Buckinghamshire’s Youth Offending Service awarded national accolade

Buckinghamshire’s Youth Offending Service (YOS) has been nationally recognised for its outstanding work in helping children and young people turn their lives around.

For its success in securing better outcomes for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who end up in the youth justice system the team has been awarded prestigious ‘Quality Lead’ status.

Buckinghamshire was one of 10 Youth Offending Teams granted Quality Lead status, while 12 other areas were granted Quality Mark status.

The awards to the teams and their local authority partners will be officially presented at a ceremony in Rugby, Warwickshire, on June 6th.

The endorsement from the Achievement for All (AfA) educational group comes as part of a national two-year project to highlight the distinct problems faced by many young people with SEND in the youth justice system.

The project, sponsored by the Department for Education (DfE) and led by AfA was carried out in close partnership with the Association of Youth Offending Team Managers (AYM) and researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU).

Jean Teesdale, Buckinghamshire County Council’s Deputy Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: ‘This is fantastic recognition of the dedicated work of our Youth Offending Service and the great progress we have made in achieving positive outcomes for young people with special educational needs throughout the county.

It shows the impact we are having in the provision of help for children and young people who find themselves in trouble with the law, and demonstrates the importance of working in partnership, effectively identifying problems and making early interventions.‘