Youth offending teams swap jobs with Oakhill STC staff
Nina Jacobs
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Youth offending team (YOT) workers have traded places with staff at Oakhill Secure Training Centre (STC) to experience the journey of a young person detained for the first time.
The Milton Keynes-based unit launched the job-swap initiative in October to help share learning among the different types of professionals working in the youth justice system.
As part of the exchange, Hackney Council sent two of its YOT workers to spend time at the secure facility while two members of staff worked alongside their council colleagues.
For Oakhill staff this meant shadowing YOT workers attending youth courts or scheduled appointments with young people, a spokesperson for the unit said.
Whereas YOT workers found themselves witnessing the process experienced by a young person once they enter the STC, they added.
Hackney Council is one of a number of local authorities to take part in the exchange programme which is due to end in February.
During their time spent at the unit, the council’s YOT workers engaged with different staff teams including security, CAMHS, substance misuse, casework, healthcare as well as the custody officers.
A spokesperson for the council said the experience had provided “learning on both sides” in terms of understanding the different roles carried out by staff at the unit and the YOT.
“During their time at Oakhill, the staff got to experience the journey of a young person as they enter custody for the first time, from their initial meeting into the centre to their assessment and time on the induction wing.
“They saw how the centre put plans in place to make the experience as easy as possible for the young person and as supportive as it can be,” the spokesperson said.
Sarah Burrows, senior resettlement manager at Oakhill, said she developed the staff exchange initiative to help those working at different stages of the youth justice system to understand the “whole journey” faced by young people detained at the unit.
“I see first-hand that for the young people at Oakhill STC it can often feel like there are a huge number of different agencies and organisations involved in their care.
“This initiative allows us to improve our partnerships with those teams, and ultimately ensure better outcomes for the young people we look after every day,” she said.