Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2023

Gateshead Council is committed to developing the Children's Social Care workforce to be able to meet the needs of the local community. Understanding and responding to the developing needs of the workforce is key to ensuring that staff are equipped with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to perform their role effectively, delivering the standard of quality service expected of them.

A robust learning and development programme alongside policy and practice guidance respond ensures we respond to the workforce issues, support the need to meet future challenges, with a continuing focus on promoting equalities, diversity, and inclusive practice.

Understanding and responding to the developing needs of the workforce is key to ensuring that staff are equipped with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to perform their role effectively, delivering the standard of quality service expected of them. A robust learning and development programme alongside policy and practice guidance respond ensures we respond to the workforce issues, support the need to meet future challenges, with a continuing focus on promoting equalities, diversity and inclusive practice.

As a pro-active learning environment, the YJS also hosts student social work placements.

In the last year, YJS Staff have received training in a range of topics including: AIM3 Training and Technology Assisted Harmful Sexual Behaviour, Attachment and Trauma Training, Neurodiversity; Do It Profiler Training Project, Reflection and Analysis, Domestic Abuse Training, narrative practice, Drug and Alcohol Awareness Training, Speech Language Communication training, PACE training and training in a range of emotional health conditions.  The Assistant Team Manager achieved Level 5 Management and Leadership qualification, the Team Manager completed Peer Review training through the YJSIP, and a new member of the team completed the Youth Justice Effective Practice Certificate. All YJS Officers are trained in the full remit of the service from Diversion and Prevention, Out of Court Disposals (OOCD) and Post-Court, including custody and transitions.

Priority areas for training and development in 2023 -2024 are:

-   Understanding and responding effectively to equality, diversity and inclusion.

-   Further trauma informed practice training

-   Narrative training

All volunteers and staff will receive safeguarding training in line with Gateshead Council's guidelines and as individual circumstances require.

Evidence-based practice and innovation

Gateshead Youth Justice Service is trauma informed and a key strength is building strong and effective relationships with young people to support them in building on their qualities and resilience to achieve positive outcomes. The service is committed to developing a child centred narrative practice approach to casework.

The service offers every victim of youth crime a voice.

The service is committed to participation of young people and are currently working with digital company DigitalMe to produce a short video documenting young people's experience. This has given young people the opportunity to tell their story and help other young people to understand the impact of their behaviour.

Positive Futures is the drug and alcohol service in Gateshead for children and young people. Together we have developed a strong working relationship which has led to an identified member of staff from Positive Futures who specialises in working with the YJS cohort of young people, this person spending time with the YJS team and will record on the YJS case management system.

The service has developed a dedicated education officer role within the service. This will help to ensure that young people have a suitable education offer and are supported with attendance and attainment.

We are proud of the work we have done this year to meet the emotional wellbeing and mental health needs of our young people. A partnership arrangement is in place with local provider North East Counselling to upskill staff and provide direct access to support for young people.

A significant and exciting development in Gateshead this year is the launch in May 2023 of 'Trusting Hands GATESHEAD' which is a multi-disciplinary team employed by CNTW, and includes Psychologist, SLT Therapists, specialist mental health Practitioners and Social Workers, based in Gateshead Children's Services.

The service will deliver a trauma informed model that will upskill practitioners across Children's services to be trauma informed. The service will support professionals supporting children and young people who are classed as high risk, high harm and high vulnerability from a consultation and formulation basis.  The service will be focused on the children and young people who need it most, providing support to carers, social workers, YJS workers and everyone in the child/young person's care team/network of children including their families to enable them to recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma, respond appropriately and seek further help and support when needed.  The service will also provide speech and language screening and support recognising the impact on speech, language and communication of trauma in childhood.

HMIP found the YJS manages risk of harm well and consistently, working with partners to monitor the safety of children. In turn, victims of crime are well supported and are involved in many aspects of how the service delivers meaningful interventions to deter children from reoffending. The inspection also found that the YJS is making substantial efforts to work with police and courts to divert children from formal court processes.

Gateshead Youth Justice Service is also actively involved in several evaluation projects.

In line with the imminent introduction of the new YJB out of court disposal (OOCD) assessment document, we plan to review our OOCD process to measure impact and understand the difference it makes for young.

HMI Probation are currently undertaking a thematic inspection of remand, the North East region is not being visited as part of this programme as there were not enough cases to make fieldwork viable. As a result of this, HMIP are exploring the potential reasons for the low numbers of remand in youth detention. Gateshead YJS will be part of a focus group looking at how young people are supported in the community to avoid remand periods. Gateshead Youth Justice Service has been using Divert from Charge and Outcome 22 for a significant period of time. This is part of a Northumbria wide incentive, we need to understand how successful these diversion opportunities have been especially in relation first time entrants and re-offending. The evaluation will consider any disparities across the six Youth Justice Services within Northumbria to ensure there is consistency of the guidance being applied. The Violence Reduction Unit has been approached to complete this evaluation.

The North East region is part of the Youth Justice Boards' Youth Rehabilitation Order ISS Pilot.  As part of this pilot Gateshead Youth Justice Service will provide qualitative and quantitative information to help to understand how the recent changes to intensive supervision and surveillance guidance is impacting on how services are delivered, how young people are supported during interventions and the impact of the changes.

Gateshead Youth Justice Service is working with Northumbria police to complete a neurodiversity screener called the Do-It Profiler. It is anticipated that this screening tool will help to identify individual neuro-divergent traits this will allow the young person and their families to be provided with personalised guidance and support. Newcastle University is evaluating the cohort of young people assessed to identify common needs and traits and to provide an understanding of what support is required.