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Youth Justice BA (Hons)

Start date

  • Level(s) of Study: Undergraduate
  • Typical Offer: 104 - 112 UCAS tariff points
  • UCAS Code(s): L611
  • Start Date(s): September 2024
  • Duration: Three years full-time
  • Study Mode(s): Full-time
  • Campus: City Campus
Information for 2024

Introduction:

From drugs to gangs to knife-crime, youth offending often makes the headlines — but are you getting the full story?

Youth justice is a specialist strand of criminology, and this degree asks the questions that populist politics and the mainstream media don’t. How do you feel about the UK’s age of criminal responsibility being 10 — the youngest in Europe? When might a child reasonably understand the consequences of their actions? What role do family and community play in a young person’s development — and why can a life of crime sometimes feel like their only option? We deal in reality, not soundbites and sensationalism; together, we’ll explore the psychological, social, and political factors that have shaped the past, present, and future of juvenile justice worldwide.

Learn from experts with personal and professional experience of the youth justice system; uncover the deeper truths behind the lives of at-risk juveniles; examine your own prejudices and preconceptions in a whole new light. It’s time to ask bigger, better questions — it’s time to be the difference that young people need.

Why study this course?

  • Explore the field from every angle — meet with guest-speaker practitioners and service-users.
  • Our smaller-than-average classes provide a friendly, flexible, more personalised learning experience.
  • Test your skills in the real world of the youth justice system, with a four-week industry placement.
  • Our course is mapped to the Youth Justice Boards Skills Matrix for Youth Justice.

What you’ll study

Prepare for a deep-dive into the history, evolution, and processes of the youth justice system — and learn everything you’ll need to know as a professional practitioner. You’ll grow as a person throughout the course, building the confidence and communication skills to work successfully with young people, families, and a whole host of partner agencies.

As well as theory and critical thinking, we’ve built this course around debate and self-reflection. As your studies progress, so too will your ideas and opinions, with content including:

  • the historical development of the UK’s youth justice system, and its present-day demands — from assessing need, to interventions and report-writing, to best safeguarding practice
  • how a child’s mind, emotional welfare and sense of identity develops over time, and the social and environmental issues that can affect that development
  • the big, contemporary trends in youth offending — from gangs to substance abuse
  • the impact of youth offending, though the eyes of its victims
  • different perspectives on juvenile justice around the world
  • the role of policy-makers and the media in shaping public attitudes — and sometimes, in promoting discrimination, prejudice, and inequality.

Here’s a full breakdown of the modules you’ll be studying.

Core modules

Research and Study Skills for Youth Justice

Develop sound understandings in the study of youth justice, along with the necessary skills to meet the academic challenges of studying as an undergraduate.

Youth Crime and Social Inclusion

You will be introduced to some of the wider societal issues that can impact upon the life journeys of young people. Young offenders in particular often experience multiple inequalities, and this module explores what these are, the theories behind them, and solutions to overcome these issues.

Child and Adolescent Development

Examine the crucial theoretical underpinning as to what it is in a young person’s upbringing and background that may contribute to their offending behaviour, equipping you with vital knowledge and understanding for future youth justice practice.

Values, Ethics and Children's Rights in a Youth Justice Context

Gain an understanding of the rights, responsibilities and the legal framework of the youth justice system, as well as the values and ethics that inform youth justice practice.

Evolution of the Youth Justice System

Gain an understanding of the rights, responsibilities and legal framework of the youth justice system, as well as the values and ethics that inform youth justice practice.

Managing Transitions

Study the theoretical approaches to the concept of managing transitions (movements, passages or changes) that children and young people may experience and / or are affected by.

Core modules

Assessment and Report Writing in Youth Justice Practice

You will explore in detail the range of reports and assessments a youth practitioner would need to complete, and how these link to the National Occupational Standards for the youth justice system.

The Secure Estate and Resettlement

As well as examining the experience of custody, related transitions, and resettlement for young people, this module considers the history of custody for young people and the lessons to be learnt from that history.

Research Methods in Youth Justice

Study the main approaches in qualitative and quantitative social research, and explore the relative strengths and weaknesses of particular research methods.

