"Young People's views on the riots"
Our Streets - British Youth Council, October 2001
"Payments by results plan for YOTs is shelved"
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/Youth_Justice/article/1103851/payment-by-results-plan-yots-shelved/?DCMP=EMC-CONYouth%20Justice%20News
Justice for Children in Trouble Newsletter - Winter 2011
http://thenayj.org.uk/campaigns-and-publications-2/
National Centre for Social Research - The August Riots in England
http://www.natcen.ac.uk/study/the-august-riots-in-england-
Swanwick Lodge maintains 'Outstanding'
Swanwick Lodge Children's Secure Unit maintained 'Outstanding' following its recent Ofsted interim inspection, with a grading of 'good' progress for the work which has been undertaken since the last full report. Rachel Walker, Registered Manager said, "this reflects the commitment and hard work by the staff and service providers at Swanwick, we want to maintain this standard, so are continually looking at ways to improve the level of service we provide to Young People."
Read the inspection report
How a secure unit in Nottinghamshire used graffiti to improve the wellbeing of young people in its care.
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/Youth_Justice/article/1076965/good-practice-secure-unit-nottinghamshire-used-graffiti-improve-wellbeing-young-people-its-care/
YOI custody levels exceed safe capacity
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/news/1080026/YOI-custody-levels-exceed-safe-capacity/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH
Four pilot areas to test out devolving cost of custody
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/news/1081633/Four-pilot-areas-test-devolving-cost-custody/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH
Criminalised, vulnerable, and likely to re-offend: Will this government help young offenders in England and Wales?
by Malcolm Stevens. Click here to download PDF
Housing support for ex-offenders 'could save taxpayer thousands'
By Lauren Higgs , Children & Young People Now
28 February 2011
Providing teenagers leaving custody with suitable housing could save the taxpayer almost £70,000 for each young person, research by Barnardo's has
found. The study found that a young person caught in a cycle of homelessness and re-offending can cost the government as much as £116,094 over three years. But if every young offender were to receive the support they need, this could create savings of £67,000 per child.
The Barnardo's report argues that suitable accommodation and support for young people leaving custody is crucial to achieving the government's
"rehabilitation revolution".
But the charity is warning that significant numbers of children as young as 13 are leaving custody without a safe place to live. In 2009/10, Barnardo's received 4,147 referrals asking it to help young people in custody. Within these referrals, housing came out as one of the top five concerns. Barnardo's is now calling on government to develop a cross-departmental action plan to make suitable accommodation for young people leaving custody an urgent priority. Anne Marie Carrie, Barnardo's chief executive, said young people leaving custody are all too easy to ignore. "Young people who offend are among the most vulnerable; a quarter have special educational needs and almost a fifth have depression, yet children as young as 13 are sent back to families who can't cope and end up without a safe place to live," she explained. "The government is on the verge of a self-styled 'rehabilitation revolution'
- but there are gaps in the Ministry of Justice's plans which must be filled to ensure we do right by these children and society by bringing down crime
levels. "We don't say this lightly, we are all too aware of the cuts being made across the UK in an effort to fight the effects on the economic crisis we
are in, but surely, if ever there is a case for return on investment this is it."
Subject: Youth Justice Organisation Design Project – SAN Response .
We note that the YJB is continuing to the last to set “demanding” deadlines! Consequently SAN's response is not as comprehensive as we would have liked it to be.
Paper 1 – Future Form Of Youth Justice Landscape.
1.2.1 - Value for money. This is the first of several references to value for money. We understand the importance but the prerequisite is that the YJB / MoJ need to clearly identify the outcomes you seek as commissioners – or at least develop these in collaboration with service providers.
1.2.3/4 - In common with many we struggle to fully understand the concepts of localism and the Big Society. With particular regard to localism it is hard to see how the juvenile secure estate will connect with this concept in a meaningful way. The Big Society concept would seem to potentially relate to the issue of resettlement where we can see a role for a voluntary organisation to harness the energies of a range of community resources to form a network of support for young people returning from custody.
1.3.3 – We are pleased to see that safeguarding the welfare of young people continues to be the purpose of the Youth Justice System. In furtherance of this central purpose we would assume the continuation of a significant role in the juvenile secure estate for SCHs. We fully support the intention to retain a distinct secure estate.
• - Decommissioning of beds / savings in secure estate regimes. Both of these issues need to be clarified by commissioners as a matter of priority in order to be able to determine and manage the future of SCHs. As well as a statement about required numbers and services it would be opportune to make a clear statement about the perceived value and place of SCHs within the secure estate – and in the intention to retain the service provided by SCHs. It would also be useful to understand what the YJB / MoJ aspires to in terms of the future juvenile secure estate – does it aspire to the standards provided by SCHs or the standards provided by YOIs?
• - There are obvious concerns about a discrete Youth Justice Service getting lost within the MoJ. As an essential element of ensuring that this does not happen this should be taken as an opportunity to get key central government departments working together on the design of future services for young people in the justice system i.e., DfE, Ofsted; Health.
Paper 2 – Activities List
An overarching comment is that the document talks of the distinctive functions of the Youth Justice Service and the Juvenile Secure Estate when there should be a drive, particularly with regard to effective resettlement, to get these different elements working more closely together than is currently the case.
Function 2 – Effective Practice – good to see inclusion of resettlement, public protection and safeguarding of young people.
