NEW REPORT - Young People's Perspectives on Complaints

"Why are they going to listen to me?"

Young People's Perspectives on Complaints in the Youth Justice System & Secure Estate

New User Voice report published 12th July 2012.

The Office of the Children's Commissioner contracted User Voice to seek the views of children and young people within the youth justice system about their experiences of complaints procedures.

This consultation formed a significant strand of our wider youth engagement project called What's Your Story? 2011.

Click Here to download the full report.

Or see the Young People's Perspectives on Complaints page to find out more about this project.

NEW VACANCY: Website Maintenance Volunteer

Volunteer Role

Role Title

Website Maintenance Volunteer (home-based with occasional visits to London Office)

Purpose of the role

User Voice staff are responsible for the updating of the User Voice website and social media sites, but at present we don’t have a dedicated specialist.  We are looking for someone with experience in this area who would help us by keeping our website up-to-date with the latest news about our work and troubleshooting problems on an ad-hoc basis as and when they occur.  If you are able to support our team from home on an average of once a week, we would like to hear from you.  This is an exciting opportunity for someone to utilise their skills and join the User Voice team.

Time Commitment

Dependent on issues that arise, but unlikely to exceed 1 day a week.

Duration

3 months minimum, but we are flexible.

Responsibilities & Duties

Helping with website maintenance and troubleshooting problems as they arise

Responding to queries in timely fashion by email and/or phone

Skills & Experience

WordPress 3.3.1

html code

Website hosting

Personal Qualities

A strong and demonstrable commitment to the aims and values of User Voice.

A strong and demonstrable commitment to the promotion of equality and diversity.

Training Provided

An induction to User Voice will be completed.

Benefits to the Volunteer

Reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses

Opportunity to volunteer with a successful charity

CRB check required?   

No – This role will not require a CRB check as you will not be required to work with children or vulnerable adults.  However, all User Voice Staff and Volunteers are required to complete a suitability statement which covers disclosure of convictions and any barred lists.

Do you have the experience to help with this opportunity?
If so, please email Beth Kennedy at ekennedy@uservoice.org.

User Voice is working in Partnership with Catch22

User Voice and Catch22 have formed an exciting partnership that builds on our respective strengths.  Our first project together is for Kent Probation.

User Voice's strength is that it is run by ex-offenders, and has the experience and understanding to enable offenders who are subject to supervision to express their views and to positively impact on the work of criminal justice agencies and their partners.

Joining forces with Catch22 will enable User Voice to draw on the experience and approach of a larger voluntary sector organisation that has demonstrated its commitment to service user engagement and with a track record of partnership working that has impact.

Together we can support the criminal justice system to listen and act upon the views of its service users and help reduce re-offending.

Bob Ashford joins User Voice

Bob Ashford, the ex-Director of Strategy at the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, is to join User Voice.

Bob has spent a lifetime working with young people. A qualified social worker and Children's Services Manager, Bob was one of the first Youth Offending Team managers in the country before joining the YJB, first as Head of Prevention and latterly as Director of Strategy.

During his time at the YJB, Bob has been responsible for, amongst other things, the huge uplift in funding for prevention schemes and the recent development of resettlement consortia designed to improve services for young people leaving custody.

Bob has worked extensively across Whitehall with other government departments and with a wide group of stakeholders in the justice sector including the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Magistrates Association, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and community and voluntary organisations, including User Voice. Bob has also worked internationally with the Council of Europe and countries as diverse as Canada and Bulgaria to improve their justice systems.

Mark Johnson, Chief Executive of User Voice said:

"Bob will be an extremely valuable member of User Voice. With his experience and commitment to the values and ethos of our work, he will ensure we continue to grow and sustain the opportunities for ex-offenders in the justice system and beyond."

Have you completed a Volunteer Registration Form recently? CLICK HERE

We have recently been having some technical difficulties with our volunteer registration system.

If you have completed a Volunteer Registration Form on our website during the 3 weeks from Monday 20th February to Friday 9th March 2012, and not heard back from us, it is possible that all of your details have not been recorded correctly.

We apologise for any inconvenience, but would be very grateful if you could re-submit the form.

Thank you for your support.

New Prison Council projects at HMP Birmingham and HMYOI Aylesbury

In September, we began working in HMYOI Aylesbury, the first time our model has been delivered for young offenders. We are currently in the process of recruiting the party members before they undertake training in preparation for the elections.

We have also been commisioned by G4S to start up a new Prison Council in HMP Birmingham. As the first prison in the UK to have moved from the public to private sector, it will pose unique challenges. However, our model is flexible and we hope to emulate the success of our Prison Councils at HMPs Isle of Wight, Maidstone, Rye Hill and Wolds.

Watch this space for updates on these two new projects coming soon to our Councils page on the website.

MARK JOHNSON appointed new member of London Probation Trust Board

Mark Johnson has been appointed a member of the London Probation Trust board. The decision was approved by Secretary of State, Kenneth Clarke.

London Probation Trust is the largest Trust and probation services provider in the UK. The Trust supervises over 40,000 service users covering the 32 boroughs in the capital, which accounts for approximately 20 per cent of all supervised offenders in the UK.

"I am delighted to have been appointed and look forward to seeing what I can do for the community"
Mark Johnson, Founder and CEO of User Voice