It has faced criticism after a report by Scotland's chief inspector of prisons, Dr Andrew McLellan, revealed that five under-16s had been held in Kilmarnock prison during the last year.
Ruth Stark, professional officer for the British Association of Social Workers in Scotland, said there was "absolutely no reason why children should be held in an adult prison".
Kathleen Marshall, Scotland's children's commissioner, pledged to identify the scale of the problem. But she pointed out that the UK has reserved its right to implement article 37c of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that every child in prison should be separated from adults unless it is in the child's best interests not to do so.
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