Education, Training and Employment
Key Agencies
Education Welfare Service (EWS)
As non-attendance and truancy are high-risk factors for offending behaviour, it is important to share information with EWS. Most LEAs have devolved budgets to schools to buy in the service. It is good practice to compile a list of young people on the YOT database with an agreement that any young person on the list would be fast-tracked for visits by an education welfare officer. Similarly, they may wish to check concerns they have about a particular young person known to them. Working together in this way serves the interests of all young people and helps to reduce the numbers of young people not attending school.
LEA education support services
Most LEAs now offer a delegated provision of services to schools to buy in the support they require. This may include services like education psychology, speech and language, sensory support services, and learning and behaviour support services. YOT education staff should be familiar with the local arrangements so they can help schools with advice for young people in the criminal justice system.
This may improve the chances of young people who have offended getting the support they need to maintain their places in mainstream provision. These resources are sometimes stretched to the limit. However a discussion with the head of service could provide an opportunity to explore the issues that face young people who have offended and how they can be best supported.
The DCSF are working to reduce the number of exclusions and are encouraging schools to keep young people at risk of exclusion on roll, whenever possible. Click to read and download the guidance they have issued [opens in new window].
Behaviour and education support teams (BESTs)
BEST operates in 61 local authority areas. It would be worthwhile establishing whether your LEA has such a team. They are multi-agency in approach and work with schools and others to improve the behaviour of young people. The Every Child Matters website [opens in new window] provides further information on how they are set up and the work they do.
Pupil referral units (PRUs)
Where these are in operation the LEA should establish a steering group. It would be useful for practitioners to have representation on this group to help facilitate information exchange, as well as having a broader perspective on the role and running of the PRU. See the DCSF website for more information [opens in new window].
Learning support units
Most schools have a unit that works intensively with young people at risk of exclusion. Young people who are disruptive in school can have varying arrangements with these units. If education staff are involved in discussions regarding support needed to keep a young person at school, it is vital that YOT education, training and employment staff become familiar with the school’s system to ensure the best interests of the young person are served.
Pupil monitoring groups or panels
Many LEAs have established groups such as these to support young people who have been excluded or who have been previously ‘missing’. They advise and secure appropriate placements. They are often multi-agency and, where this is the case, it would be appropriate for YOTs to seek representation, since many of the young people will be known to them.
Connexions
Many YOTs have seconded Connexions [opens in new window] staff working as part of their teams. This is good practice and can fast-track young people’s access to appropriate support. The expectations for joint working between YOTs and Connexions are set out in the Connexions booklet Working Together [opens in new window, 89Kb PDF].
Service-level agreements can facilitate a good partnership with Connexions. Regular meetings will ensure that working is joined up and there is no duplication of attempts to engage.
Some Connexions partnerships have devoted resources to the secure estate. It would be useful to ensure that information exchange procedures are firmly in place where this is the case, especially when information and advice is given to young people in custody from Connexions PAs working for a different partnership to the home area.
Financial advice is available for young people to support their education or training provision. Visit the DirectGov website for more information [opens in new window].
We have further information on Connexions in the YJB Working Partnerships page.
Youth service
Many LEAs have very active youth service provision that can be linked into youth justice projects run in socially deprived areas. This involves short-term, focused work with young people at risk of offending or who have been absent from school for long periods.
Where these services are provided to young people known to YOTs, education colleagues should put in place monitoring arrangements to ensure sustainable progress. It is helpful to have a named contact within the youth service and know the leads on the projects.
Local further education (FE) colleges
FE colleges offer an increasing range of courses to help young people progress with their education. A full-time course constitutes around 16 hours a week. Many courses have been designed to help the needs of young people who have not done particularly well at school. College courses are funded by the Local Learning and Skills Council, which has a duty to ensure that appropriate provision is made available to meet local demand.
Many courses support the local labour market and tailor their provision to vocational needs. YOTs are encouraged to make contact with local colleges and discuss the types of provision they offer and how they can work together to help support the needs of young people who have offended. Some colleges offer roll-on-roll-off courses that avoid the delay in accessing provision that might otherwise be caused by a traditional academic timetable. It is important to engage young people as quickly as possible.
It is recommended that YOT managers liaise with education specialists in YOTs to further the discussions at a high level. It is important to note that colleges are not under the control of LEAs so YOTs will need to establish contact with each college separately.
Learning and Skills Council (LSC)
This is the body that funds all post-16 education and training, except for university funding. The LSC ensures that local needs are met in terms of funding for training providers and FE colleges. This often reflects local employment and skills requirements.
In many cases initiatives are in place to raise the standards of literacy and numeracy among the workforce. Consequently there are short-term funding streams available which can enhance work with our client group.
YOT managers and education staff should form strong links with their local LSCs. Often the LSC can wield power to good effect and provide young people with improved prospects through how they allocate their funding to education and training providers. A large number of YOTs have protocol arrangements, but, at the very least, it is worthwhile maintaining regular contact.
Click to find your local LSC [opens in new window].
We have further information on the LSC on the YLB Working Partnerships page.
Post-16 training providers
Some community training providers, whether in the private or voluntary sector, have provision for young people who have been difficult to engage or who have offended. Connexions should be able to help with the identification of young people who may be in this group. It is worth contacting these providers and agreeing appropriate risk assessments to help them provide what is best for each young person.
Please ensure you are familiar with the Entry to Employment (E2E) [opens in new window] programme as this will help many post-16-year-olds’ entry into education and training provision.
The government wants to encourage 16 to 18-year-olds to remain in full-time education. Many young people will be entitled to education maintenance allowances – Connexions can provide information and guidance on this.
Other provision
Sometimes community provision can be supplied by the voluntary sector, which usually offers specialist services, particularly to the most vulnerable groups. Connexions partnerships should have a directory of all such provision, but it is a also advisable for education staff to be aware of the following organisations (all links open in new windows]:
Nacro
'Education and Employment: Working with Excluded Young People'
Rathbone
'provides high quality learning and training support for young people who are experiencing significant disadvantage'
Fairbridge
'For our young people, realising your potential starts with realising you have it’
Prince's Trust
‘offers practical solutions to help young people get their lives working’
Catch22 (formerly Rainer Crime Concern)
'Helping Young People Out’