3.1 Strategic Planning – fully support these activities.
3.2 Development of payments by results options – not a problem whilst young people are resident in SCHs but this will prove to be difficult, if not impossible, with regard to what happens to a young person once they have left the SCH.
• Proposal to undertake a re-competition of services across the SCH sector – a lengthy, time consuming and expensive process to do exactly this was only completed in 2009. Is it really necessary to go through this again given that what the YJB / MoJ already knows about its SCH providers and demand for services, should be sufficient to inform the commissioning decisions that need to be made. Going through this whole process again now is likely to tell commissioners little more than you already know.
• All SCHs are inherently specialist providers and should be seen as such for the provision of services to young people on long sentences.
• SCH service reductions have effectively already been done to produce the 5% bed price reduction in 2011/12. What is the new Performance Management Framework? Is this the 2010 framework – or is there to be another version? Development of a suite of Service Assurance modules??
• To reiterate the point – we think all SCHs should be viewed as specialist provision.
Paper 3 - Questions
• In the current economic climate and with high and increasing levels of youth unemployment it is reasonable to expect that there will be a significant increase in acquisitive crime – which will have ramifications throughout the Youth Justice System.
Also linked to the economic climate those SCHs that provide a mix of justice/welfare beds are being squeezed by local authorities current determination not to make specialist Out of Borough placements. If welfare beds are not filled these SCHs will become financially unviable – unless the beds are used for young people in the Youth Justice System. Virtually no mention is made in the documents of the issue of meeting the mental health needs of young people in the Youth Justice System.
• Specific reference to resettlement would be welcome.
• The YJB's regional framework was greatly valued in the past and could be a future aid to the development of joined up working between the elements of the Youth Justice Service – particularly with regard to resettlement.
Clearly the work of the Placement Team is essential and should continue.
• Removal of unnecessarily restrictive/bureaucratic guidelines e.g. regarding flexible mobility/ROTL practice. Collection of data that is: manifestly self-evident; does not clearly enhance or measure outcomes (as opposed to outputs); not disseminated.
11 February 2011
RESPONSE
FROM : SECURE ACCOMMODATION NETWORK
TO : GREEN PAPER – BREAKING THE CYCLE EFFECTIVE PUNISHMENT, REHABILITATION AND SENTENCING OF OFFENDERS
• Basis of Response
• This response focuses on Section 5 of the Green Paper – Youth Justice.
• In overall terms SAN fully supports the overarching objectives for Youth Justice outlined in the Green paper and specifically is wholly committed to working to prevent offending by young people and to the avoidance of the unnecessary use of custody.
• Preventing of Offending by Young People
• Traditionally responses to youth crime have evidenced a strong reliance on the value of deterrence. However, this approach is consistently undermined in practice by the frequent and precipitate use of measures designed to be deterrents. Once used these measures inevitably lose their deterrent value for the individuals concerned and, if over used, lose deterrent value for the wider community. For these reasons SAN fully supports measures to restrict the use of court appearances by extending the use of out-of-court disposals.
• SAN appreciates the recognition given in the Green Paper to the importance of working with young people to address the reasons why they offend – as opposed to focussing myopically on the offence itself. The pre-court disposal system needs to be sufficiently resourced to identify and support those young people for whom offending is symptomatic of other more deep-seated issues.Withinthe overall context of prevention there needs to be clear linkage betweenYJB/MoJ and the DfE.
• SAN acknowledges the value of restorative justice and would welcome its promotion at all stages in the Youth Justice System. We would hope that, in extending the use of restorative justice, emphasis will be put on initiatives that are positive and constructive experience for the young person and the community rather than being simply menial and/or punitive.
Consultation Questions
• In simple terms the answer to this question is contained within the Green Paper – “end the current system of automatic escalation and instead put trust in the professionals who are working with young people on the ground”. The discretion of professionals should not be fettered by bureaucratic/over prescriptive guidance – but there may need to be a pre-court disposal target to avoid the development of unduly differing delivery of justice in different geographical areas.
• Given that the objective is to prevent offending restorative justice needs to be something that has the potential to be a positive experience for young people by: allowing them to connect/empathise with victims; allowing them the experience of positive giving; doing something constructive and of intrinsic value. Such activities should enhance young people's sense of self-worth and self-esteem – as opposed to activities that are unduly menial/punitive.
• Effective Sentencing for Young Offenders
• SAN is fully supportive of the objective of ensuring that custody is not used inappropriately or unnecessarily and is reserved for those young people that present a genuine risk to the public. Some young people clearly put themselves at risk by virtue of their lifestyles and offending behaviour. There is a clear and continuing role for Secure Children's Homes to work with such young people both through criminal proceedings and through orders obtained in civil proceedings.
• Paragraph 240 states that “custody separates young people from their families and communities, can seriously disrupt education, training and development and is an expensive option that does not deliver good outcomes”. The view of SAN is that this blanket statement fails to make the necessary distinction between the 3 widely different sectors that comprise the juvenile secure estate – and of the very different experiences that young people have in the 3 sectors.
• This blanket statement also fails to take account of the fact that, in some circumstances, it is of positive benefit for a young person to be removed from their family and/or community – and that such removal can facilitate the start of the process of re-engagement with education for young people who have been out of education for significant periods. SCHs have a proven track record of helping young people to re-evaluate their lives, of helping them to change and of facilitating educational achievement for the first time in their lives.
