Training burden will affect YOT staff
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Making youth offending teams (YOTs) pay for staff training out of their own budgets may affect the uptake of the youth justice foundation degree, the Association of YOT Managers (AYM) has warned.
Currently the Youth Justice Board (YJB) pays for staff training from the Open University, but from 2009 the financial burden will fall on the YOTs themselves.
Although the change is not a surprise, AYM chair Mike Thomas said it would mean less cash for YOTs to spend on working with young people. He also queried whether YOTs would be able to pay for staff to take the foundation degree.
"It does raise the question of how viable the foundation degree will be if it's not going to be centrally funded by the YJB," said Thomas.
"To fund it with our own budgets begs the question of whether we continue with it or not? At my YOT we have decided we will for the time being, but this is because there may be some people who aren't doing it."
The YJB was unable to comment as CYP Now went to press.
