The Youth Justice Board & Youth Justice System: A DSL's Complete Guide
By The Safeguard Hub Team · June 2026 · Last reviewed June 2026 · ⏳ 18 min read
The Safeguard Hub — The Youth Justice Board, Youth Offending Teams, and the child-first approach for DSLs
Why this matters for schools
Children in the youth justice system are overwhelmingly children with unmet safeguarding needs. Around 40% of children in custody are looked after children. The majority have experienced abuse, neglect, exploitation, or domestic violence. County lines means significant numbers of children face prosecution for offences they committed because they were being exploited. Every time a child enters the justice system, it is also a safeguarding event — and the school's role does not end because a child has been arrested or charged.
What Is the Youth Justice Board?
The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB) is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice. It was established by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and is accountable to the Secretary of State for Justice. Its core functions are:
- Overseeing and advising on the operation of the youth justice system in England and Wales
- Commissioning and purchasing placements in the secure estate for children sentenced or remanded to custody
- Supporting and monitoring Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) — the frontline multi-agency service in each local authority
- Issuing statutory guidance and national standards for YOTs
- Publishing annual youth justice statistics — the primary data source for the sector
- Driving the Child First approach across the youth justice system
The YJB operates alongside HM Prison and Probation Service (which runs the secure estate facilities), the Ministry of Justice (policy), and the Home Office (crime and policing). For schools, the most relevant point of contact is the local Youth Offending Team — not the YJB directly.
YJB Statistics 2024/25: The Current Picture
The YJB publishes detailed annual statistics on the youth justice system.[1] The headline figures for 2024/25 show a system that has contracted dramatically over the past two decades — but where those who remain are increasingly complex, disadvantaged, and hard to reach:
⚠️ Disproportionality: the data every DSL must know
Black and Mixed heritage children are significantly overrepresented in every part of the youth justice system — from arrest through to custody. In 2024/25, Black children made up approximately 26% of children in the secure estate despite representing around 4% of the general child population. Mixed heritage children are similarly overrepresented. The Lammy Review (2017) and subsequent YJB equality data have consistently shown that this disproportionality is not explained by higher rates of offending — it reflects systemic bias at multiple decision points, including policing, prosecution decisions, bail decisions, and sentencing.[2]
DSLs should be alert to whether children from Black and Mixed heritage backgrounds in their school are disproportionately subject to exclusion (a known risk factor for justice system entry) and whether the school's approach to pupil behaviour and discipline may be inadvertently driving this disparity.
Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility
The minimum age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10 years old — the lowest in Western Europe, and one of the lowest in the world. A child under 10 cannot be arrested, charged, cautioned, or prosecuted for any offence regardless of what they have done. Their behaviour is a welfare and safeguarding matter, not a criminal justice matter.
In practice:
- Children under 10 who display seriously concerning or harmful behaviour (including violence, sexual harm, or exploitation) should be referred to children's social care and assessed under the Children Act 1989
- The police can take children under 10 to a "place of safety" but cannot arrest them
- Local authorities can apply for a Child Safety Order for a child under 10 who has committed an act that would be an offence if they were older
- In 2022, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that England and Wales raise the age to at least 14, in line with international standards — the government has not acted on this recommendation[3]
How the Youth Justice System Works
Children aged 10–17 who offend enter a separate, age-specific criminal justice process, distinct from the adult system. The key stages are:
| Stage | What it involves | School/DSL relevance |
|---|---|---|
| Out-of-court disposal (Community Resolution, Youth Caution, Youth Conditional Caution) | Police deal with the matter without going to court. The child may be referred to a YOT for early intervention work. No criminal record, but the disposal may be retained by police. | YOT may contact school to discuss support needs. DSL should engage; check whether the offence reveals a safeguarding concern (e.g. CCE). |
| Referral to Youth Court | Cases that go to court are heard in the Youth Court (magistrates sitting in a specialist jurisdiction) or Crown Court for the most serious offences. Youth Court proceedings are less formal and the public is excluded. | DSL may be asked to contribute to a pre-sentence report (PSR) prepared by the YOT. School education information is highly relevant to sentencing. |
| Referral Order | The default first-time disposal for a child who pleads guilty. The child attends a Youth Offender Panel — a restorative process involving the victim (if willing), volunteers, and the YOT. The child agrees a programme of reparation and work. | The programme may include school attendance requirements or education and training activities. The YOT and school should liaise about the child's progress. |
| Youth Rehabilitation Order (YRO) | A community sentence with up to 18 possible requirements (e.g. supervision, unpaid work, curfew, electronic monitoring, attendance at a specified activity). Can last up to 3 years. | Education requirements may be part of the YRO. DSL/designated teacher must support compliance and report concerns to the YOT supervisor. |
| Detention and Training Order (DTO) | The most common custodial sentence for under-18s. Half is served in custody (the secure estate), half in the community under YOT supervision. Minimum 4 months, maximum 24 months. | The child has a legal right to education in custody. On release, the school must support reintegration. DSL should work with the YOT and the child's resettlement worker. |
| Section 90/91 SENTENCING ACT 2020 | For the gravest offences (murder, manslaughter, rape). Indeterminate sentences in the secure estate. Very small numbers. | Exceptional cases only — full multi-agency planning required. |
Youth Offending Teams (YOTs): What Schools Need to Know
YOTs are the primary multi-agency youth justice service. Every local authority in England and Wales must have one under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Each YOT must include staff from: police, probation, children's social care, health, and education — making them an inherently multi-agency body.