• Achieving and embedding such changes takes time and to that end short custodial sentences are inherently unlikely to achieve a great deal other than a brief and expensive respite for the public from the actions of the young person. Short custodial sentences (i.e. DTOs of 6 months or less) should be removed from the sentencing tariff with sentencing options being restricted to intensive periods of supervision and support in the community or longer periods (i.e. 8 months plus) of custody in nurturing and constructive environments of the type provided by SCHs.
• SAN is wholly behind the proposal to give young people more support to help them comply with the conditions of their license and to minimise the use of recall as a response to breach of license – such recalls generally seem to be a disproportionate response to breach of license. It seems inequitable and unnecessary for instance that a young person on license who fails to attend school can in effect be sent to custody for non school attendance.
• The proposal to extend recalls to custody where a DTO has expired would seem to be contrary to the main thrust of the Green Paper. It is our view that instances of further offending by the young person should be responded to in terms of the nature and circumstances of that offence – and not by reference to the fact that the young person was previously the subject of a DTO.
• SAN accepts and supports the need to reduce unnecessary remands to custody/local authority secure accommodation by incentivising local authorities to invest in alternative community strategies. Whilst understanding the logic of transferring the full cost of remands to local authorities SAN has some concerns about the practical application of such a policy – we look forward to the outcomes of the proposed pilot schemes.
• SAN welcomes the proposal to extend the youth remand facility to all 17 year olds.
Consultation Questions
• Maximise the use of diversion of young people from appearing and being sentenced in court.
• Accept that the deterrence principle has little or no value/place in the sentencing of serious and/or persistent young offenders.
• Remove the facility for the making of short-term deterrent custodial sentences from the sentencing tariff.
• Whilst acknowledging that sentencing is by its very nature punitive, ensure where possible and appropriate, that the sentence is also constructive and aims to develop young people's strengths and their ability to become stakeholders in society.
• Invest in community disposals and invest in comprehensive resettlement support services for young people leaving custody.
• Changing the law to remove the option of remand for young people who are unlikely to receive a custodial sentence would seem to represent the most effective response to this issue.
• Youth Justice Funding and Payment by Results
• SCHs can demonstrate the gains that they make with young people during the custodial element of their sentences. These gains are manifested in the form of:
• Re-engagement with education and measurable achievements in terms of educational attainments.
• Completion of a comprehensive assessment of need.
• Measurable improvements in social skills, self esteem, self worth and pro-social values.
• Reduction in risk to self and others.
• However these gains are often not sustained on their return to their communities and there is clearly a need for much more comprehensive packages of support as part of the resettlement process. Such packages need to be:
• Capable of reaching and providing a support in all areas of a young person's life.
• Based on a process of in-reach and outreach that commences well before the young person's discharge date facilitated by the use of mobility/ROTL.
• Capable of providing emotional as well as practical support.
• Facilitated by a policy of placing young people in the secure estate as near to home as possible.
• Such an approach requires investment/diversion of funds and SAN would be confident that it would be cost effective in terms of reduced further offending and reduced returns to custody. Payment by result is an understandable approach – certainly in terms of any pilot project – but long-term uncertainties about funding can easily undermine such projects.
• Outcome measures for such projects need to be focussed on positive outcomes such as education, employment, accommodation, and participation in constructive and acceptable activities. Negative outcome measures such as reoffending need to be realistic when working with serious and particularly with persistent young offenders. It is not realistic to expect a young person to totally change their modus operandi developed over 15 years life experience following a 6 month period of community or custodial intervention. For such young people less frequent and/or less serious offending needs to be viewed as a positive.
Consultation Questions
• With particular reference to successful resettlement post custody the following measures could usefully be adopted:
• Rigorous operation by the YJB Placement Team of the principle of placing young people as near to home as possible.
• Providers within the juvenile secure estate should be encouraged and enabled to maximise the use of mobility/ROTL as a means of preparing young people for post release. Where possible mobility should extend to day release to proposed ETE placements, overnight stays at proposed accommodation and placement in open provision. Ability to deliver such a strategy will clearly relate to length of sentence and to a continuing process of risk management which is subject to the discretion of the establishment manager (as opposed to being a function of Central Government officials).
• Additional resource is required to enable providers to provide post release outreach support or to fund providers working in the community.
• Initially such initiatives may best be provided by organisations working in large conurbations with young people returning from a range of secure estate establishments. One organisation working in this way is likely to be more effective in terms of development and use of resources, contacts and experience than secure estate providers attempting to set up such arrangements as and when required for individual young people.
• Negative outcome measures for such schemes e.g. re-offending, need to be balanced by the use of outcome measures that focus on positive achievements e.g. in ETE.
• Such schemes could be underpinned by 2-year contracts, renewable subject to results – which may be more sustainable than a pure payment by results model.
• Improving Transparency and Accountability in the Youth Justice System
• Given that significant progress has been made in achieving the objectives of reduced youth offending and reduced use of custody during the currency of the YJB it is perhaps unfortunate that it is considered that it is no longer required.
• SAN supports a reduction in the use of central performance monitoring, streamlined inspection processes and proposals to increase community involvement in working with young offenders.
Consultation Questions
• Performance monitoring needs to:
• Focus on outcomes rather than outputs.
• Focus on core business and be a ‘live' process that is continually used to comment on and facilitate improvements in practice (as opposed to being a one way process where information is collected and not used in any proactive way).
• Resettlement of young people would benefit from becoming more of a community enterprise involving a range of agencies that can provide emotional and practical support particularly in the areas of ETE, accommodation, constructive use of leisure and positive role models.
