Staffordshire Youth Offending Service Practitioner

Staffordshire County Council; Lichfield; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Staffordshire County Council, based in the South Hub in Lichfield, seeks two Youth Offending Service (SYOS) Practitioners. The roles are full-time and permanent, working with children aged 10–18 referred through police and courts processes.

Responsibilities include risk assessment, reporting, and providing supervision to support positive outcomes. You will engage with neurodiverse children, document records, and contribute to trauma-informed practice while maintaining flexible hours, including

Qualifications

• Experience of working with children and families and ability to develop positive working relationships.
• Knowledge and understanding of legislation applicable to the Youth Justice sector
• Understanding of the effect of trauma in childhood and the impact on child development
• Proven track record of using assessment, planning and review process in meeting the needs of children and families and public protection
• Ability to write and maintain accurate records and analytical assessments
• A flexible approach, seeing children when they are available, with evening and occasional weekend work

Responsibilities

• Support and manage children subject to out of court disposal and community based sentences.
• Be expected to form positive working relationships with complex and often neurodiverse children.
• Act as duty officer and appropriate adult in line with service requirements, providing cover at both local police stations and secure estates
• Complete, maintain and review appropriate records on SYJS recording systems
• Complete high quality and timely assessment (Asset Plus and PDAT) and write reports for Referral Order panel and community option Court reports.
• Engage in regular supervision/discussion with the Senior Practitioner (South Hub)
• Contribute to the development of Child First and Trauma informed practice

Skills

Child justice experience

Legislation knowledge

Trauma-informed care

Assessment planning

Record keeping

Flexible scheduling

Job description

Staffordshire Youth Justice Service (SYJS) is looking to recruit to two posts of Staffordshire Youth Offending Service (SYOS) Practitioner.

Both are based in the South Hub in the Lichfield office.

The South Hub covers the areas of Stafford, Cannock, South Staffs, Lichfield, Tamworth and Burton.

Our service works with children (10-18) that have been referred by Police/other agencies due to concern about potential involvement in criminal behaviour (Prevention), by the Police to be considered for Out of Court resolutions, been through the Court system and given a community order and those children that have been received custodial sentences.

We are an established team that is experienced in supporting children in various stages of the justice system. We welcome the opportunity to learn from new members of staff and the different experiences and knowledge they bring.

These are both full time (37 hours) permanent role.

Main Responsibilities

You will:

• Support and manage children subject to out of court disposal and community based sentences.
• Be expected to form positive working relationships with complex and often neurodiverse children.
• Act as duty officer and appropriate adult in line with service requirements, providing cover at both local police stations and secure estates
• Complete, maintain and review appropriate records on SYJS recording systems
• Complete high quality and timely assessment (Asset Plus and PDAT) and write reports for Referral Order panel and community option Court reports.
• Engage in regular supervision/discussion with the Senior Practitioner (South Hub)
• Contribute to the development of Child First and Trauma informed practice

The Ideal Candidate

The minimum criteria that will be used to shortlist for this role will be:

• Experience of working with children and families and ability to develop positive working relationships.
• Knowledge and understanding of legislation applicable to the Youth Justice sector
• Understanding of the effect of trauma in childhood and the impact on child development
• Proven track record of using assessment, planning and review process in meeting the needs of children and families and public protection
• Ability to write and maintain accurate records and analytical assessments.
• A flexible approach, seeing children when they are available, in a variety of settings including home visits. There is an expectation of evening and occasionally weekend working.

The role requires patience, understanding and resilience. You will be an integral part of our team trying to improve the opportunities of children who often feel left behind and not listened to.

You do not need to hold a professional qualification but a willingness to work towards Youth Justice Qualifications and ongoing professional development is preferred.

Interviews are expected to be held week commencing 14th October 2026.

Don't feel you meet all the requirements? We value transferable skills, experiences, and qualifications so consider applying anyway or for an informal chat about the role please contact Simon Woollett, SYJS Operations Manager (South Hub): simon.woollett @staffordshire.gov.uk or Vicky Ward SYJS Senior Practitioner (South Hub) [e-mail]

Our Recruitment Process: We anonymise applications during shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered. Please complete your application fully, especially the supporting statement, to highlight what you'll bring to the role.

Please note: The minimum essential criteria in the ideal section detailed above will be used if you are applying under one of our Interview Guarantee Schemes.

About Staffordshire County Council

We are no ordinary county council:

Our Values:

The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.

Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:

We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.

We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too.

Our benefits:

We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.

In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to Our rewards and benefits - Careers at Staffordshire

Our recruitment process:

As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer.

We encourage applications from all background and communities

As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as yourapplication meets the minimum criteria for the post.

As you'll know safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children and young people/vulnerable adults is important to us and that's why this position is subject to a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service. If applicable you should disclose details of unspent and unfiltered spent reprimands, formal warnings, cautions and convictions in your application form.