Writing Pre-Sentence Reports for Serious Sexual Offences
Date: Thursday 16th July 2026
Time: 2pm – 4.30pm
Cost: £120 | £60 for YJLC Members
Contact [email protected] for your members' discount code or membership information
A specialist workshop from the Youth Justice Legal Centre for practitioners preparing Pre-Sentence Reports for children and young people facing allegations of serious sexual offending.
This session focuses on how to approach complex and sensitive cases with clarity, legal accuracy, and a strong focus on safeguarding, rehabilitation, and proportionate justice.
Participants will explore key legal principles, sentencing guidance, and decision-making frameworks relevant to serious sexual offences, with a particular emphasis on balancing safeguarding concerns with the risk of unnecessary criminalisation.
Key areas include:
- Writing effective Pre-Sentence Reports in serious sexual offence cases
- Relevant sentencing guidelines and legal principles for children
- Rape allegations and the use of Out of Court Resolutions
- Intensive Referral Orders for first-time offences
- AIM assessments and their role in informing decision-making
- Balancing safeguarding concerns with avoiding over-criminalisation
A practical, discussion-led session designed to strengthen analytical reasoning, improve report quality, and support confident, defensible recommendations in highly sensitive cases.
About the facilitator - Shauneen Lambe
The workshops will be facilitated by Shauneen Lambe, barrister, co-founder of Just for Kids Law, Director of the Youth Justice Legal Centre, and Coordinator of the UK-wide Child Law Network. Shauneen is recognised as a leading expert in children’s law, having successfully changed the law on four occasions to improve children’s lives. She is also co-author of Youth Justice Law and Practice.