The system of representation where children and young people are provided with both a social work guardian ad litem and a specialist solicitor is widely regarded as a model of excellence. However, until now, information about the system and its advantages has tended to neglect the views and experiences of the children concerned. Based on a unique research study, Out of Hearing investigates the representation service from the child’s perspective. Observations of representatives’ meetings with their child clients and separate interviews with the children and their representatives paint a disturbing picture of the isolation of children at a time of immense stress and upheaval. Feedback from children about what they considered helpful or unhelpful in the actions of their representatives; their views about reading, or not seeing, court reports about themselves; and their feelings about going to court, or being excluded from its proceedings, convey powerful messages to the professionals and...