Youth Justice Board Report, Applying the Child First Framework in Youth Justice Services
In June 2025, the Youth Justice Board (“YJB”) commissioned Crest Advisory Group (“Crest”) to produce a report which explored the application of the ‘Child First’ framework across youth justice services (“YJS”) in England and Wales (the “Report”).
Crest conducted a survey involving 53 children and 238 Youth Justice Officers (“YJOs”), including workshops, to understand how children experienced the support, processes, relationships and interactions at their local YJS.
Overall, the feedback from children and YJOs was positive, with the framework contributing to a shift in approach, but the Report also highlights the work needed to embed the Child First approach across all settings and
Details
The ‘Child First’ framework was created by the YJB in 2022 and is based on four tenets:
- As children – Prioritising the best interests of children and recognising their particular needs, capacities, rights and potential;
- Building a pro-social identity – promoting children’s individual strengths and capacities to empower them to contribute meaningfully to society;
- Collaborating with children – encouraging active participation, engagement and wider social inclusion with children, their parents or carers; and
- Diverting children from stigma – minimising contact with the criminal justice system through active prevention, diversion and minimal intervention.
When examining each tenet, the key findings of the Report were:
- As children:
- 91% of children agreed that they felt listened to by YJOs in their youth justice service and YJOs actively tried to understand and consider their experiences and background.
- 84% of YJOs felt confident in their ability to explain court processes and outcomes, which is a key element of the ‘as children’ tenet, namely to ensure engagement with children in relation to formal and informal settings or processes.
- Building a pro-social identity:
- 95% of YJOs highlighted that strength-based work, such as community engagement and activities, as well as focusing on a child’s aspirations, are pivotal in helping children to build pro-social identities.
- A lower proportion of children (79%) felt their caseworker had helped them to solve problems in their life. Crest suggests that YJOs should consider what “solving problems” means from a child’s perspective to provide greater support.
- Only 60% of children reported feeling part of their community. Crest explains that this disconnect may be attributable to speech, language and communication impediments, as well as feelings of loneliness, among children. For example, 31% of children with special education needs and disabilities (“SEND”) reported feeling lonely, compared to 18% without SEND. Crest suggests that YJOs could take further action to understand what “community” means for children and how services can be adapted to help children feel more integrated.
- Collaborating with children
- 91% of children reported their caseworker / YJO involved them in planning their time at the YJS and tried to understand, and incorporate, their interests into a plan.
- 87% of children felt informed about decisions affecting them. However, the Report found that YJOs could further explore opportunities to improve understanding among children, giving them the confidence to ask questions and seek clarification.
- While 90% of YJOs were able to involve children in assessments and planning in community and out-of-court settings, only half of YJOs felt able to engage children when planning for their transition of resettlement. Moreover, YJOs expressed challenges in providing meaningful support to children on short orders.
- Diverting children from stigma
- 74% of children did not feel judged by adults in the YJS, which demonstrated that children feel supported and understood, helping to reduce stigma.
- 91% of children felt that their caseworker had played an active role in fostering a forward-thinking mindset that encouraged them to think about the future. However, a wide range of factors, including past experiences and limited access to education or employment, caused some children to feel uncertain about their future.
Overall, the Report identified that 96% of YJOs were clear on how to apply the tenets of the ‘Child First’ framework in their roles. Moreover, YJOs felt that the framework had encouraged them to shift their thinking into a more child-centred approach, rather than focusing on the offence committed, which indicates that awareness of the ‘Child First’ tenets has been successfully communicated across YJS across England and Wales.
However, Crest noted that some YJSs have experienced resistance among YJOs to the framework. The Report suggests that resistance may be attributable to several factors, which include changes to working culture, new terminology, and the need for further clarity on how the framework connects with practices familiar to YJOs.
Key recommendations
The Report makes several key takeaways that YJSs should apply and encourage to enhance the effectiveness of the ‘Child First’ framework:
- YJSs should work with the YJB and continue to identify and disseminate good practice online around the application of the ‘Child First’ tenets through a range of formats, including social media platforms, podcasts and bulletins.
- YJSs should obtain feedback from children regularly, and utilise a child-friendly ‘you said, we did’ template to demonstrate how their feedback has helped shaped the service delivery.
- YJSs should regularly review how children are engaged in conversations about future planning, such as education or employment, to help understand whether a child’s perspective has been influenced by external factors or concerns.
Commentary
This very detailed Report highlights that awareness of the ‘Child First’ framework has been broadly communicated by the YJB throughout England and Wales. However, further work is required to ensure the four tenets are effectively implemented across different settings.
To further drive effective implementation of the ‘Child First’ tenets, YJOs should continue to focus on good practice to strengthen relationships with other services, seek feedback from children regularly and work together with the YJB to disseminate valuable insights and outcomes.