Effective Practice in Youth Justice

Utilising your learning from Year One, you will develop your learning in relation to the overarching subject of effective practice in youth justice. Focusing on the relationship between young people and youth justice practitioners, this module explores the link between evidence-based and effective practice, the principles of effective youth justice practice, and the importance of reflection for effective practitioners.

Important information

The Secure Estate and Resettlement module, the Research Methods in Youth Justice module and the Effective Practice in Youth Justice module are the Youth Justice Board's entry-level qualification for working in the youth justice sector.

A crucial component of the work of a youth justice practitioner is carrying out assessments, writing reports for various professional bodies, and making recommendations to courts. These skills are addressed in the Assessment and Report Writing in Youth Justice Practice module, which covers in detail the range of reports and assessments a youth practitioner would need to complete, as well as the National Occupational Standards for the youth justice system.

Developing effective communication and relationship-building skills are fundamental when working with young people. The Effective Practice in Youth Justice module will explore the importance of effective communication, networking, advocacy and conflict resolution.

Core modules

Dissertation

Building upon a number of developing concepts gained in Year One and Two, you will apply them to a sustained piece of self-directed study on a specific area of interest in youth justice. You will work with your individual supervisor to formulate a research question and produce a critical commentary around your subject choice.

Restorative Justice, Victims and Victimology

You will consider competing perspectives on victimology, victims’ rights and restorative justice, and examine the implications of involving victims in the criminal justice process, particularly with regard to restorative justice approaches.

Delivering Interventions in Youth Justice Practice

Critically appraise and reflect upon the core competencies and skills required to be a youth justice practitioner and deliver effective practice. You'll develop a personal development plan, utilising reflection and your understanding of effective practice principles in youth justice.

Law, Sentencing and the Role of the Courts

Building upon your current knowledge of the legal system in relation to youth justice, this module will look at other areas of the law, including mental health legislation, housing law, the law relating to education, and welfare benefit legislation.

Safeguarding in Youth Justice Practice

Pulling together key themes and ideas that have been developed during Year One and Year Two, including children’s needs and rights; the exclusions young people face and how they develop; and how to assess young people’s vulnerability, how to protect them, and how to promote their wellbeing.

Don’t just take our word for it, hear from our students themselves

Student Profiles

Caitlyn Orme

Youth Justice

My experience at NTU has been incredible, and I couldn’t recommend both the course and the university enough!

Seb Fitzbright

Youth Justice

I chose the course because of the varying and interesting modules that are covered throughout the course, learning things ranging from best practice in the field, to the law and function of the courts.

Jordannah Yates

Youth Justice

I am inspired by the course leaders who all have so much experience in the subject. The course gives extensive insight into Youth Justice perspectives and the lectures are interactive and engaging.

Selena Phillips

Youth Justice

My tutor and lecturers take the time to get to know me on a personal level and understand the aspirations I have. They weave mine as well as the others’ interests into the lectures to ensure the content is relevant for us.

Simone Hawley

Youth Justice

As a mature student and parent, I had many apprehensions regarding my return to education. I had not written academically since my A ‘levels many years ago. I should not have worried; my peers were fantastic.

Gemma Francis

Youth Justice

It was a small cohort so it enabled me to get to know everyone, particularly with those who live in Nottingham which I believe will be friendships that will continue after NTU.

Hannah Clarke-Kerrigan

Youth Justice

Youth Justice really intrigued me. I instantly was drawn into the content and the careers it could lead to.

Why Youth Justice is the right course for you

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How you’re taught

How will I learn?

You’ll be supported by a teaching team with almost 50 years’ experience of the youth justice system. From probationary services to charities for at-risk children, they’ve seen it all; they’re published authors, podcasters, and even TV crime experts! The team’s research spans everything from diversionary sport and arts programmes, to the impact of COVID-19 on rehabilitation strategies — so between their expertise, experience and professional connections, you’re in great hands.

You’ll learn through a mix of:

  • lectures and visiting guest speakers, who’ll explain the realities of working in the youth justice system
  • small-group seminars and workshops, designed to improve your debating, teamworking, and problem-solving skills — our smaller class sizes make it a less daunting experience, and you’ll be studying with the same people all through your course
  • real-world case studies, helping you to flag the signs and symptoms of abuse, and identify the people and processes that could’ve helped prevent it
  • field trips and court visits, where you’ll watch trials and then discuss the outcomes
  • roleplaying and simulation, for key processes like safeguarding
  • one-on-one meetings with your friendly personal tutor
  • independent study, as you build up your research skills.

