Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Members for Young People & Culture, Safer Communities, and Best Start for Children & Families

The report summarises the priorities of the 2023-2025 plan and updates performance at its midpoint for the Youth Justice Service. It provides an overview of progress from the previous plan, references national and regional priorities and how we seek to deliver on our priorities.

Consideration was given to the report of the Cabinet Members for Young People & Culture, Safer Communities, and Best Start for Children & Families

Tim Cosh, Head of Integrated Youth Services, and Charlotte Matthews, Youth Offending Service Manager, summarised the report which set out the priorities of the 2023-2025 plan, updated on performance at the midpoint for the Youth Justice Service (YJS), provided an overview of progress from the previous plan, and referenced national and regional priorities and how Camden sought to deliver on priorities. The service was keen to receive feedback on how to improve.

The Chair thanked officers for the report and invited questions and comments from the Committee. The following was discussed:

·       A Member stated that there had been an increase in anti-social behaviour in the borough and asked if this trend was visible in the work of the YJS. In response, it was stated that for a child to be flagged to their service certain milestones had to be activated and an indication a child was at risk, which may not be triggered with anti-social behaviour. There were youth early help programmes, which meant an offence did not have to take place for their team to work with a child, and there was work taking place in over-18s spaces. Their service worked with voluntary and community sector (VCS) partners and localities and their relationship with schools was important, because it was imperative to identify any barriers in delays of children getting referred to the YJS

·       In relation to section 8.1, a Member praised the adultification training rolled out to youth justice services. The Member asked if the Deferred Exclusion Programme was working. In response, it was stated that the work taking place was about managing impact and from a relationship standpoint with schools. Children and parents had to want to engage with the programme after being referred by the school. Usually the outcome was that it was best for the child to stay in schooling and looking at a managed move, and it had been shown that children responded well to the programme. There had been positive feedback from parents and the service wanted to raise the profile of the programme. Schools were informed about the programme via headteacher forums and bulletins and via inclusion leads.

·       In response to a Member’s question, it was confirmed that the ambition was for there to be zero school exclusions resulting from incidents involving fighting or possession of drugs, however it was noted that schools needed to protect all children.

·       In relation to section 15.3, housing challenges, a Member asked how the issue of poor housing situations had the potential to contribute to the risk of criminalisation of children and how that could be mitigated. In response, it was confirmed that the role of housing was important and the service would mitigate the impact where they could and there was ongoing work to reduce the impact on families living in temporary accommodation.

·       In relation to section 15.1, the reduction in Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) support for the YJS, officers confirmed that to respond to those challenges they were working closely with the CAMHS team with the reduced resources and were trying to be more creative with what resources were available, because mental health support was important for children in custody. There had already been progress in the ongoing work and there were multiple approaches they were engaging with children, as the challenges was not just about resources but culture. There was not a one size fits all solution for mental health support for children and the offer needed to sometimes be less prescriptive. It was important for mental health professionals to be involved in support, however there also needed to be trusted relationships for children to feel supported.  Project 10/10 was delivering mental health support practice son a peer-led model and positive outcomes had been seen for children referred onto this programme.

·       In response to Members, officers said they would share with the Committee further performance data (to include year on year trends and breakdowns), case studies, and further information about Project 10/10. Officers said they were happy to receive feedback on the first iteration of this report on what Members would like to be included – the data trends were available and there were case studies of human stories they could share.

Action By - Executive Director, Children and Learning

·       The Cabinet Member for thanked Members for their feedback on reporting and praised the service for their hard work and innovation and produced great results for young people.

·       A Member asked how the service could improve the voice of young people in their work. In response, it was confirmed that they were working with apprentices and trainees to enhance this area because officers were aware they were not best placed themselves to inform this workstream without input. There were stories of young people who had been through the justice system and later in their life set up business and who now worked with young people to inspire others with their story. Officers could over professionalise a situation and they wanted to develop their methods and replicate well received engagement to hear voices of young people and capture the voices that were missing. To hear those voices, creativity was needed and the help of others who were able to connect with high-risk children. It was early in the process in developing this area.

RESOLVED –

THAT the Committee note the report.