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Job Information
Achieving for Children is a Community Interest Company that has a public sector ethos, combined with the freedom to innovate enabling us to do things differently. As a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by three local authorities (Windsor & Maidenhead, Kingston and Richmond), we offer the freedoms of a social enterprise with the employment benefits of local government. To find out more about us click here.
Youth Justice Case Practitioner
We're proud to announce that AfC's Children's Services in Richmond have been awarded an Outstanding rating by Ofsted. This places Richmond alongside Kingston, which also holds an Outstanding rating, as a top-performing service. Our separately inspected Fostering Service has achieved a strong ‘Good’ rating, recognising our skilled and dedicated fostering workforce.
Come work with a skilled, stable workforce and be part of an organisation that's truly making a difference.
AfC Early Help includes a range of universal, targeted and statutory services alongside commissioned services. The following services form AfC Early Help: Youth Services, Children's Centres, Early Help Service, Family and Specialist Adolescent Services and Targeted Youth Support.
The Youth Justice service sits within the Specialist Adolescent Service. AfC Early Help offer is based on strong evidence best practice and is underpinned by the assessment of need and joint working The Early Help directorate enables effective partnership working, evidence based practice aligned to our practice model, and supports locally commissioned services across our geographical areas.
About the role
The key objectives of the Youth Justice Service are to prevent and reduce offending by children and young people, working with high risk repeat offenders to prevent re-offending, promoting and maximising the welfare and the safeguarding of young people that have entered criminal youth justice system and increasing awareness and confidence in the youth justice system.
You will be responsible for managing a caseload of young people who have been either referred by the Police or ordered by the court, ensuring that a holistic assessment of need supports a robust intervention. Supporting children, young people and families with a range of needs and risks related primarily to offending behaviour, ensuring that any factors against desistance are addressed alongside the family and network and factors for desistance are fully promoted, particularly in regard to repairing harm, increasing social capital, education, emotional wellbeing and feeling safe. You will attend the Youth court and act as court officer including occasional court. This will include being part of a rota to cover Saturday court.
In all roles across AfC the post holders will be expected to develop and support a culture of partnership and innovation, so that services are child focussed, flexible and adaptable. The whole organisation should learn from mistakes, share knowledge and challenge existing practice.
For further information about this role, please contact Emily Duncombe at emily.duncombe@
About you
- Educated at level 4 or above professional qualification in a relevant discipline (e.g Children and Youth, Social Care, Probation).
- Evidence of continuing professional development within Youth Justice Skills and experience.
- Ability to work restoratively with all children, young people and victims of crime in line with the service restorative approach principles and standards.
- Experience of effective management of a caseload of young people in accordance with local policies/procedure and Youth Justice National Standards, and accurate recording.
- Understanding and experience of how Courts work and of relevant Youth Justice legislation, including sentencing and bail/remand.
- Experience of risk management, public protection and safeguarding in the context of youth offending and contextual safeguarding.
- Experience of delivering effective interventions that reduce risk, reduce likelihood of reoffending and maximise positive outcomes for young people.
- Good knowledge and understanding of the Youth Justice landscape, including best practice in regard to Good Lives Model, Desistance Theory, Trauma Informed Practice and Transitions.
- Knowledge or keen interest in specific areas of offending such as harmful sexual behaviour, knife crime, county lines and national referral mechanism or children harming in the home.
About our benefits
We are focused on creating a positive supportive environment, where you will have access to a really wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and all the perks to enable hybrid working. In AfC you will also have access to:
- 29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after 2 years and 35 days after 4 years with an additional day off in your birthday month (Or for term-time workers, your leave entitlement consists of the non-working periods in your contract)
- Tailored induction sessions commencing on the date you start working for AfC
- Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)
- Flexible working options - helping to keep a good work life balance
- A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
- A range of staff benefits and discounts
- An excellent learning and development offer to support your career pathway
To find out about all of the breadth of benefits of working for Achieving for Children click here. For our social work offer click here. For our Recruitment Journey, click here.
Important Information
Start dates: Achieving for Children have set start dates meaning successful candidates join on a set date in each month. Candidates are advised to prepare for this should a job offer be accepted to ensure eligible continuous service is not affected.
Right to work: The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.
Equality: We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams. Achieving for Children are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.
Safeguarding: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