Contact hours

As the course progresses, the amount of in-person contact time will be reduced, allowing you to focus on building your independent research skills. You’ll still have access to your tutors whenever you need them — we’re big on wellbeing, and we want to make sure that your transition from school or college to uni is as comfortable and supported as possible.

Here’s the year-by-year breakdown of contact hours throughout our Youth Justice degree course:

  • Year One — lectures / seminars / workshops (25%) and independent study (75%)
  • Year Two — lectures / seminars / workshops (25%), independent study (70%) and placements (5%)
  • Year Three — lectures / seminars / workshops (19%) and independent study (81%)

Staff Profiles

Dr Shantey Francis - Senior Lecturer

School of Social Sciences

Dr Shantey Francis is a Lecturer/ Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Nottingham Trent University. She teaches on the Youth Justice and Criminology courses.

Dr Vicky Palmer - Senior Lecturer

School of Social Sciences

Dr Vicky Palmer

Jo Reynolds - Senior Lecturer

School of Social Sciences

Jo Reynolds is a Senior Lecturer in Youth Justice at Nottingham Trent University (NTU)

How you’re assessed

People learn in different ways, and we want everybody to have the best possible chance of success. Our students especially love the fact that the course only includes one exam (in Year Three), which we’ll practice for.

We’ve introduced a wide range of assessment methods onto NTU’s Youth Justice degree course — everything from essays and reflective journals, presentations and posters, case studies and critical reviews, to focus groups, quizzes, placements, roleplaying, and your very own research project.

  • Year 1 coursework (100%)
  • Year 2 coursework (100%)
  • Year 3 coursework (83%) and written (17%)

Careers and employability

We’ve designed our course together with key teams and agencies from across the youth justice sector, to ensure that what you’re learning is everything employers expect to see. The quality of our students is well-known throughout the industry; with our support, you’ll be a great candidate for probationary services, mentoring schemes, specialist community projects, and everything else in between!

Experience the real world of juvenile justice at NTU

As well as getting the professional practitioner experience of lecturers and guest speakers, you’ll be visiting rehabilitative agencies from across the youth justice system, developing your understanding of the arrest-to-sentence process at court trials, and even roleplaying mock cases. Our teaching team has sector-wide connections, which will provide you with the volunteering opportunities to really flesh out your CV — organisations like Skills for Justice and the YMCA. You’ll be meeting people from lots of different areas in youth justice, which is great for your professional prospects.

Work-like experience

You’ll also have the chance to complete a four-week placement with a youth justice agency, as part of Year Two’s ‘Effective Practice in Youth Justice’ module. You’ll not only get the chance to network, apply your theoretical skills in the real world, and get your name out there — you’ll also have a realistic experience of looking for work throughout the application and interview process. Placements are a great way of finding out which area of juvenile justice you’d like to work in, and our recent providers have included organisations like Base 51, local authority Youth Offending teams, Take 1 Studios, and Support Through Sport.

Youth justice jobs and careers

Our student community’s very diverse: some people have a general interest in young people and criminology, while others have had personal experience of the youth justice system. Some come straight from school or college — others are planning a career change.

What they all have in common, though, is the desire to make a difference. The range of professional pathways open after graduation is huge: you could join a big organisation like the police, secure a role in a residential care setting, start your own community inclusion project, or progress onto one of our postgraduate programmes in youth work, social work, criminology, and politics. The choice is entirely yours — but whatever your plans, you’ll retain access to our award-winning employability support services for up to two years after graduation, so stay in touch!

Only recently, graduates of NTU’s Youth Justice degree have secured roles as:

  • Youth Justice Workers, Youth Support Workers, and Juvenile Liaisons
  • Prison and Probation Officers
  • Case Workers, Key Workers, and Behavioural Mentors
  • Housing and Welfare Officers, and Housing Support Coordinators
  • Custody Officers
  • Mental Health Specialists
  • Teachers and Senior Lecturers
  • Child Sexual Exploitation Support Worker
  • Government Policy-Makers

What’s more, our students have also developed their own diversionary programmes around big passions like sport and art; established residential homes for children; and worked as Case Managers in youth offending teams up and down the country, at a very senior level.

