Youth Offending Service wins glowing praise
Warwickshire’s Youth Offending Service has been winning praise from all quarters of the community.
In the past week the service has been commended by Rugby’s Mayor for its work in helping young people stay out of trouble. The team also received the news that it had achieved first place in the Allotment Category for the Rugby in Bloom contest.
Cllr Sue Peach, the Mayor of Rugby, was invited to find out more about the work of the Youth Offending Service, based at Newton Hall in Rugby, last week.
Sessional workers Ian Bache and Anthony Ashley gave the mayor a tour of the workshops where young people are involved in projects for the benefit of victims and the community. Young people undertake small woodwork projects such as making bat and bird boxes, repairing bicycles, and designing and painting large murals for display across the county.
Cllr Peach met Vicki Barnes who manages the Parent Support Practitioners and Karen Burgess, Practitioner from the Victim and Witness Support Partnership, who explained the process for encouraging victims of crime to speak to the young people who have offended against them. This helps the young people really understand the consequences of their actions on others. Ross Watts, Substance Misuse Practitioner, explained some of the work he undertakes with young people who have issues around alcohol and substance misuse.
Cllr Peach said: “I was really impressed by the enthusiasm and determination of all the team in helping young people keep and their parents keep on track. The Youth Offending Service is doing amazing work on behalf of society and I am full of praise. The workers are very much unsung heroes but everyone would suffer without their hard work.”
The service has also learnt from the judges of the prestigious Rugby in Bloom contest that they have won the allotment category in the competition. Sessional workers, led by gardening expert Mark Anderson-Howe, have been taking young people to work on the allotments for the last four years. They have been growing organic produce including potatoes, runner beans, tomatoes, lettuce, and courgettes which are donated to local residents through Age Concern and local churches.
Heather Shilling, Operations Manager for the Youth Offending Service, said: “We often hear about the negative impact of young people’s actions and it’s really encouraging for the team to get such warm recognition for the work that they are doing. I would like to thank the Mayor and Rugby in Bloom for taking such an interest in our work.”