Youth offending - programme of intervention

The types of interventions that Richmond Youth Offending Service offers will depend on the presenting risk factors associated with a young person's offence and needs. The following are examples of programmes that we run as part of our requirements, that the Courts can refer to as part of a young person sentence.

Knife Crime Prevention Programme (KCPP)

KCPP is a programme which offers young people anti-knife crime education.

The objectives of the Programme are:

• To help young people understand the consequences (to themselves and others) of carrying and using knives, and removing the sense of impunity that many knife-carriers have.
• To reduce the prevalence of knife carrying and use by young people.
• To listen more actively to the concerns of young people.

This programme runs over six consecutive weeks. Each session is two hours and can be run in a group or on an individual basis.

Healthy Living Programme

This is a nine week programme, which runs four times a year. The focus of the intervention is to increase young people's awareness around healthy living and improve the skills they need to live independently. At the end of the programme young people will receive AQA awards for the majority of the sessions.

The sessions focus on the following:

Week 1 - Induction

To explore with young people the areas of focus over the nine weeks, to set and agree group dynamics and to engage young people to address health factors that are crucial to them

Week 2 - Budgeting

The aim is to help young people to:

• consider the role and importance of money in their lives;
• understand and use basic financial skills (especially budgeting);
• think about the financial resources, skills and services they might need in future; and
• think through the financial dimensions of their next steps in education, training or employment.

Week 3 - Cooking

The Cooking Skills Session is a nutritional education programme designed to empower young people, particularly those most at risk of poor health and diet patterns, to eat more healthily and to encourage healthy eating in the home.

This will be further delevloped by allowing young people to build on the previous session, by preparing a meal from an agreed budget.

Week 4 - Substance Misuse

Tier 2 interventions offered through advice and information on substance misuse issues, harm reduction advice and information, motivational interviewing and advice around housing and educational resources. This will be tailored to the needs of the group.

Week 5 - Sexual Health

This session is delivered by the Youth Offending Service Nurse and focuses on sex and relationships. this includes the social, environmental and economic determinants of sexual health rather than solely on the behaviours that lead to sexual disease and ill health. The sessions are tailored based on the needs of the group

Week 6 - Down to You - Ambulance

The first part of the session is a session to get young people to reflect on decision making and lifestyle choices such as group offending, knife carrying and offending.

The next part of the session is focused on a discussion with an ex-offender mentor, to explore the actions and consequences of offending.

Week 7 - First Aid

This is a two hour session which focuses on Emergency Life Support.

The course addresses the following:

• Chain of Survival Concept
• Assessment of the collapsed casualty
• Recovery position
• Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation
• Management of the patient suffering from a heart attack
• Management of the patient suffering from severe bleeding
• Management of adult choking
• Management of paediatric choking
• Appropriate utilisation of the ambulance service in an emergency

Week 8 - Constructive Leisure

The Constructive Leisure session focuses on a transition pathway from the programme and can help young people access different activities within the borough. It also offers a taster session of a group or individual activity of interest, such as boxing, lyric writing, basketball, gym, or swimming.

Week 9 - Reflection

This session is held in Orleans House Gallery and will be a chance to reflect on what the young people have learnt over the programme and a chance to explore their creative side.

Work this Way Programme ETE

This programme is run jointly between the ETE and the Way to Work team. It is a 16 week course to engage with up to five identified NEET/YOS offenders on a bespoke youth employment project.

Each Individual will participate in a series of planned employability skills workshops.This is followed by a part-time, paid work experience placement for up to eight weeks, within the Education, Children's and Cultural Services department at the Council.

Sessions include:

• Workshop 1 – CV writing session
• Workshop 2 – CV development session
• Workshop 3 – Interview skills principles
• Workshop 4 – Interview skills practice
• Workshop 5 – Presentation development session
• Workshop 6 – Presentation development session
• Workshop 7 – Team building activity day (Go Ape)
• Workshop 8 – Drama workshop activity (Geese Theatre)
• Clothes shopping
• Workshop 9 – Presentation delivery
• Workshop 10 – Guest speaker (local business representative)
• Interviews with employers
• Preparation for work
• Preparation for work/celebration of end of workshops

Attendance Centre

Richmond Youth Offending Service has links with the Surrey Youth Justice Centre, which undertakes Attendance Centre requirements on our behalf.

The sessions last for 2.5 hours every fortnight and involve physical activities as well as small group work activities. These cover a range of interesting topics such as road safety and the law, substance misuse and consequences of offending.

Guest speakers attend on a regular basis and occasionally specially selected prisoners take part in the programme under supervision, they will provide an account of the stark realities of prison life.

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