Steph Roberts-Bibby, chief executive of the Youth Justice Board (YJB), the public body that oversees youth justice, told CYP Now earlier this year that “people leaving the workforce is one of the biggest risks” the sector faces.
A fresh workforce development strategy for 2025 onwards has yet to be released. The YJB’s current strategy for 2023 to 2025 includes developing apprenticeship training with a Level 5 qualification available for trainees.
Secure estate
HMPPS’s Youth Custody Service offers roles in young offender institutions and other secure settings. Band 3 youth justice worker pay ranges from £32,851 to £38,530 for a 39-hour week. Trainees start on a 37 hour a week contract.
Where there are no local vacancies at a secure setting, trainees can work away for 23 months through HMPPS’s Prison and Youth Justice Futures Training Scheme and gain an additional £1,500 annual pay for two years plus financial help with travel and accommodation costs.
Qualifications include the newly developed Level 5 Youth Justice Apprenticeship, and Foundation Degree in Youth Justice. This is offered by three training providers: South Devon College, Intelligencia Training and Unitas.
Students can progress to take a Level 6 BA (Hons) in Youth Justice.
The two-year Unlocked Graduates scheme places graduate trainee prison officers in young offender institutions. These trainees work towards a master’s degree, are assigned an experienced prison officer mentor and undertake a two-week work placement in their second year.
Currently, there is only one secure training centre, Oakhill, for children aged 12 to 17.
Oasis Restore, the UK’s first secure school to cater for this age group, opened in June with a greater focus on improving children’s education and mental health.
Community
Training for youth justice specialists in multi-agency youth offending teams (YOTs) includes in-service courses, a Youth Justice Effective Practice Certificate and youth justice degree.
The Association of YOT Managers (AYM) runs Level 5 and Level 7 leadership courses with local government leadership body Solace Enterprises.
The Youth Justice Sector Improvement Partnership, involving the AYM, Youth Justice Board and senior youth justice leaders offers training for managers on carrying out peer reviews of YOTs and team leader training. It also offers operational manager training, coaching, and mentoring for YOT managers and supervisors.
The Youth Justice Institute runs free courses on child and adolescent development and an introduction to youth justice for new practitioners. It also runs paid-for five-week Effective Practice Award courses covering areas such as trauma-informed practice and strength-based approaches to tackling offending.