• SAN would be concerned that in delivering the functions of the YJB the MoJ should:
• Rigorously ensure that youth justice remains a clear and distinct service area within the wider functions of the MoJ.
• In organising youth justice services take care not to lose sight of the principle that children who offend should be seen as children first and offenders second.
SAN has been invited to participate in the Challenge And Improvement Group . This group has been set up at the request of the Childrens Minister
by the Department for Education with a remit to review and reformulate the way in which residential child care has a positive part to play in the
future delivery of child care services.
We are currently engaged with the YJB, representatives from YOTs and other parts of the juvenile secure estate in a wide ranging review of the way in which assessments are made of young people in the youth justice system.
SAN has also been asked to contribute to the Future Organisational Design Project being led by the YJB to effect the transition of the YJB into becoming a part of the Ministry of Justice.
The impact of abolition of the Youth Justice Board
It was announced in the autumn that:
· The YJB as a separate entity will be abolished and its functions transferred to the MoJ
· The precise timing of the transition is not yet known and the form it will take is also unclear
· The YJB will operate as normal in the meantime, but the implications for jobs is also unclear
· The regional YJB offices are already earmarked for closure
· The spending review budget cuts still stand and scenarios for the amount of cuts have been given to the treasury of 30% and 40%
· Business support (HR, finance and communications) is expected to go to MoJ Shared Services, but still in early stages of discussion
.
The government are presenting so called ‘quangos' as mere committees of highly paid executives - nothing could be further from the truth. The YJB is staffed by committed public servants who deliver a service aimed at reducing the numbers of young people committing crimes, reoffending and in custody. The abolition of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) and transferring it into MoJ (which will mean there will no longer be a specialist organisation dealing with young offenders and advising best practice based on dedicated research) will have a serious impact on youth re-offending rates.
At a time when opportunities for young people are being closed off because of recession and cuts the YJB prevention work is crucial in ensuring that young people do not fall into a cycle of offending and re-offending. The number of NEETS (young people not in education, employment or training) is on the increase, there are currently 950,000 NEETS and one in five under 24 year olds are out of work.
During it's existence, the YJB has brought stability, accountability and a focus on raising standards. They have maintained a focus on “what works”, championed effective practice and provided guidance in what key elements are required for practice to be effective. How this work will be maintained is unclear.
Eleven young offenders died or killed themselves while under supervision in the community last year.
Statistics released following a freedom of information request to the Youth Justice Board (YJB) show that in the 11 months from 1 January to 30 November 2010 there were seven deaths in the community of 10- to 17-year-olds, a category that includes "accidental deaths" such as car accidents or drug overdoses.
In addition, four young people took their own lives and there were 98 attempted suicides.
A further five young people were victims of attempted murder, and three were victims of rape.
It is the first time exact details of serious incidents have emerged since CYP Now revealed the scale of issues around safeguarding young offenders in the community last October.
Given that the government plans to reduce youth custody levels by providing more robust community alternatives, there is likely to be a greater demand for safeguarding services for vulnerable young offenders in the community.
Di Hart, principal officer for youth justice and welfare at the National Children's Bureau, said it is important for more information to be made available so processes can be improved.
"There is an obvious need to know this information to try to prevent future harm to children that are being supervised by youth offending teams," she said.
SAFEGUARDING INCIDENTS IN 2010
Death in the community 7
Suicide 4
Attempted suicide 98
Victim of attempted murder 5
Victim of rape 3
Total 117
Source: YJB, to 30 November 2010
Call for custody to be used as last resort after death at Stoke Heath youth prison
Custody for vulnerable and suicidal young people should be a last resort, a prison campaigner has said after the death of an 18-year-old in a young offender institution (YOI).
Michael Cartwright, who was serving 20 months for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and theft, was found hanging in his cell at Stoke Heath YOI, in Shropshire, at around 9pm on 20 December.
Staff attempted to resuscitate him and he was taken to Telford hospital but died two days later on 22 December.
The Stoke Sentinel reported that Cartwright had previously attended a school for children with special needs, and had unsuccessfully attempted to take his life last Christmas while serving a separate custodial sentence.
Penelope Gibbs, director of the Prison Reform Trust's campaign to reduce child imprisonment, said: "Where young people are vulnerable and suicidal, custody should be an absolute last resort and all steps should be taken to support and watch them if custody has to be used.
"It is always a tragedy when someone as young as Michael takes their own life. We don't know why he did, but for all those in custody to be apart from family and friends is particularly difficult over the Christmas period.
"We hope that his death is properly investigated and our thoughts go out to his family."
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has said it is investigating
YOUTH OFFENDING STATISTICS
· There are 157 YOTs in England and Wales
· Children as young as 10 can be imprisoned
· In 2009/2010, the average under-18 population in custody in England and Wales was 2,444
· According to a survey of children in custody or on remand:
· At least three-quarters had absent fathers, and a third had absent mothers
· Half lived in a deprived household and/or unsuitable accommodation
· Just under half had run away at some point in their lives
· More than a quarter had witnessed domestic violence
· More than a quarter had experienced local authority care
· Twenty per cent of the sample is known to have self-harmed; 11 per is known to have attempted suicide
Source: Punishing Disadvantage, Prison Reform Trust
1st July 2009 - Sutton Place Safe Centre, Hull
Sutton Place Safe Centre, the secure children's home in Hull, has now closed.
