Buckinghamshire Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2026 to 2029
Section 5: 2026 to 2029 priorities
Over the next three years, Buckinghamshire Youth Justice Service will focus on three key priorities that support positive outcomes for children, young people, victims, and communities. These are:
- working with persons and communities harmed to develop an enhanced service
- opportunities for positive change
- supporting children to stay in suitable education
- Collaborate with persons harmed to create a Charter that outlines our commitment to people impacted by youth crime
- Identify best practice for engaging restoratively with persons harmed through our contribution to the national evaluation of restorative justice led by RJ4All
- Find ways to ensure that the balance between safeguarding communities and working in a Child First way underpins everything we do
- Explore funding to expand opportunities for persons harmed to receive individualised, targeted support at the point of an offence being investigated
- Enhance positive outcomes for persons harmed by developing access to holistic support, including emotional and physical health, education, speech and language, and universal services
- Offer restorative justice training to parents/carers where harm is taking place in the home
- Develop further links with local businesses to increase opportunities around indirect restorative justice
- Partner with persons harmed to develop a participation/support group so that they can shape the services we deliver, contribute to the Partnership Board and co-plan training for staff
- Increase methods of seeking feedback to develop services for persons and communities harmed
- Develop the partnership offer providing opportunities for children to broaden their experiences and promote a positive identity shift
- Work in partnership with Youth Services to develop opportunities for children open to the YJST to access universal services and support them to achieve their full potential
- Our children tell us they want us to see them do activities they enjoy. We will embed activities as a key part of every intervention
- Support children to develop roles in line with the fresh AIR model, giving them the lead on projects to support service development
- Our children tell us that they want support in achieving their dreams and aspirations regardless of their past and current difficulties. We will expand the YP4All group to develop roles for children
- Identify how the lived experience of the professionals supporting children known to the YJST can enhance the service we offer
- Enhance our knowledge of community organisations that can support children in Buckinghamshire and build links with them
- Collaborate with partners to drive the multi-disciplinary response to families, ensuring the right support is in place when YJST involvement ends
- Empower children by ensuring co-production is a key component of the way the service supports them
- Seek feedback from children on their experiences of education and the barriers/challenges they are experiencing
- Offer conflict resolution and restorative intervention training to education providers, supporting children to stay in education
- Seek the education experiences of children who become known to the YJST between years 7 and 9. Use this to explore if there are opportunities for earlier partnership intervention
- Increase opportunities for children to gain alternative qualifications through the ASDAN accreditation (Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network)
- Build a partnership approach to the disproportionality in education outcomes for children from different backgrounds
- Expand our offer to children over 16 in relation to employability skills, supporting them to achieve their full potential
- Champion the Buckinghamshire YJST approach to ensuring all children are receiving at least 25 hours of provision every week
- Work in partnership with education providers to seek alternatives to exclusions
- Develop links with communities and local businesses to identify opportunities for apprenticeships and work experience