Campus and facilities

You’ll mainly be studying in the Chaucer and Newton buildings, at the centre of our vibrant City Campus. As well as a range of classrooms and lecture theatres, our facilities including a mock prison cell and courtroom, banks of open-access PCs, and ‘scale-up’ rooms for either quiet study or busy collaborative work.

NTU’s City Campus has everything you’ll need to keep occupied between lectures. As well as the Boots Library and its beautiful roof garden, there’s our superb Students’ Union building and two-storey, 100-station gym; a whole host of cafés, bars, restaurants and food outlets catering to every taste; our much-loved Global Lounge; performance and rehearsal spaces for musicians; and much, much more!

If that’s not enough, just take a few steps off campus, and you’ll find yourself in the beating heart of Nottingham — one of Britain’s top 10 student cities. Enjoy lush green spaces and vintage shopping by day, and an acclaimed food, drink, and social scene by night.

Entry requirements

What are we looking for?

  • Standard offer: 112 UCAS Tariff points from up to four qualifications
  • Contextual offer: 104 UCAS Tariff points from up to four qualifications
  • You will be required to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service check (formerly known as a Criminal Records Bureau disclosure).

We also consider equivalent qualifications and combinations. All applicants should be able to demonstrate an interest in, and an aptitude for, engaging young people. Although it is not essential, we positively encourage applicants who have experience of working within a youth justice setting or can evidence relevant voluntary work, particularly with young people. Specifically, mature applicants are encouraged to apply as, alongside academic qualifications, relevant practical experience and achievements are seen as an asset. Non-standard applicants may be interviewed.

As with all vocational courses related to working with children and young people, all students are required to provide full details of any previous criminal convictions on admission and confirm the nature of these upon course commencement. Students are required to disclose any subsequent criminal convictions while on the course; failure to provide full disclosure of previous or new convictions can lead to termination of a student’s studies. Students eligible for the work-based learning observation may be required to complete an enhanced Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) Disclosure. If this highlights a potential risk to a child this could lead to termination being considered.

Contextual offers

A lower offer may be made based on a range of factors, including your background (such as where you live and the school or college you attended), your experiences and individual circumstances (you may have been in care, for example). This is called a contextual offer and we get data from UCAS to make these decisions. NTU offers a student experience like no other and this approach helps us to find students who have the potential to succeed here but who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university. Find out how we assess your application.

Other qualifications and experience

We may also consider credits achieved at other universities and your work/life experience through an assessment of prior learning. This may be for year one entry, or beyond the beginning of a course where applicable, for example, into year 2. Our Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfer Policy outlines the process and options available for this route.

Meeting our entry requirements

Hundreds of qualifications in the UK have UCAS tariff points attached to specific grades, including A levels, BTECs, T Levels and many more. You can use your grades and points from up to four different qualifications to meet our criteria. Enter your predicted or achieved grades into our tariff calculator to find out how many points your qualifications are worth.

Getting in touch

If you need more help or information, get in touch through our enquiry form

What are we looking for?

  • 112 UCAS Tariff points from up to four qualifications.

We also consider equivalent qualifications and combinations. All applicants should be able to demonstrate an interest in, and an aptitude for, engaging young people. Although it is not essential, we positively encourage applicants who have experience of working within a youth justice setting or can evidence relevant voluntary work, particularly with young people. Specifically, mature applicants are encouraged to apply as, alongside academic qualifications, relevant practical experience and achievements are seen as an asset. Non-standard applicants may be interviewed.

As with all vocational courses related to working with children and young people, all students are required to provide full details of any previous criminal convictions on admission and confirm the nature of these upon course commencement. Students are required to disclose any subsequent criminal convictions while on the course; failure to provide full disclosure of previous or new convictions can lead to termination of a student’s studies. Students eligible for the work-based learning observation may be required to complete an enhanced Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) Disclosure. If this highlights a potential risk to a child this could lead to termination being considered.