Article in Guardian Wednesday May 20th on closure of secure homes
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/may/20/secure-care-homes-closure
Press release: 28/04/09 - London 's only secure children's home could close by June 2009
LONDON 'S most vulnerable children have been put at risk by a government decision to decommission the city's only secure children's home. Last month the Youth Justice Board (YJB) announced it would not be renewing its contract to commission secure children's beds from Orchard Lodge in Anerley, along with Sutton Place Safe Centre in Hull and the Atkinson Unit in Exeter . The cutbacks have shocked the UK 's already dwindling secure estate and caused concern amongst youth crime charities who say the demand for beds accommodating vulnerable children is rising – not falling.
Orchard Lodge in South London is a 24-bedded secure children's home that has admitted London 's most vulnerable and emotionally disturbed boys aged 12 to 16 for the past 20 years. The Glen Care Group bought the centre in March 2006 from Southwark Council and has since invested in excess of £500,000 into raising standards, implementing educational programmes and building a new five-bed unit.
The YJBs decision to cutback on the number of secure beds it commissions has placed the future of Orchard Lodge, together with its 70 employees, in serious jeopardy. The YJB said its decision not to renew its contract with the centre ending in June 2009, was due to the fact the Anerley-based home did not meet quality, standard and price. The Glen Care Group has rejected the ruling and launched a legal battle to prove the tender process used by the YJB was flawed and breeched European Tendering Policy.
Under Glen Care's guidance, Orchard Lodge's Ofsted rating has improved dramatically, and low levels of literacy among admitted children have been tackled by implementing the Toe by Toe teaching programme, resulting in the majority of boys reaching their reading age within seven months of serving their sentence.
Gordon Philips, Chairman of Glen Care, believes the centre's closure will have potentially devastating welfare implications for the city's most vulnerable children and expose the YJB to legal challenges from families who will have reduced access to their children.
He said: “The loss of Orchard Lodge will result in children being sent to remaining secure homes in Bristol , Southampton , The Midlands and the North of England. Over 90 per cent of the boys we care for come from families living below the poverty line, so most parents will struggle to visit a centre over 80 miles away or even cover childcare costs for the day. To undergo rehabilitation these boys need constant support from their family and this ill-service by the YJB will not stop them from re-offending on release.”
According to the YJBs own policy, juveniles should not be sent further than 50 miles from their home in order to maintain and strengthen their family ties during their time in custody. The move to send children as far as 250 miles from London , not only breeches the YJBs own policy but also directives outlined within the government programme Every Child Matters. Introduced by Ed Ball, Secretary of State for Schools, Children and Families, the aim of the programme states every child whatever their background or circumstances, is to be given the support they need to be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being.
Dennis Scotland, Director of Children's Services at Orchard Lodge said the possible closure of the only secure care home in London would seriously jeopardise the long-term rehabilitation and well-being of youths in his care.
“Parental visits are of huge importance to the boys we care for. They provide a morale boost and something to focus on during their custodial sentence. Without their support the boys can feel abandoned and cut off from their family unit and as young children, this can have very damaging repercussions on their development.”
“Not having a secure care home in a city as vast as London , with all its social issues is utterly ludicrous. The Government has failed in its duty of care for these children who will be severely disadvantaged miles from home.”
Roy Walker (OBE), former chair of the Secure Accommodation Network (SAN), has run Sutton Place Safe Centre in Hull for the past 17 years. Passionate in his belief secure care homes can turn around the lives of vulnerable children, he said the anticipated loss of three distinguished centres across the country is an unacceptable erosion of an essential national resource.
“In the last decade the number of secure care homes in the UK has dropped from over 30 to 19 and that figure looks as if it's going to drop again as a result of the latest decommissioning. These secure units deliver real results and make a real difference for some of the most vulnerable children this country has to care for.”
He added: “Due to sheer overload in the system there are going to be kids who end up in Young Offender Institutions, where due to lack of resources and level of staffing, children in need of greater care, can get lost. There is a real danger children prone to self-harming and bullying will be placed in unsuitable environments. The removal of services at Sutton Place and Orchard Lodge by the YJB will reduce even further what I see as an essential national resource.”
London-based crime reduction charity Nacro said there was already a chronic shortage of secure accommodation in London , and the loss of the only centre offering a real chance of rehabilitation to the Capital's most emotionally disturbed and disadvantaged youths was an outcry.
Spike Cadman, Senior Policy Director on Youth Crime for Nacro said he could not understand the rationale behind the decision to decommission the only secure children's home in London .
“In 2007, parliament figures listed 1,148 young people deemed vulnerable within the secure estate, yet the YJBs decision to reduce the number of beds commissioned means there will only be 498 available nationally. There is a real demand for beds in London and youth crime is a very real issue. Sending children all over the country away from their families will not help rehabilitate these juveniles.”
Notes to Editors
Secure children's homes provide young people at risk and juvenile offenders with support tailored to their individual needs. To achieve this, they have a high ratio of staff to young people and are generally small facilities, ranging in size from 6 to 40 beds. With the exception of Orchard Lodge all of the UK 's 19 secure children's homes are run by Local Authorities.
The Glen Care Group (www.orchardlodge.org.uk) is the only private company to provide vulnerable young children who receive a custodial remand or custodial sentence with secure accommodation and a care plan that enables them to maintain strong positive links with their local communities to prevent further offending.
* Roy Walker received an OBE for Services to Children and Young People in 2003 in recognition of his distinguished career in secure child care.
