Background to the Research

• As part of the Criminal Justice Review Implementation Plan of 2001, the decision was made to close the Lisnevin JJC and develop a single centre at the Rathgael JJC. The plans included the question of how best to meet the educational needs of the young people.
• The Graduate School of Education at Queen's University Belfast was commissioned to examine the young people's previous and current educational experiences, their educational expectations, their experiences on release from custody, and the support and information requirements of JJC staff in planning and implementing educational provision.
  

Research Approach

• Two sources of data were utilised:
  • A detailed analysis of the records of a sample of young people placed in the JCCs;
  • Focus group discussions and interviews with young people and 62 professional staff involved in the education of young people.
• The sample of young people (5 females and 28 males) for the analysis of records was drawn from all young people in custody or on remand on 5 June 2001 at Lisnevin JJC and all those admitted to Rathgael JCC between June and December 2001.
  

Main Findings

• Most of the young people could be described as disaffected and disillusioned by their experiences of mainstream education. As well as problems with school, the majority of cases were also characterised by family problems. Few, if any, had recently attended formal education on a regular basis and many had been out of mainstream schooling for a significant amount of time.
• A complex picture of multiple and fragmented schooling appears to be the norm for most of these young people.
• The JCC educational staff face many difficulties, in particular the requirement to teach the Northern Ireland curriculum without the flexibility of disapplication.
• The young people had varied perceptions of the JCC education and varied hopes for the future.
• Of the 31 young people followed up, 29 had returned to the community at the beginning of April 2002 and for the majority their Order had been completed. Of the 31, 12 were now over school-leaving age and one of these had been returned to custody for further offences. Of the remaining 11, two were in full-time employment, two were in part-time employment, one was actively seeking work, one was on a training scheme, one had refused a training scheme place and four were not in receipt of any form of training or education.
• Of the 19 school-aged: two were still in custody; three had returned to custody; six were due to leave school and had been offered vocational training schemes; one had returned to mainstream schooling; one was in part-time employment; and four were attending alternative education.
• A major constraint for JCC staff is the difficulty in accessing information about a young person's previous educational experience.
• JCC staff have little opportunity to make contact with previous providers to discuss the young person's needs. There is also little opportunity for JCC staff to follow up on progress once the young person returns to the community to complete their order. It is thus very difficult to develop a coherent rehabilitative or educational programme for the individual.
• The education staff within the JCC have little, if any, opportunity to conduct a thorough assessment of the young person's educational needs, or to discuss with the young person their own perceived needs and expectations.
• The inappropriateness of a curriculum which has contributed to the disaffection of these young people was constantly mentioned by the majority of the education staff, as well as those not directly involved.
• Whilst all JCC education staff are extremely dedicated and committed, they are also disillusioned. The stress levels of the staff are increased by the frustrations of an inadequate assessment of the young person's needs, the lack of information about their background, and the belief that they are delivering an inappropriate curriculum.
• Staff shortages, poor resources, lack of preparation and planning time and no classroom support were also mentioned. Teachers also felt completely isolated from the education community.

Conclusions

• As a result of the extremely honest, open and fruitful interviews with all the participants, it was possible to make much broader findings and recommendations than previously envisaged. The recommendations included:
• Improved access to information for JCC staff, including the use of a computerised system of recording information.
• Closer links with, and co-ordination of, information between different agencies.
• Multi-dimensional assessment of needs conducted on entry to a JCC.
• Education staff need training in the area of special educational needs and need access to educational psychology services.
• An evaluation of the plan at the end of a young person's time in the JCC.
• A review of the curriculum on offer in the JCC.
• Improving the perception that education is valued and addressing the issue of staff isolation.
• Finally, close collaboration and consultation with the Department of Education has to be a priority.