What YOTs do
- Assess all children referred to them using the Asset+ framework (see below)
- Prepare pre-sentence reports (PSRs) for the Youth Court
- Supervise children on community sentences (Referral Orders, YROs)
- Manage children in custody and plan their resettlement into the community
- Deliver early intervention for children diverted from the formal system
- Refer children with welfare needs to children's social care — YOTs have a statutory duty to consider safeguarding at every stage
- Work with schools to support education continuity, attendance, and behaviour
✅ How DSLs should work with YOTs
- When the YOT contacts you about a child, engage promptly. The YOT worker is a statutory professional with child welfare duties — treat them as a partner, not an external visitor
- Share relevant information about the child's education, attendance, wellbeing, and relationships — this is lawful information sharing for a public interest purpose (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(e))
- Contribute to the Asset+ assessment when asked — your observations about education and peer relationships are a specific domain of the assessment
- Ask the YOT worker about any safeguarding concerns they hold — they may have information about the child's home life, exploitative relationships, or risk factors that the school doesn't know
- Where a child is in custody, maintain contact with the secure estate's education staff and the YOT to ensure education continuity and plan reintegration
The Asset+ Assessment Framework
Asset+ is the YJB's standardised assessment tool, used by YOTs to assess every child they work with. It replaced the original AssetProfile in 2014. Asset+ assesses risk of reoffending and harm, identifies needs, and informs the content of any intervention plan.
Asset+ has eight domains of assessment:
- Living arrangements — home stability, family relationships, carers
- Family and personal relationships — supportive adults, peer influences
- Statutory education, training and employment — this is where school information is directly relevant
- Neighbourhood — local environment, area-level risk
- Lifestyle and associates — activities, leisure, peer group, gang involvement
- Substance use — alcohol and drug use, dependency
- Physical health and development
- Emotional wellbeing — mental health, self-harm, previous trauma
The education domain of Asset+ specifically asks about attendance, exclusions, attitude to school, literacy and numeracy levels, educational aspirations, and the quality of the child's relationships with school staff. Schools that provide detailed, honest, and up-to-date information to YOT workers contribute directly to a better assessment and a more appropriate intervention plan.
The Secure Estate: Where Children in Custody Are Held
The secure estate for children in England and Wales consists of three types of facility, each serving a different profile of child:
| Facility type | Operator | Age range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) | HMPPS (public) or private operators | 15–17 (boys); up to 21 in some | Largest facilities; significant safeguarding concerns historically. Inspection reports from HMIP frequently identify children at risk of harm from other children and from the institutional environment itself. |
| Secure Training Centres (STCs) | Private operators | 12–17 | Smaller; mix of sentenced and remanded children. Subject to OFSTED and HMIP joint inspection. |
| Secure Children's Homes (SCHs) | Local authorities and voluntary sector | 10–17 | Smallest; most therapeutic environment. Regulated as children's homes. Used for the most vulnerable and/or youngest children. |
The YJB commissions placements in all three types on behalf of local authorities. The total population in the secure estate has fallen dramatically — from over 3,000 in 2002 to around 418 in 2024/25 — but those who remain are the most complex, with the highest levels of trauma, mental health need, and exploitation history.[1]
Children's rights in custody
Children in custody retain their rights under the Children Act 1989 and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Crucially, looked after children who are remanded or sentenced to custody remain looked after by their home local authority — their virtual school head (VSH) and designated teacher duties do not end when a child enters custody.
