Youth Justice Service

West Sussex Youth Justice Service (YJS) works with children and young people and their communities to tackle youth crime in West Sussex.

We are committed to children only entering custody as an absolute last resort. Entering custody means when a child is either remanded or sentenced by a court to go to a secure setting, usually a Young Offender Institute. This is called a custodial setting.

Court hearings

Information about a child’s educational history will be shared as part of any court hearing. This includes any Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The pre-sentence report includes this information if deemed relevant to the court case.

Where there are any known needs or required adaptations then YJS will take these into consideration and share with others as needed.

Support while in custody

Should a child or young person receive a custodial sentence, the YJS provides individual support to them, up to the age of 18 in custody, to access education, training or rehabilitation.

This means helping someone to understand their offending and to prepare them to return to society. This may be through attending education programmes that help young offenders gain new skills, knowledge and self-confidence that will help them to get a job in the future.

They will have a resettlement plan, which is a strengths-based plan to support them as they return to the community following a custodial sentence. This is to help them remain safe and live a crime-free life.

The plan will be co-created with the child and their parent(s) or carer and will have actions set including:

• keeping the child safe
• keeping others safe
• addressing the core needs of each child
• support to access appropriate accommodation, health, education and employment services on release from custody

Planning for resettlement starts as soon as a child or young person enters custody.

If a child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) before entering the custodial setting, the local authority will share this with the setting. They will arrange appropriate special education provision for the child while they are there. Where a child does not have an EHCP, you can request the Local authority do an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA).

The custodial setting should assess each child entering custody. The results of assessments will enable the education provider to develop an individual learning plan for each child. Any special education provision should be put in place as soon as possible.

Throughout the child’s time in custody, the YJS will attend meetings where updates on education will be discussed. The child and their parent(s) or carer should be invited a resettlement planning meeting. If the child has an EHCP, the Special Education Needs Assessment Team (SENAT) should also be invited to attend these meetings.

After release or the age of 18

For children of school age, schools and the local authority work together to choose the most appropriate place for the young person to continue with their education after release.

Any certificates or qualifications gained whilst in custody are shared with the YJS and West Sussex SENAT will ensure that any EHCPs are up to date.

At the age of 18, children will no longer be part of the YJS but part of the Probation Service, and all the relevant information will be shared with probation. Any EHCPs will continue to be reviewed by SENAT.

Legal responsibilities while in custody

The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice (10.6 - 10.150) provides statutory guidance that applies to how young people with SEND are supported whilst they are in youth custody.

The Council for Disabled Children sets out the main responsibilities in its practice guide: Young people in youth custody.