Young people taking part in reparation with Barnsley Youth Justice Service donned their aprons to bake some delicious treats to raise money for the MacMillan Coffee Morning, which helps people living with cancer. This was part of the young people’s work to give back to the community.

Over three days the service worked with five young people baked for the event so that they could raise funds for the charity.

Each young person made something different and learned some new skills which they have taken home. A tempting array of buns and cakes were on offer to sell to staff and partners at The Hub, Westgate to raise as much funding as possible.

Reparation is an important part of the work the Youth Justice Service do with a young person and plays a leading role in their rehabilitation process.

They all achieved several AQA qualifications in baking, communication, teamwork and fundraising for a charity.

An AQA is an entry level qualification that the young people can put on their CVs to enhance their portfolios for future employment.

In July, Barnsley Youth Justice Service received an overall rating of ‘Good’ following an inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP).

An HMIP release said that staff are committed and passionate about their work and determined to improve the lives of children under their supervision. 

Recent data shows Barnsley’s outstanding performance on first time entrants and reoffending which places us in the top percentage in the country.

In 2021/22 there were 31 young people entering the criminal justice system for the first time, and this is an 84 percent reduction since 2017.

The reoffending rate is 8.3 percent, which places Barnsley on the top one percent of all Youth Justice Services nationally for this measure and shows a 79 percent reduction since 2019. Of those young people who do go on to re-offend they undertake much fewer than in other places.

The number of re-offences is 0.08 which places Barnsley in the top three percent of all Youth Offending Teams nationally and is an 86 percent reduction since 2019.

Pictured are members of Barnsley Youth Justice Service, (L-R) Dee Bailey, Beth Brooke, Gemma Pilley, displaying the fantastic amount raised to help people living with cancer.