Eighty per cent of children cautioned or sentenced have special educational needs. The Youth Justice White Paper cites that figure, then moves on. It should be shaping every design decision in the programme.
In the space of three months, government published a Schools and SEND White Paper, a Youth Justice White Paper and a SEND reform consultation. All three describe the same children. None was written as if the others exist.
This briefing sets out what that means for Turnaround commissioning, for racial disproportionality, for the Youth Intervention Court, and for a March 2027 implementation deadline that risks counting activity rather than change. It ends with a practical ask: that the practitioners who will deliver reform, including youth justice managers, are properly heard before the architecture is set.
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If youth justice sat outside it, you are not alone. I'm happy to talk through where the gaps sit between SEND and youth justice in your area, and what a joined-up approach could look like.
Or email ashleigh@applewhaiteadvisory.co.uk