Volunteer for the Oxfordshire Youth Justice Service

What is the Oxfordshire Youth Justice Service?

Oxfordshire Youth Justice Service is a statutory partnership between the Local Authority, Police, Probation, Health and Education services. We are a multi-agency team working with children aged 10-18 involved in the justice system. 

The principal aims of the youth justice system are to:

• Prevent offending by children and young people
• Improve community safety
• Support children and young people to desist from re-offending
• Help children and young people recognise the impact of their crime on victims
• Provide opportunities for children and young people to participate safely and productively in their communities

Would you like to get involved?

Volunteers play a key role in helping children who are supported by the Oxfordshire Youth Justice Service. We provide full training for people who want to get involved as a volunteer in several different roles:

Appropriate Adult volunteer

When a child or vulnerable adult is being held at a police station and has no suitable adult to support them, a volunteer will be asked to attend the police station and act as an Appropriate Adult. There is currently a quarterly rota in place where volunteers indicate their availability, which includes weekdays and weekends (8.30am - 11pm. This is part of a shift rota of seven hours per day). Call-out frequency varies and visits to the police station will generally last between 2 and 4 hours. There is a 1-day of training and an expectation to attend the quarterly Appropriate Adult Support/supervision group. 

Referral Order Panel volunteer

A Referral Order Panel convenes when a child has been given a Referral Order at Court. The Panel is made up of 2 trained volunteers who support the child to develop a plan to help them stay out of trouble. The Referral Order Panel meets every 3 months for an hour (depending on needs of the child this can vary slightly) to monitor and review the plan until the Referral Order comes to an end. There is Panel training to equip volunteers with skills in restorative facilitation and the Referral Order process.

Restorative Justice volunteer

Restorative justice brings those harmed by crime or conflict and those responsible for the harm into communication, enabling everyone affected by a particular incident to play a part in repairing the harm and finding a positive way forward. With children, this requires sensitive and empathic approaches to support the child to build skills in empathy and perspective-taking, and offer opportunities for repair. 

Restorative Justice Volunteers need to have extensive experience as a Referral Panel Volunteer prior to undertaking this work. 

The Youth Justice Service provides additional training and development opportunities for all volunteers throughout their volunteering commitment to our service. 

What you need

We are looking for people who are passionate about supporting children in Oxfordshire to achieve their potential and move on from difficult life experiences. Our recruitment process is values-based, and we are seeking empathic, compassionate, and nonjudgmental people. You do not need any previous experience, as we will provide full training and supervisory support. Volunteers must be over 18 and consent to a DBS check.

How to apply

If you are interested in volunteering with the Oxfordshire Youth Justice Service, contact us.