Preventing disengagement from education is clearly preferable to picking up the pieces later when anti-social behaviour and criminal activity may have become entrenched. The YJB is involved in initiatives designed to focus on children and young people who may be at risk.
Click to view Key Elements of Effective Practice – Targeted Neighbourhood Prevention Programmes.
Restorative Justice in Schools is being piloted in Hammersmith and Fulham and is already showing promising findings, particularly in preventing exclusions. Click to view a news item on the project. See also the restorative justice in schools area of the website.
Safer Schools Partnerships (SSPs) arose out of the Street Crime initiative and involve the YJB in partnership working with the DfES, Home Office, ACPO, the Head Teachers Associations. SSPs are designed to reduce crime and victimisation in schools to provide a safer learning environment. It is planned to set up 200 partnerships in England and Wales. Click for more on SSPs.
Positive Activities for Young People (PAYP) arose out of the Summer Splash programmes initiated by the Youth Justice Board to provide constructive activities for young people on high-risk housing estates during the school holidays. These schemes have now become a permanent feature in areas where there are high levels of crime and social deprivation. They are funded through the Children’s Fund and administered through the DfES Children, Young People and Families Directorate.
Targeted Youth Support (TYS) is a prevention programme developed in England by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to facilitate early identification of children and young people’s needs. It focuses on young people who are vulnerable, to support achievement of the five key outcomes of the Every Child Matters agenda. Targeted Youth Support [opens in new window] aims to identify problems at an early stage to prevent them escalating. By working together rather than individually, agencies can provide an integrated wrap-around service. TYS aims to provide a ‘team around the child’ approach by linking together a wide range of support services to meet the needs of the young person, as well as providing support for the family.
Targeted Mental Health in Schools (TaMHS) is a prevention programme designed to supplement the national programme of reducing offending by young people. It provides an early intervention opportunity for schools in England to assess and support those who may have mental health needs. Health professionals will work with schools and special schools, pupil referral units and the youth justice system to assess needs and provide early, targeted support. The programme will also seek to strengthen links between the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and youth justice stakeholders. Evidence shows that up to 31% of young people in the criminal justice system may have mental health needs (YJB, Mental Health Needs and Provision, 2005). This programme provides an opportunity for young people to receive support which fulfills the aims of the Children’s Plan [opens in new window] and prevent entry to the criminal justice system.