Meet Lauren Weller, Social Worker in the Youth Justice Team

“I’ve been at Sutton Council for a year completing my Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) in the Youth Justice Team and am now a fully qualified Social Worker. 

As a Social Worker in the Youth Justice Team we get allocated children and young people who have committed an offence and have been given a court order. We work with 10-18 year olds and have about 12 young people on our caseload. 

Initially we advocate for young people in court to get a community rehabilitation order where possible. I then meet with the young person following their court hearing and complete a risk assessment, looking at everything that is causing the behaviour. We then work together to develop an intervention plan to address this. We will see those young people as regularly as needed; it can be every day or twice, three times a week, or on very rare occasions, visiting them in custody.

As the referral has come as a result of a court order, to start with, the young people are often resistant and don’t really want our involvement. This can be a real challenge of the role, finding innovative ways to engage and break down the barriers. It’s our job to establish a really good relationship with them, to really hear them and highlight the positives they have that they perhaps don’t see themselves. I love working with children and young people, building that trust and bond and making a difference in their lives.

One of my young people calls me regularly and we have a great relationship, but when we first met he wasn’t attending school and was very resistant to my involvement. Now, he is in college and working part-time. He still makes some questionable decisions but he has come such a long way. His confidence and self-esteem have really grown and his mentality and outlook on life have changed so much for the positive. It is just really lovely to see and be a part of the team supporting him. It feels amazing. You go home knowing you have done your best and been that person they can reach out to if they need to.”