The Education, Children and Young People Scrutiny Commission of Newham Council met on Thursday 26 September 2024 to review the borough's Youth Empowerment and Youth Justice services. The commission noted the comprehensive reports detailing the extensive work undertaken by these services to support young people in Newham, with a particular focus on empowerment, safety, and reducing reoffending.

Youth Empowerment

The commission considered the extensive work of the Youth Empowerment Service (YES) in Newham. This multi-disciplinary service offers a broad range of programmes and support for young people aged 10-19 (up to 25 for those with SEND or care experience). The report highlighted that Newham has the highest proportion of residents under 24 in the UK, with a significant percentage of children living in poverty. The YES aims to empower young people through personal development, education and employment support, health and well-being initiatives, and crime prevention.

Key aspects of the YES's work include:

• Youth Zones and Detached Youth Work: Providing safe spaces and informal support in community settings.
• Youth Participation: Enabling young people to influence service design and borough policy through various groups and assemblies.
• Holiday Activity & Food Programme: Tackling holiday hunger and providing enrichment activities.
• Intensive Programmes and Return Home Interviews: Offering specialised support for vulnerable young people.
• Children's Rights and Advocacy: Ensuring young people's voices are heard in decisions affecting them.
• Accredited Programmes and the Youth Empowerment Fund: Supporting personal achievement and removing financial barriers to ambition.
• Young People's Charter: A strategic objective to embed young people's priorities into council service planning.

The service operates under statutory duties outlined in the Education Act 1996 and the Children Act 1989, with its Return Home Interview and Advocacy services having been commended by Ofsted. The YES actively collaborates with various council departments and external partners, including schools, health services, and the police, to deliver a holistic support system. Performance indicators track engagement, participation in influencing activities, and the number of Return Home Interviews offered and completed. The service is also pioneering new methods to measure the socio-emotional impact of its programmes, working with the Centre for Youth Impact.

Young people's lived experiences are central to the YES's work, with participation in co-producing strategies and influencing council decisions, including procurement and recruitment processes. The Our Generation. Our Vote campaign and the Take Control Youth Citizens Assembly highlight efforts to enhance political literacy. The Sound and Safe Youth Citizens Assembly focused on youth safety, leading to recommendations for schools, online safety, and community improvements. The service also addresses equalities implications by focusing on marginalized groups and acknowledging intersectionality. Social media and online approaches are used to provide counter-narratives and teach online safety. The YES empowers young people through various forms of empowerment, including community, organisational, economic, social, and cultural, by utilising the National Youth Agency Curriculum Framework. Support is provided for young people at risk of offending, including those with care experience, SEND, neurodiversity, and mental health challenges, with a focus on early intervention and prevention.

Youth Justice

The commission also reviewed the work of the Youth Justice Service (YJS) in Newham, which supports young people aged 10-18 who are at risk of or have offended. The service operates under a child-focused approach, aiming to reduce vulnerabilities and prevent further offending. The YJS is integrated within Newham's Children and Young People Services Directorate and works in partnership with various agencies.

Key aspects of the Youth Justice Service include:

• Child-Focused Approach: Prioritising the best interests of children, promoting their pro-social identity, encouraging participation, and promoting diversion from the justice system.
• Restorative Justice Models: Utilising Victim-Offender Mediation, Restorative Panels, and Constructive Resettlement to repair harm and support reintegration.
• Data and Evidence Analysis: The service uses robust management systems to analyse data on young people and identify wider determinants of offending, such as poverty and mental health.
• Civic Engagement and Rights: Promoting awareness of civic engagement and rights under stop and search through the Youth Empowerment Service and the SAFE programme in schools.
• Early Intervention and Prevention: Offering intensive support through specialist roles to prevent young people from entering the criminal justice or care systems.
• Reducing Reoffending: Implementing tailored interventions and support programmes.

The YJS has seen positive outcomes, including a reduction in first-time entrants and custody rates below London and national averages. However, there has been a recent increase in first-time entrants and a significant overrepresentation of Black and Global Majority heritage children in the custody cohort. The service is actively working to address disproportionality, particularly concerning Black children, through initiatives like the Disproportionality Challenge Fund and the Lift As We Climb events. The service also faces challenges related to new MET Police directives on weapon offences and the complexity of cases involving multiple vulnerabilities.

The Youth Justice Plan 2024-2025 outlines strategic priorities including diverting children from court, minimising the use of remands, promoting fair treatment in court processes, ensuring timely assessments, and supporting parents and carers. A key aim is to ensure that 75% of children in the community and released from custody have suitable Education, Training, and Employment (ETE) arrangements. The service also focuses on embedding restorative approaches and responding to those who have been harmed. The RE-SET service aims to strengthen adolescent safeguarding and reduce re-referrals to social care. The service has benefited from funding initiatives like the Disproportionality Challenge Fund and MOPAC funding to tackle systemic issues contributing to disproportionality. Performance data shows a decrease in custody rates and reoffending rates, though an increase in first-time entrants has been noted. The service is implementing a 10-point plan to address reoffending and is working to tackle disproportionality in remand rates. Workforce development includes training on relational and reflective practice, and support for staff to manage moral injury. Emerging themes include an increase in cohort complexity, a rise in weapon-related offences, and the negative influence of online content on young men's behaviour.