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Youth justice service

Cheshire Youth Justice Service (YJS) covers the whole of the county of Cheshire, comprising the four Local Authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West, Halton and Warrington.

We work with children from 10-17 years of age and are a statutory partnership, collaborating with key partners to deliver effective support and create safer communities. Together, these partnerships strengthen the support for children and their parents/carers and victims of youth crime.

Cheshire YJS adopts a holistic approach to working with children and victims in terms of safeguarding and protecting the public.

What does the YJS do?

Cheshire YJS adopts an evidence-based approach when working with children to reduce re-offending. This includes Child First, trauma and relational approaches. These approaches are at the very heart of the work we carry out and children are also diverted away from the Youth Justice System where appropriate.

A Child First Identity Focused Approach means seeing children as children and focussing on any barriers they face.

Cheshire YJS follows Child First principles by:

  • Engaging children, parents and carers in meaningful collaboration
  • Minimising justice involvement through prevention and diversion
  • Prioritising children’s best interests, rights and potential
  • Promoting children’s strengths:

- to develop a future-focused, pro-social identity,
- to achieve desistance,
- to build on supportive empowering relationships so children achieve their potential and make positive
  contributions to society.

We include Restorative Justice in the work we do with children and victims. This can be indirect including supporting a child to write a letter of explanation, or complete work to benefit the community in some way e.g. reparation. On some occasions children meet with victims to apologise for the harm caused.

    Volunteering opportunities

    We have a large team of volunteers who support our work. Volunteering with us requires a commitment of a minimum of three hours a week.

    In order to be one of our volunteers, you must be 18 years of age or over and ideally you should live or work in Cheshire East, Cheshire West, Halton, or Warrington.

    Volunteer recruitment takes place in September each year. Each volunteer will have a formal interview and if successful, will go through our mandatory training and induction. Training sessions tend to run at weekends in October and/or November and in addition, there are quarterly team meetings for volunteers and a newsletter. Travel expenses are also provided.

    All voluntary posts are subject to a Vetting and Barring Disclosure Check (DBS).

    Volunteering opportunities are always changing within the team and at present the following roles are available:

    Apply to be a volunteer
    • Phone: 0345 145 0055
    • West office: second floor, Wyvern House, The Drumber, Winsford CW7 1AH
    • East office: seventh floor, Delamere House, Delamere Street, Crewe CW1 2JZ
    • North office: third floor, Municipal Building, Kingsway, Widnes WA8 7QF