Congratulations to Warwickshire Youth Justice Service Area Partnership.

Congratulations to the Warwickshire Youth Justice Service Area Partnership for attaining Youth Justice SEND Quality Lead Redesignation with Child First Commendation

Warwickshire Local Area Partnership was one of the first areas in the country to receive a Quality Lead Award, a testament to a well-organised and progressive team that had strong links into other Service Providers across the county. We are delighted to note that progress has continued unabated, resulting in redesignation with a Child First Commendation for notable developments with the police.

The following features are highlighted:

• YJS and SEND Protocols and single-point-of-contact, reviewed regularly especially at times of staffing changes
• The active role SaLT (Speech and Language Therapist) provision plays at all stages of process and practice, from initial screening, staff training advice and consultation to tailored support and provision
• A comprehensive rolling programme of staff development and training
• High-impact prevention work, led by the Pathways Team, accounting for a growing proportion of the YJS’ work, but producing significant decreases in formal recorded interventions. This includes tailored challenge and support to education settings in terms of restorative practice and tailored programmes (an example being around harmful sexual behaviours)
• Currently the YJS is benefitting from resources from an NHS England Vanguard-positive direction service, this has introduced a social prescribing/wellbeing worker who has the sole focus of YJS transition/resettlement cohort. This has enabled YJS to provide additionality both in financial resource to access social prescribing offers (e.g. music studio provision) and more intensive relationship building, which sits alongside and compliments the YJ practitioner who is overseeing the license period.
• The Child First Commendation is for work that has taken place alongside Warwickshire Police to make the custody environment more child-friendly within Nuneaton and Leamington cells. The intention is also to give the Police a greater understanding of the Trauma journey that children may have faced before entering the custody environment. This is an excellent example of developing culture and climate as well as practice and provision and is appreciated by children and families. One officer described how the inclusion of reading material in the custody suite was appreciated by one young person, who gratefully accepted the offer to take the book with him when he left: it was the first book he was ever given…

Well done Warwickshire!