The Child First Principle
The YJB's current strategic approach — Child First — represents a significant shift in how the youth justice system is expected to understand and respond to children. It has four key elements:[4]
| Child First element | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Prioritise the child's best interests and long-term outcomes | Children who offend are first and foremost children. Their long-term developmental needs, welfare, and potential must be at the centre of every decision — not just the immediate offence. |
| Treat children as children | Recognise the developmental immaturity of all children under 18. Adolescent brain development means that children have lower capacity for impulse control, future-thinking, and understanding consequences — this should be reflected in how they are assessed and sentenced. |
| Promote desistance | Build on children's strengths and protective factors — family, school, interests, identity — to support them in moving away from offending. Youth justice interventions should be constructive, not punitive. |
| Promote diversion | Wherever possible, divert children away from the formal justice system. Research consistently shows that formal prosecution and conviction increase reoffending by labelling and disrupting children's lives — diversion into welfare and support services produces better outcomes. |
"Children are children first. Their offending behaviour is one part of a complex picture, and youth justice practice must respond to the whole child, not just the offence."
— YJB, Child First: Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2021–2024
The Child First principle has significant implications for schools. When a child in your school is involved in the justice system, they remain a child with education and welfare rights — not simply a young offender. The YOT's Child First approach requires the school to be a constructive partner, not a punitive one.
The CCE and County Lines Connection
One of the most important developments in youth justice in recent years is the growing recognition that many children who are prosecuted for drug supply offences were not freely choosing to commit crime — they were being exploited through county lines and child criminal exploitation (CCE).
This creates a direct overlap between the youth justice system and child safeguarding:
- A child "caught" carrying drugs for a county lines network may be charged with drug supply offences — despite being a victim of exploitation
- NRM (National Referral Mechanism) data shows that a substantial proportion of children referred as potential modern slavery/trafficking victims have criminal convictions linked to their exploitation
- The CPS Legal Guidance on Child Criminal Exploitation advises prosecutors to consider whether a child was exploited before deciding to prosecute — but this is inconsistently applied
- Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 provides a statutory defence for victims of exploitation who committed an offence as a direct consequence of being exploited — schools and DSLs should know about this defence and raise it with the YOT if relevant
- The Best Interests Principle in prosecution decisions (CPS guidance) reinforces that the welfare of the child victim should be a primary consideration
⚠️ If a child at your school is arrested or charged for drug supply
Do not treat this as primarily a discipline matter. Consider immediately: is there evidence that this child was being exploited? Signs include unexplained cash or phones, older associates, recent changes in peer group, unexplained absences, or the child being found in a different area. If exploitation is suspected:
- Refer to MASH immediately — this is a safeguarding matter, not only a criminal matter
- Contact the YOT and share your safeguarding observations
- Raise the Section 45 Modern Slavery Act defence with the YOT if exploitation is evident
- Do not exclude the child — exclusion increases vulnerability
Looked After Children in the Justice System
Looked after children are vastly overrepresented in the youth justice system. The YJB's own data consistently shows that approximately 40% of children in custody are looked after, despite looked after children representing around 1% of the general child population.
This overrepresentation is not explained by LAC committing more crime. It reflects:
- Higher rates of exclusion from school (a major risk factor for justice system entry)
- Greater exposure to exploitation and criminal networks due to care placement instability
- Police call-outs to care homes for behaviour that would be dealt with internally in a family home — criminalising normal adolescent behaviour
- Fewer advocacy resources at point of arrest and charge
- Higher rates of undiagnosed neurodevelopmental conditions (ADHD, autism, dyslexia) that affect behaviour and communication
For designated teachers and DSLs: when a looked after child in your school is arrested or faces justice system involvement, alert the child's social worker and virtual school head immediately. The child's Personal Education Plan (PEP) should be reviewed. If the child enters custody, the PEP duties and the designated teacher's responsibilities continue.
Restorative Justice in Schools and the Youth Justice System
Restorative justice (RJ) brings together people who have been harmed by an offence or conflict with those responsible for that harm, to discuss the impact and agree on how to repair it. The YJB actively promotes restorative approaches across the youth justice system — referral orders are structured as restorative processes, and many YOTs use RJ in community interventions.
Many schools are also developing restorative approaches to peer conflict, behaviour, and peer-on-peer incidents. A school with a restorative culture is better aligned with the Child First approach and is more likely to be an effective partner for a YOT working with a child on its caseload.
Key principle: restorative approaches are not appropriate for all situations (particularly where there are significant power imbalances, ongoing exploitation, or domestic abuse dynamics). DSLs should seek guidance from the YOT before using RJ in cases that overlap with child protection.
What Schools Must Do: A DSL Checklist
✅ DSL duties when a child is involved in the youth justice system
- Treat it as a safeguarding event. Arrest, charge, or custody involvement is a trigger for a safeguarding review. Consider whether new concerns have arisen and whether existing information about the child should be updated.
- Engage with the YOT. When the YOT contacts you, respond promptly and engage as a partner. Share education, attendance, wellbeing, and peer relationship information. Ask what the YOT is observing about CCE or exploitation risk.
