o support, engage and disseminate knowledge, information and evidence to and from youth offending teams and relevant youth justice partners there are two core forums that this is carried out in. In England they are called ‘Developing Practice Fora’ and in Wales they are called ‘Hwb Doeth’, but they both aim to encourage sharing and discussing topics that are relevant to the youth justice system and all the different elements that make it up.

England Developing Practice Fora:

The YJB ‘Developing Practice’ fora provide a medium for direct engagement and collaboration with the Youth Justice System, focusing on the development of practice across the Youth Justice.  They are attended by youth offeneding team (YOT) operational and team managers, or specialist workers where relevant and usually run for the day (often between 10am-3pm) in one of seven regional localities in England.

The forums are held quarterly, and the agenda usually comprise of Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB) and National updates; presentations from youth justice system services as well as wider youth justice partners; workshops on specific youth justice issues and the opportunity to share any innovation being delivered in individual areas. Where appropriate, presentations and practice is shared on the Youth Justice Resource Hub.

The forums, allow access to first-hand information, the opportunity to identify key issues and emerging trends early and the ability to inform policy and strategy. The meetings also provide an opportunity for Youth Justice services to promote, share and consult on Developing Practice with the YJB, Research, Government policy teams and other partners across the sector.

The forums are divided by YJB regional areas:

• East and South East
• London
• Midlands
• North East, Yorkshire and Humberside (this area had two forums one on the North East and one in Yorkshire and Humberside)
• North West
• South West and South Central

The YJB also supports and holds specialist forums for the following areas:

• Education, Training and Employment (London and the South East)
• Parenting and family work (London and the South East)
• Data and performance managers (London and the South East)

Youth offending teams: If you want to attend your local forum you should inform your Head of Service and once authorised you should contact your local YJB forum lead to be added to the contact list.

Please contact the Dunston Patterson for the education, training and employment and for the Parenting forums and Sophie Davies for the data and performance managers fora.

Youth justice partners: If you want to deliver a local presentation or recommend something that would be of local interest then you should also contact your local YJB forum lead.

Please contact the Dunston Patterson for the education, training and employment and for the Parenting forums and Sophie Davies for the data and performance managers fora.

YJB, National, Voluntary and Community sector and Government partners: if you want to engage all or any developing practice fora area, you should contact Ruth Searle (forum coordinator).

Members of the community: please note that these forums are closed, we are only able to extend invites to YJ Sector and other key stakeholders.

YJB Fora leads:

• East -  Ruth Searle
• South East – Sophie Davies
• London –Natasha Richards
• Midlands – Tracy Green
• Yorkshire and Humberside - Jon Bradnum
• North West – Jon Bradnum
• North East - Giulia Romiti
• South West and South Central – Quentin O'Donnell
  

Wales Hwb Doeth:

The purpose of Hwb Doeth is to bring together knowledge, skills and experience to encourage the development of youth justice practice in Wales which is based on sound theory, has practical application for those that intend to use It and successfully implements Welsh and UK Government policy.

Hwb Doeth brings together professionals from YJB, Welsh government, Regional representation from Welsh Universities, Regional representation from YOT Manager’s Cymru and the secure estate to discuss and share evidenced based practice, provide advice, guidance and support to youth justice service so that they are able to develop and improve practice.

Hwub Doeth is held three times per year on a quarterly basis (with the fourth quarter being the yearly training day that is organised by Hwb Doeth for local youth justice practitioners).

There are also several sub-groups from Hwb Doeth including four regional groups and they meet quarterly (these are similar to the Developing practice Fora in England).

The location is rotated across Wales and generally held at Universities to facilitate attendance from across Wales via video conferencing. The agenda is sector led rather than YJB led and comprises of wider thematic issues impacting on the sector in Wales.

Recent topics for discussion have included: Prevention, ETE provision in Wales, Youth Justice BluePrint for Wales and Resettlement. Other topics such as research projects, workforce development and the training day are standing agenda items. Where appropriate, presentations and practice is shared on the Youth Justice Resource Hub.

Regional Groups:

Regional groups are held in the four Police force areas in Wales and meet they quarterly.

• Dyfed Powys
• Gwent
• South Wales
• North Wales

Regional membership comprises of youth offending partnerships, academic representation (from universities that are regionally situated, who have an interest in Youth Justice) and in South Wales, the two secure estates (Parc Youth Offending Institution and Hillside Secure Children’s Home) also attend.

The meetings are sector led and YJB attends on an exception basis if invited. The regional groups provide an opportunity to discuss issues that are relevant locally but may not be relevant at a national level for discussion at Hwb Doeth.

The agenda is decided at a local level, with a focus on providing local youth justice services with academic expertise in the form of research students. The students provide research and evaluation of YOT practice, training, advice and how to share good

Youth offending teams: If you want to attend your local forum you should inform your Head of Service and once authorised you should contact your local YJB forum lead, Mark Cox, if you would like to be added to the contact list.

Youth justice partners: If you want to deliver a local presentation or recommend something that would be of local interest then you should also contact your local YJB forum lead, Mark Cox.

YJB, National, Voluntary and Community sector and Government partners: if you want to engage all or any developing practice fora area, you should contact Mark Cox.

Universities and students: if you are a University and you want to attend Hwb Doeth, please contact YJB lead, Mark Cox. If you are a university student, your university will need to be in partnership or a formal relationship will need to be created through the university formal channels.

Members of the community: please note that these forums are closed, we are only able to extend invites to youth justice sector and other key stakeholders.