For more information or to arrange interviews/photographs contact Jo Pecksen at EyeSpy Media on 01789 296776/ 07769695238.
Thursday 23rd April 2009 - New Chair of SAN
Roy Walker has stood down as the chair of SAN from April 22nd . This is owing to the pending closure of the secure children's home he manages Sutton Place Safe Centre following its failure to win a new Contract with the YJB. It was agreed at SAN's Management Meeting held at Vinney Green that Andy Copp would take over the role of Chair with Keith Smith Vice Chair. Andy is the Manager of Red Bank Community Home and Keith Manager of Vinney Green secure children's home.
Mon 20th April 2009 - Daily Mail supports secure children homes !
The Daily Mail not the most strident supporter of social work has published an article strongly in favour of safeguarding the future of secure children's homes. In the article in the paper on Saturday April 18 th 2009, pages 40/41, based on the Radio 4 programmes on Vinney Green the presenter of that programme, Winifred Robinson, reiterates her strong support for the work of secure children's homes and argues that their work needs to be carefully considered before more homes close. She explores in some detail the work of Vinney Green and in the conclusion to her article Robinson states that whilst there is no ' firm evidence that secure units are worth saving , but it is vital that we do not allow them to be abandoned without proper evaluation. If we do, we may all end up paying the price.'
'Inside the Child Prisons - Part 2'
BBC Radio 4 Broadcast Mon 20 Apr 2009 20:00
The number of secure units is falling, down from 28 earlier this decade to just 19 and with a further four scheduled to close in 2009. The government is keen to examine alternatives to custody, including intensive fostering. But how do outcomes compare over the long term and what proves to be effective in addressing offending behaviour?
Work that goes on in places like the Vinney Green secure unit in Bristol includes a great emphasis on vocational skills to equip teenagers who may have been excluded from mainstream schools. Winifred examines these intensive efforts and talks to some of the youngsters and their families about what the future holds.
'Inside the Child Prisons' BBC Radio 4 Broadcast
Mon 13 Apr 2009 20:00 - Listen here (you need BBC iPlayer installed)
Winifred Robinson follows the fortunes of some of the 300-plus violent and damaged youngsters in Britain who are detained in secure children's homes to prevent them harming themselves or others.
She follows interventions ranging from anger management courses to drug and alcohol counselling. The children are aged between 10 and 16 and most have been placed in the units following sentencing by the courts because they are too young to be placed in young offenders institutes. With intensive staffing ratios and heavy security, the cost of each place is high, but if it works the benefits to society can be significant.
At one secure unit, on the outskirts of Bristol, Winifred follows 15-year-old Mitchell, who is admitted after trying to hang himself in a young offenders institute. He was sentenced following a vicious robbery which left a younger boy hospitalised. Mitchell blames cannabis and the wrong friends for the attack, and while locked up he works hard on addressing his behaviour. He plans for a better life on his release but his old friends are waiting for him back home, and both his parents and staff at the secure unit worry about what will happen.
8 April 2009 -: 'Life in secure care'.
The Children's Commissioner, Dr Roger Lyons, has published a report detailing an investigation into secure children's homes by his team based on visits to 9 of the 18 homes in England to gain the views of the young people placed there on how they are treated, the impact of being placed in SCHs and the range of services they receive. The report was published by OfSTED on April 7 th and is available through their website, HMI:080241.Young people talk very positively about their experiences in Secure children's homes and the positive experiences they have, as well as offering advice on how to further improve the experience.
Roy Walker, outgoing Chair of SAN, commented that the report is a welcome vindication of the quality of care that secure children's homes can offer and something which SAN has being working hard to develop and promote. There is an irony, he said, in the timing of the report given that the closure of his own unit has been announced and that the future of others is uncertain. He went on to say that ' Secure Children's homes are a vital part of the continuum of care for young people in England yet their future has never been so uncertain and the DCSF appear powerless or unwilling to intervene or to support units.'
8 April 2009 - Young people feel safe in secure children's homes
Young people say secure children's homes are safe places to be and keep them out of trouble, according to a report by Roger Morgan, the children's rights director for England. Click here for article
Related articlesSecure children's home places fall
1st April 2009 - Roy Walker to stand down as Chair of SAN
'Following the news that Sutton Place Safe Centre, the unit he manages is to close, Roy Walker the current Chair of SAN is to stand down at a date to be finalised in April. Andy Copp from Red bank the current Deputy Chair will become Acting Chair until new arrangements can be agreed.'
30 March 2009 - Secure Children's Home Closes
' Following the Youth Justice Board Contract awards on March 26th it has been announced that Sutton Place Safe Centre in Hull is to close. The home was unsuccessful in its bid to get a Contract from the YJB. Timescales for the home's closure are unclear but its current Contract with the Board runs until June 30th.'