- Contribute to Asset+. When asked to complete the education section of Asset+ or to provide information for a pre-sentence report, do so fully and honestly. Whitewashing a child's difficulties or concerns does not help them.
- Do not exclude a child facing justice involvement. This is almost always the worst outcome for the child's safety and reoffending risk. Exclusion increases exposure to exploitation. If the child's behaviour is serious, consider a managed move rather than permanent exclusion.
- Plan reintegration from day one of custody. For LAC in custody, the PEP process should include planning for return to school or education provision. Contact the secure establishment's education team. Ensure a re-integration meeting is held before or on the day of release.
- Consider disproportionality. If Black or Mixed heritage children in your school are disproportionately subject to exclusion, fixed-term exclusions, or police involvement, review your school's behaviour policies and their application. Audit your data.
- Know your local YOT. Every DSL should know the name and contact details of the local YOT. Build a relationship before a crisis — ask the YOT to attend a DSL network meeting, or request their input on your contextual safeguarding picture.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Youth Justice Board?
The YJB is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, established by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. It oversees the youth justice system, commissions secure estate placements, supports and monitors Youth Offending Teams, publishes annual statistics, and drives the Child First strategic approach. For schools, contact is primarily through the local YOT, not the YJB directly.
What is a Youth Offending Team and how does it work with schools?
YOTs are statutory multi-agency teams in every local authority, required by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. They work with children 10–17 who have offended or are at risk. Each YOT must include police, probation, health, children's social care, and education staff. They carry out Asset+ assessments, prepare pre-sentence reports, supervise community sentences, manage custody and resettlement, and refer to children's social care where welfare needs are identified. Schools should engage with YOT workers as statutory partners, share information lawfully, and contribute to education planning for children on YOT caseloads.
What is the minimum age of criminal responsibility?
10 years old in England and Wales — the lowest in Western Europe. Children under 10 cannot be charged or convicted. Their behaviour is a welfare matter dealt with through safeguarding and children's social care, not the criminal justice system. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has recommended raising the age to at least 14, but the government has not acted on this. DSLs should ensure any concerns about children under 10 who display seriously harmful behaviour are referred to children's social care through MASH, not treated as a police matter.
Why are looked after children so overrepresented in the justice system?
LAC make up ~1% of the general child population but ~40% of children in custody. This is not because they offend more — it reflects higher exclusion rates, greater exposure to exploitation through placement instability, police being called to care homes for behaviour managed privately in family homes, fewer advocacy resources at point of arrest, and higher rates of undiagnosed ADHD, autism, and other neurodevelopmental conditions. DSLs and designated teachers must monitor LAC for justice system involvement, engage immediately with the YOT and social worker when it occurs, and continue PEP duties through any period of custody.
What is the Section 45 Modern Slavery Act defence?
Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 provides a statutory defence for victims of modern slavery or human trafficking who committed a criminal offence as a direct result of being exploited. In practice, this applies to children exploited through county lines who are charged with drug supply or similar offences. The YOT should raise this defence where exploitation is evident. Schools can contribute by providing evidence of exploitation indicators they have observed — changes in peer group, unexplained absences, gifting, older associates — which support an exploitation defence.
Further Reading and Key Contacts
Statutory guidance and official resources
- Youth Justice Board for England and Wales ↗ — official site with statistics, guidance and YOT standards
- YJB Youth Justice Statistics 2024/25 ↗ — the primary data source for all youth justice figures
- Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 ↗
- KCSIE 2025 ↗
- The Lammy Review (2017) ↗ — on race, ethnicity and the criminal justice system
- NSPCC Helpline (professional advice): 0808 800 5000 (free, 24/7)
- Your local YOT: Find via your local authority website — search "[local authority] Youth Offending Team"
⚠️ If a child is in immediate danger — do not wait for the youth justice process
- Call 999 immediately if a child is at immediate risk of harm
- MASH referral: gov.uk/report-child-abuse-to-local-council ↗
- CEOP: ceop.police.uk ↗ — if exploitation includes online or sexual elements
- Childline: 0800 1111 (free, 24/7) — for children and young people
References:
[1] Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (2026). Youth Justice Statistics 2024/25 England and Wales. Ministry of Justice / YJB. January 2026.
[2] Lammy, D. (2017). The Lammy Review: An Independent Review into the Treatment of, and Outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Individuals in the Criminal Justice System. HM Government.
[3] UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2022). Concluding Observations on the Combined Fifth and Sixth Periodic Reports of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. CRC/C/GBR/CO/6-7.
[4] Youth Justice Board (2021). Child First: Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2021–2024. gov.uk.
Last reviewed: June 2026.
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