The Ministry of Justice recently published the final independent evaluation (the “Evaluation”) of the Turnaround Programme (the “Programme”), a national early intervention scheme delivered by Youth Offending Teams (“YOTs”) to children aged 10–17 on the cusp of the justice system. The Evaluation, conducted by the National Centre for Social Research, covers the Programme’s first two years of delivery (December 2022 – December 2024, the “Evaluation Period”) and used mixed-methods, including document review, a survey of all YOTs delivering the Programme, and analysis of Programme self-reported management information provided by such YOTs (“MI”) covering the Evaluation Period [1].
Details
The headline finding of the Programme’s success was that 91% of children who completed Programme interventions between December 2022 – December 2024 recorded no proven offences by the end of the two-year Evaluation Period, and that an average of 7% of children received a judicial decision or caution [2].
These figures were accompanied by qualitative reports of improvements in behaviour, educational engagement, socio-emotional wellbeing, and family relationships [3].
The Evaluation cautions that its conclusions (especially those drawn from MI) should be read as suggestive, rather than definitive, given the absence of a comparison group [4].
Commentary
A central feature of the Programme – and one that distinguishes it from formal Out of Court Resolution (“OoCR”) – is that children do not need to admit guilt to access and that participation is voluntary.
Formal disposals, such as youth cautions [5] and youth conditional cautions [6], require an admission of guilt, creating difficulties for children around understanding what they are admitting to. Children may feel pressured to accept responsibility to avoid court, and those who maintain their innocence are excluded from diversion entirely (regardless of their needs or the strength of the evidence) [7].
Informal interventions like the Programme do not incentivise admissions of guilt, with the Evaluation reporting that this approach was valued by staff, children, and families for building trust and enabling needs-led work [8]. For practitioners, this provides a strong basis to argue that informal OoCRs, like the Programme, are more consistent with child-first principles.
When working with a child who may be suitable for an informal OoCR, practitioners should ensure children understand that Programme access does not depend on a confession, and that declining to engage should not (of itself) lead to escalation: police in some areas of England & Wales felt more confident issuing less severe outcomes where Programme support is available for a child also, suggesting that early discussions between practitioners and YOTs could ensure outcomes proportionate with the Youth Justice Board’s OoCR guidance [9].
The Turnaround Programme has been extended for 3 further years, up until early 2029 and can therefore be promoted in appropriate cases going forward. The Programme has also expanded in terms of eligibility since the Evaluation Period, and children who are Looked After (‘CLA’), children on Child Protection Plans (‘CPPs’), Care and Support Protection Plans (‘CASPPs'), children with Family Help or Family Prevention Plans, or children with justice or antisocial behaviour outcomes, are now eligible for Programme support [10].
Footnotes
[1] Section 1 (Executive summary; Children’s outcomes)
[2] Section 6.2 (Programme outcomes) – the Evaluation
[3] Section 1 (Executive summary; Children’s outcomes), and Section 6.2 (Programme outcomes) – the Evaluation
[4] Section 4.4 (Limitations) – the Evaluation
[5] See YJLC’s ‘Youth Caution’ legal term guidance here
[6] See YJLC’s ‘Youth Conditional Caution’ legal term guidance here
[7] See the University of Exeter and Evidence Based Justice Lab’s 2021 study, ‘Incentivized Legal Admissions in Children Part 1: Cautions’, for example research in this area.
[8] Section 5.7 (How effective has the programme’s implementation been across its different elements (including referrals, assessments, and interventions)?) – the Evaluation
[9] See YJLC’s latest Legal Guide in Out-of-Court Disposals here, for more details
[10] Section 3 (Context and background) – the Evaluation