Volunteer - Panel Member - Youth Offending Team

at  South Gloucestershire Council

HOW YOU’LL MAKE A DIFFERENCE

The Youth Offending Team are currently looking to recruit Volunteer Panel Members.
Panel members are responsible for facilitating a meeting with a young person involved in the criminal justice system.
For young people aged 10-17 that have admitted committing an offence, the Court may give them a Referral Order. A Referral Order is a community sentence between 3 -12 months. The work that is completed during this time is agreed at a Referral Order Panel Meeting. Volunteer Panel Members are responsible for chairing this meeting, supporting the young person to take responsibility for their actions and to agree a programme of work that seeks to support the young people not to get in trouble with the police or criminal justice system again.
Panel meetings generally take place on Thursday evenings at community venues across South Gloucestershire. Panel Members are asked to commit to one panel meeting a fortnight for a minimum of 18 months.

WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU

• You will have great communication and effective listening skills and be patient and able to listen to advice and the views of others.
• You must be motivated and able to engage well with children and young people.
• You will have the ability to read written reports and identify areas of support that might be appropriate for children and their families based on the evidence provided from Court.
• You must be able and willing to commit to the initial and on-going training required to fulfil this role.
  Please note that due to the nature of this role it is a requirement of employment that an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is obtained for this post.

In this role, you will chair the referral order panel meetings to:

• Discuss the offence that took place.
• Support young people to take responsibility for their own actions.
• Agree individual and responsive programmes of work to address young people’s offending behaviour and enhance their skills.
• Have an awareness of opportunities that are available to young people to enable them engage in positive activities.
• Encourage young people to engage in activities that seek to repair the harm caused through the offence (this may include unpaid work in the community and/or meeting directly/indirectly with the victim).