Northamptonshire Youth Offending Service is identified as a Key Service. We are constantly monitoring the Government guidance for local Authorities on Children’s Social Care Guidance for employers and businesses on coronavirus (COVID-19). We are also operating in accordance with the Ministry of Justice and Youth Justice Board advice.
For many of our Young People the COVID-19 pandemic has added further challenges and barriers to their future. It has been an on-going priority for the YOS and its partners to respond effectively, safely and learn as we go during these challenging times. We have maintained contact and relationships with our most vulnerable children throughout the various lockdowns. Our staff have risen to the challenge and worked hard and creatively to promote engagement and meet our statutory obligations. We have adapted quickly both as an organisation and as employees to remote working. In relation to staff mobilisation we quickly distributed tools to work safety from home for all workers. Implemented an emergency duty team for the office to still be available to young people in emergency’s. In January 2021 our work culminated in the YOS winning the Rose of Northamptonshire Award for ‘dedication and continued hard work to keep visiting young people who are vulnerable to offending, at risk of hidden harm and criminalisation during COV-19’. We are proud of this achievement awarded to us by the Lord-Lieutenant of Northamptonshire.
Whilst there are changes with how all our day to day lives look, we want to explain what this means for the way Northamptonshire Youth Offending Service is responding in supporting children and young people we work with. We are committed to supporting children, young people and victims we work with. This means the Youth Offending Service will continue to book appointments to make sure we can complete the targets agreed within court orders and out of court intervention packages. NYOS management ensures that all referrals received from the Courts or the police are carefully assessed by YOS staff to ensure that we are prioritising those in most need of support. Everyone involved in promoting the welfare, protection and care of children and young people is working extremely hard in the face of unprecedented challenges to provide the right level of support. Staff will continue to provide weekly contact and interventions with children, young people and families via phone calls and video links, for those assessed as requiring face to face contacts these will be offered in two ways; home visits and/or office visits (emergency / by exception). Prior to any face to face contact a phone call we be made to the young person to carry out a pre-visit COVID check.
If children and young people receive visits at home, we have made plans to keep them, those they live with and Youth Offending Service Staff safe. These plans are explained below:
If attending the Northampton Youth Offending Service Office or The Kettering Youth Offending Service Office (open one day a week Wednesday) plans have been put in place to keep you safe and these are explained below:
If you still have concerns around how we are adapting practice to keep people safe please contact the allocated Case Manager to discuss this further or contact us through this website. info@n-yos.org.uk