26 March 2009 - Future commissioning for YJB beds in England and Wales
Following the outcome of the joint Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB) and Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) Secure Children's Homes (SCHs) re-commissioning exercise, the YJB has modelled the number of beds required in Secure Children's Homes and will be commissioning 191 beds in England and Wales under new contracts starting on 1 July 2009. New contracts will be awarded to the following homes to ensure provision is available in all parts of the country
The YJB will offer to commission a similar number of beds as at present in the nine SCHs named above. There are also four SCHs in England currently contracted with YJB who will not be offered a new contract. We will work with DCSF and those units to agree transition arrangements which support the sustainable provision of welfare beds, whilst YJB move to its contracted total of 191 beds by March 2010. The YJB currently commissions 219 beds in this sector.. The four SCHs which will be offered transition support are:
Secure Children's Homes have a distinct and long-term role in providing secure accommodation for younger children and young people with particular needs. The number of beds required in this sector is based on an analysis of the population of SCHs and Secure Training Centres over the last three years, taking into account the geographical spread of homes across England . Because there is only one SCH in Wales , Hillside , it has not been included in the recommissioning process and the renewal of their contract is being dealt with separately. The commissioning follows the completion of a retendering process amongst Secure Children's Homes in England . Tenders were assessed on both quality and financial criteria. The competition for new contracts was run alongside DCSF's competition for capital grants. DCSF intend to build on their previous capital investment by investing up to a further £50 million in the sector over the next four years to significantly improve the accommodation and facilities available . The bulk of that sum will be made available over 2009/10 and 2010/11. Further funding thereafter will be subject to the next spending review. Whilst the results of the recommissioning exercise will guarantee sufficient provision of appropriate secure accommodation for young people, the YJB remains committed to reducing the numbers of young people in custody in England and Wales . It continues to invest in alternatives to custody, including Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programmes and Intensive Fostering.
12th March 2009 - Y.J.B. Contract Decisions Delay
‘After initially indicating that secure children's home would hear in mid March about the award of contracts for 1 st July onwards, the Youth Justice Board has now said it will be the end of March before decisions are announced. Roy Walker, Chair of S.A.N., said that the delay was unhelpful given the potential implications of the decision to award contracts or not. Any further delay, he felt, would be unacceptable'.
The ‘About Us’ page on this website has been updated to more clearly reflect the many areas that secure children’s homes offer based on measurable outcomes. Check it out.
1st March 2009 - NACRO Conference: Wasted Lives. Reducing youth crime, maximising children’s potential. April 1-3rd 2009 University of Nottingham.
Roy Walker, Chair of SAN, is hosting a seminar at the above conference entitled ‘Vulnerability in custody’ which will examine the current and future role of secure children’s homes and explore the challenges facing them. More information on the conference which is described as ‘the pre-eminent independent event in the youth justice calendar’ at www.nacro.org.uk
1st March 2009 - Research Report DCSF-RR055: Developing the Market for Welfare Beds in Secure Children’s Homes. Deloitte.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) is hosting a number of seminars to look at the recommendation of the Deloitte Report published last July. This Report looked at the drop in the use of welfare placements in Secure Children’s Homes, the reasons behind this. The impact on the homes and options to address these factors.
S.A.N. welcomes this process, having fully participated in the evidence gathering for the Report, and hopes that this will begin to draw up an evidenced based approach to the problems currently facing secure children’s homes.The Deloitte Report can be accessed through the D.C.S.F. website or
Click here to see full report
26th Feb 2009 - SAN National Oxford March 18th -
SAN’s next National Meeting in Oxford on March 18th is to focus on the outcome of the recent inquiries into the use of restrain in secure care. It will look at the likely implications for future practice for secure children’s homes. Andrew Williamson and Peter Smallridge, Authors on the report of the Independent Review of Restrain in Juvenile secure settings will summarise their findings and recommendations. Di Harte from the National Children’s Bureau will talk about the Report that she understood on behalf of the DCSF who will also have representatives at the meeting talking about their responses to the Inquiry Reports. Finally, Phil Tooze Director of the Woodland Centre in Bangor Northern Ireland will talk about the implications from an operational perspective.
Roy Walker Chair of SAN commented the “he was delighted that the meeting was focusing on such a key topic of practice and grateful for the time of the speakers”.
Please note that the meeting is only open to SAN members.
24th Feb 2009 - YJB Contract Decisions
Roy Walker, Chair of SAN, has been advised that the decisions about which secure children’s homes will be awarded new contracts to provide beds for the Youth Justice Board (YJB) will be announced during the second week of March, subject to Ministerial commitments. All the current contracts with the YJB end on June 30th and there are concerns that the new Contracts will reduce the number of beds they will purchase below the 209 they have previously indicated. This is on top of the reduction from the 235 the Board currently purchase which had already announced.
“This is a very worrying time for the Managers of secure children’s homes (SCHs) and indeed for the service as a whole. The implications of a further cut in YJB beds given the current financial background to budget setting cannot be ruled out. But the impact on the future of secure children’s homes could be huge and sadly I forsee further potential closures of homes. This is despite the fact that it is widely recognised that if a child has to be placed in secure care that SCHs are the best places to meet their needs”.
Roy Walker Chair SAN.
6th Feb 2009 - Radio 4 Programme on Secure Children’s Homes
Radio 4 is currently developing a Programme on the work and impact of secure children’s homes. It is due to be aired in April and more details will appear on this page when confirmed.
Inquiry to re-examine youth offending
By Mathew Little
Children & Young People Now,
28 January 2009
A major new inquiry has promised a "fundamental re-examination" of the way society responds to youth offending.
The Independent Commission on Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour says it will seek to minimise the harm that children and young people do to the community and themselves.
The Commission has been set up by the charity the Police Foundation and will be chaired by corporate lawyer Anthony Salz. The eleven other members include the former chair of Revenue and Customs, Sir David Varney, the chair of the Association of Youth Offending Team Managers, Mike Thomas and Andrew Webb, Stockport council's director for Children and Young People.
