, and it can become overwhelmed in identifying needs which can't be resourced when needed, but what lies behind it, its principles, are a credit to the nation. To treat families and young people as individuals, rather than stereotypical representatives of 'social problems' reflects the best of who we are.

So, although the  Children's Hearing system predates the reestablishment of the Scottish Parliament by three decades, it seems fitting to apply to the Children's Panel the words engraved on the Parliamentary Mace - the description, if you like, of our values: Wisdom, Justice, Compassion and Integrity.

All operating in the best interest of the child, and highlighting that education and support extends far beyond the classroom.