Youth Justice Practitioner

Youth justice practice is the field concerned with understanding and responding to offending behaviour by children and young people, and with the welfare, rehabilitation, and safeguarding needs that so often underlie that behaviour. It sits at the intersection of criminal justice, social work, education, and mental health, drawing on each to develop practitioners who can engage with young people in complex, sometimes risky, and always high-stakes situations with both professional authority and genuine care.

The part-time Youth Justice Practitioner programme at the University of Bedfordshire is designed for students who want to make a real difference to the lives of children and their families. The degree combines up-to-the-minute theory with practical experience, providing a thorough understanding of the needs of children and young people in a digital age. You will start by exploring child development and child welfare alongside the social policies and legislation surrounding them, building a solid foundation before choosing from specialist options in your later years, which include mental health, disability, special educational needs and disabilities, and youth violence.

These specialist strands reflect the range of complex needs and challenges that youth justice practitioners actually encounter in their work, and the part-time mode makes the programme accessible to those already working in relevant professional roles.

Graduates from youth justice and related programmes pursue careers in youth offending teams, probation, social work with young people, residential care, youth work, schools and pupil referral units, the voluntary sector, and policy and research roles concerned with children and young people who are at risk of, or involved in, offending. Many use the degree to formalise and extend qualifications they have begun to develop in practice, and some go on to postgraduate study in social work, criminology, or youth studies.