Children's Workforce Guide to Qualifications and Training: Youth justice

The youth justice sector has undergone major upheaval over the last 12 months. In November 2015 youth offending teams (YOTs) were subjected to emergency in-year cuts of £9m from the Youth Justice Board, and in May budgets were cut by a further £9.1m.

A wide-ranging government-commissioned review into the youth justice system was set to be published in July but has been delayed. An interim report published in February called for fundamental change to the youth custody system and suggested responsibility for youth justice could be devolved to a local or regional level to a greater degree, leaving the future of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) and local authority YOTs uncertain.

The interim report also suggested many staff working in Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres have not had the training necessary to manage the most vulnerable and challenging young people in their care, and criticised the fact leaders of youth custodial establishments have little freedom to recruit and train their own staff.

At present, those wishing to work in the youth justice sector have a number of options. As well as the Youth Justice Board, roles are available in YOTs, the police, courts, Crown Prosecution Service and the secure estate.

Some YOTs will take on unqualified workers who then work their way through into higher level grades, although teams and local authorities vary in their approach.

A qualification in social work is among the most sought-after backgrounds for youth justice workers in many councils. However, the Association of Youth Offending Team Managers (AYM) believes too many YOT managers - more than 80 per cent - now come from a social work background rather than probation or the police. The association wrote to Charlie Taylor, head of the youth justice system review, describing this situation as "regrettable" and calling for greater encouragement to all YOT partners to identify potential leaders in the future.

In addition to being accredited by Skills for Justice Awards, the Youth Justice Effective Practice Certificate (YJEPC) is accredited by a university and carries 60 academic credits towards a Foundation Degree in Youth Justice at Level 5 of the Regulated Qualification Framework (RQF), the same level as the second year of an undergraduate degree. Further, it has been fully incorporated into degree courses, such as the criminology degree at Derby University. It is also recognised by Probation as a qualifying award for those wishing to undertake Probation Officer training. To date, more than 1,000 people have achieved the YJEPC from both community and secure youth justice settings as well as by people not currently practising, but who see it as a route to working in the sector.

The YJEPC forms a quarter of a Foundation Degree in Youth Justice, providing anyone working in youth justice or who would like to do so with the opportunity to gain a degree. The foundation degree is at the heart of the Youth Justice Professional Framework (YJPF) which seeks to professionalise the workforce by providing qualifications that are comprehensive, progressive and completely open to anyone regardless of their level of previous education. A Trailblazer group of youth justice employers (community and secure) is working towards an apprenticeship scheme based upon this foundation degree.

The AYM runs a leadership development programme for "aspiring future youth justice leaders" in partnership with Solace Enterprises. The target group is operational managers within YOTs as well as newly appointed heads of service. Two cohorts of 13 people have already completed the programme and the third cohort is due to start in December.

The association has also joined forces with charity Achievement for All and Manchester Metropolitan University to support frontline youth justice professionals to transform outcomes for young offenders and those at risk of offending with special educational needs. Achievement for All is developing a set of online learning resources for YOT staff and those working with young people with SEN, which will be ready to trial in October. Accreditation will be available. The AYM plans to hold a series of workshops for YOT staff and the multi-agency professionals who work in partnership with them between November 2016 and February 2017. "Young people with SEN are over-represented in the youth justice system," says AYM former chair Gareth Jones. "The work ahead will give YOT staff the tools to deal more effectively with young people who offend or are at risk of doing so."

Significant changes are under way in the training of probation officers. The Professional Qualifications Framework was replaced by Community Justice Learning, with the first phase commencing in April 2016. Potential probation officers must now take the 15-month Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP), a work-based programme including academic and practice skills, leading to a degree-level qualification and a Level 5 vocational qualification in Probation Practice. Previously, potential probation officers had to hold a relevant degree to access the professional qualification, but the new scheme has a more flexible approach, allowing participants to accredit previous learning and catch up via distance learning programmes.

Those who successfully apply for PQiP training will be employed and paid as probation service officers by the National Probation Service or a community rehabilitation company, and will be expected to undertake routine PSO tasks while completing training.