Salz, executive vice-chairman of investment bank N&M Rothschild, said: "We will be looking for better, more sustainable ways of dealing with behaviour issues that affect whole communities, whether they are direct victims of crime and anti-social behaviour - many young people among them - or taxpayers who pick up the bill for our existing, increasingly expensive system."
The Commission will ask experts to examine international research on prevention of youth crime and different approaches to youth justice. It will report in the summer of 2010.
Deloitte Report on Secure Childrens Homes
Click here to see full report
East Moor newsletter – Autumn Issue 2008
Please click here to download newsletter (Adobe PDF)
Ministerial Statement on Restraint – October 2008
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Mr. David Hanson): On 24 June, the Minister for Children, Young People and Families and I announced our intention of publishing the report prepared by Peter Smallridge and Andrew Williamson on the use of restraint in juvenile secure settings, together with the Government's response, by the end of October. The report covers a wide range of issues and consideration of them has necessitated detailed exploration which is still in progress. We will publish the report, and our response, by 15 December. SAN commentary: SAN is disappointed by the delay in the report being released but hopes that this will allow a considered response to its findings. SAN would be keen to play a positive part in any consultation process that is required.This is clearly a difficult and sensitive area of practice, hence the delays in the report, but one that equally requires the Government to be decisive and to decide what is required to ensure the highest standards of practice.
Letter to Minister - July 23rd
Recently released letter from Roy Walker, on behalf of SAN members, to Minister Ed Balls highlighting the current concerns within the secure sector affecting secure childrens homes click here
Community Care article - posted June 25th - Chair of the Secure Accommodation Network speaks out
A recent article in Community Care highlights the difficulties and concerns facing young people in secure care.
To read the full article online please click here.
PRESS RELEASE – JUNE 2008
POSITIVE PARTNERSHIP TO REDUCE RE-OFFENDING
A generous donation from Glen Care Group, a supporter of The Duke of Edinburgh 's Award, provides a vital boost to the resettlement of young offenders. The Glen Care Group has donated a substantial amount of money to The Duke of Edinburgh's Award ASPIRE Project. The focus of the project will be to support the resettlement of young offenders. The ASPIRE project seeks to establish that the Duke of Edinburgh's Award impacts positively on a young persons life and actively reduces the number of re-offenders aged 14-25 within the UK. Research continually shows that positive activities such as The Duke of Edinburgh's Award actively reduce re-offending. Research repeatedly demonstrates that self-esteem, self-worth, and personal development are crucial protective factors for young people at risk of engaging and re-engaging in crime and in preventing youth crime. The Duke of Edinburgh's Award programme is designed to develop and reinforce these positive characteristics. It is a highly successful proven programme which contributes positively to ensuring young people move on from their connection with the youth justice system. The Glen Care Group will be supporting The Duke of Edinburgh's Award ASPIRE Project by developing a suitable model for enabling young offenders to continue their DofE during resettlement. Orchard Lodge, a Secure Children's Home in South London owned by the Glen Care Group, will be one of six pilot establishments and provide valuable information to help the Project move forward. Gordon Phillips, Chairman, of the Glen Care Group said: “This will be a major befit for the young persons when they leave secure care giving them continuing support and mentoring once back in the community.” Aaron Whithead Clinical Director of the Glen Care Group said: “When the young person is in our care they receive therapy to prevent re-offending. This new ASPIRE programme will improve outcomes in terms of preventing re-offending.” Peter Westgarth CEO, Duke of Edinburgh's Award said: “We are most grateful to the Glen Care group for their donation towards our work with some of the most vulnerable young people in our society. This will enable us to develop a strong mechanism so that young people leaving custody are easily able to continue their involvement and achieve The Duke of Edinburgh's Award.” For further information about The Duke of Edinburgh's Award or this project, please contact: Emma Maguire
Communications Officer
Tel: 01753 727423
Email: emma.maguire@theaward.org
PRESS RELEASE – TUESDAY 13th MAY, 2008
NEW CHAIR OF THE SECURE ACCOMMODATION NETWORKRoy Walker has become the new Chair of the Secure Accommodation Network (S.A.N.) which represents secure children’s homes in England and Wales. He has taken over the role from Jon Banwell.Roy Walker has previously been Chair of S.A.N. and has been the Manager of Sutton Place Safe Centre, a secure unit in Hull, for over fifteen years. In June 2003 he was awarded an O.B.E. in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to children in East Yorkshire.Roy Walker is keen to build on the campaigning role of S.A.N. in both raising the profile of secure children’s homes and in further developing good practice. “In the current climate of threats to the future of secure children’s homes the role will be real challenge”.
Contact details for Roy Walker:Work Tel No: 01482 374186
Mobile No: 07702 670 158
E-Mail: roy.walker@hullcc.gov.uk
S.A.N: www.secureaccommodation.org.uk
PRESS RELEASE - MAY 9TH 2008 MANAGING TRANSITIONS FROM SECURE CHILDREN’S HOMESThe attached document drawn from the experiences of the Secure Accommodation Network (SAN) outlines the problems of poor practice in managing the move of children from secure homes back into the community.The foreword by Roy Walker, Acting Chair of SAN, outlines the issues and the concerns raised by such poor practice and are drawn from secure children’s homes around the country.Roy Walker OBE
Acting Chair Secure Accommodation Network
Tel: 01482 374186
Mob: 07702 670150
Email: roy.walker@hullcc.gov.uk
www.secureacommodation.org.uk
Click here for full document (Acrobat PDF)