Introduction

Keeping children in education and youth justice

The link between poor educational outcomes and offending in young people is well established. For example:

‘94% of those sentenced to custody of 6 months or less… had a record of being persistently absent from school (missing 10% of sessions within a school year), while 91% of those sentenced to more than 6 months and up to and including 12 months… had a persistent absence record.’

It follows that responding effectively to vulnerable young people with poor school attendance will be a crucial factor in effective assessment and intervention with young people at risk of offending. The current Standards for Children in Youth Justice Services (2019) require that ‘Children are motivated by staff to have an opportunity to engage in appropriate, high-quality education and training that helps them to make good progress’.

Page last updated: 16 January 2023