Exploring the education background for children and young people sentenced to custody in England and Wales

Crime and offending by children and young people has received attention in political, academic and media rhetoric for decades. Concerns over the offending behaviour of children and young people in adolescence, resulted in the Government developing strategies (for example, Transforming Youth Custody – Putting education at the heart of detention) to reduce the offending and re-offending of children and young people. The Transforming Youth Custody report found 50 per cent of children and young people aged 15-17 years-old were entering custody with literacy levels the equivalent of children aged 7-11 years-old. From the children and young people entering custody, 18 per cent had statements of special educational needs and 36 per cent of young men ceased attending school at 14 years-old. Figures from the Transforming Youth Custody report, support research conducted by Bryan (2004) that children and young people aged between 18 and 21 years-old in YOI has a high proportion of language difficulties. Such concerns highlight the importance of exploring the educational background of children and young people entering custody and the importance of addressing educational issues before children and young people enter custody. By completed a retrospective case file analysis on a representative cohort of children and young people in custody, the researcher will explore the educational background of children and young people entering custody in the United Kingdom. Findings from this analysis are complemented by a questionnaire implemented to discover children and young people’s views of. By exploring the educational background of children and young people in the United Kingdom, this research will highlight the role of education in promoting desistance.