International qualifications

We accept qualifications from all over the world – check yours here:

English language entry requirements

You can meet our language requirements by successfully completing our pre-sessional English course for an agreed length of time, or by submitting the required grade in one of our accepted English language tests, such as IELTS:

Undergraduate preparation courses (Foundation)

If you don’t yet meet our entry requirements, we offer Foundation courses through our partner Nottingham Trent International College (NTIC), based on our City Campus:

Advanced standing (starting your undergraduate degree in year 2 or 3)

You may be able to start your undergraduate course in year 2 or 3 based on what you have studied before. This decision would be made in accordance with our Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfer Policy.

Would you like some advice on your study plans?

Our international teams are highly experienced in answering queries from students all over the world. We also have members of staff based in Vietnam, China, India and Nigeria and work with a worldwide network of education counsellors.

Fees and funding

Preparing for the financial side of student life is important, but there’s no need to feel anxious and confused about it. We hope that our fees and funding pages will answer all your questions.

Additional Costs

Your course fees cover the cost of studies, and include loads of great benefits, such as the use of our library, support from our expert Employability team, and free use of the IT equipment across our campuses.

Library books

Most study modules will recommend one or more core text books, which most students choose to purchase. Book costs vary and further information is available in the University’s bookshop. Our libraries provide a good supply of essential text books, journals and materials (many of which you can access online) – meaning you may not need to purchase as many books as you might think! There may also be a supply of second-hand books available for purchase from previous year students.

Field trips

All essential field trip costs will be included in your course fees. There may be the opportunity to take part in optional field trips, which do incur additional costs.

Placements

If you're undertaking a placement year, you'll need to budget for accommodation and any travel costs you may incur whilst on placement. Many of our placement students do earn a salary whilst on placement which can help to cover these living costs.

Print and copy costs

The University allocates an annual printing and copying allowance of £20 depending on the course you are studying. For more details about costs for additional print and copying required over and above the annual allowance please see the Printing, photocopying and scanning information on the Library website.

Getting in touch

For more advice and guidance, you can contact our Student Financial Support Service.

Tel: +44 (0)115 848 2494

Tuition fees for September 2024 entry

Mode of study

International tuition fee

Full-time

£16,500

Please note the fees shown are for 2023 entry and may be subject to review.

Tuition fees are payable for each year that you are at the University. The level of tuition fees for the second and subsequent years of your undergraduate course may increase in line with inflation and as specified by the UK government.

Scholarships

We offer scholarships of up to 50% of your tuition fee. You can apply for your scholarship when you have an offer to study at NTU.

Living costs

Get advice on the cost of living as an international student in Nottingham and how to budget:

Paying fees

Find out about advanced payments, instalment plan options and how to make payments securely to the University:

Would you like some advice on your study plans?

Our international teams are highly experienced in answering queries from students all over the world. We also have members of staff based in Vietnam, China, India and Nigeria and work with a worldwide network of education counsellors.

How to apply

Ready to join us? Then apply as soon as you can. Just click the Apply button at the top of the page and follow the instructions for applying. Make sure you check the entry requirements above carefully before you do.

Writing your application and personal statement

Be honest, thorough and persuasive in your application. Remember that we can only make a decision based on what you tell us, so include all of your qualifications and grades, including resits or predicted grades.

Your personal statement is a really important part of your application – it’s your chance to convince us why we should offer you a place. You’ve got 4,000 characters to impress us. Make sure you use them to show how your skills and qualities are relevant to the course(s) you’re applying for. For more hints and tips, take a look at our page on how to write a good personal statement.

Keeping up to date

After you’ve applied, we’ll be sending you important emails throughout the application process – so check your emails regularly, including your junk mail folder.

You can get more information and advice about applying to NTU on our Your Application page. Good luck with your application!

You can apply for this course through UCAS. If you are not applying to any other UK universities, you can apply directly to us on our NTU applicant portal.

Application advice

Apply early so that you have enough time to prepare – processing times for Student visas can vary, for example.  After you've applied, we'll be sending you important emails throughout the application process – so check your emails regularly, including your junk mail folder.

Writing your personal statement

Be honest, thorough, and persuasive – we can only make a decision about your application based on what you tell us:

Would you like some advice on your study plans?

Our international teams are highly experienced in answering queries from students all over the world. We also have members of staff based in Vietnam, China, India and Nigeria and work with a worldwide network of education counsellors.

The University's commitment to delivering the educational services advertised.