The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) has funded Restorative Justice for All (RJ4All) to lead a pilot randomised controlled trial of restorative justice for children and young people in the youth justice system in England and Wales. 

Restorative justice is a voluntary, facilitated process that brings together those affected by crime and those responsible for it into communication, to try and repair harm and find a positive way forward. It can take place indirectly, for example, through the exchange of letters or emails, or involve direct engagement, such as meeting victims, their families or the wider community. 

These processes may help children understand the harm caused by their actions, develop empathy and prevent any shame felt by the person becoming part of their self-identity. 

The YEF’s Violence Prevention Toolkit suggests that, on average, restorative justice may reduce violence by 34% and reoffending by 15%. However, confidence in this evidence is low, particularly for violence, due to limitations in the quality of existing studies and a lack of UK-based evidence. There is also significant variation in how restorative justice programmes are delivered. 

To build the evidence base, the YEF-funded trial will pilot a ‘Shared Practice Model’, expecting to be across ten Youth Justice Services (including Cambridgeshire, Cardiff, Buckinghamshire, the Isle of Wight, Lambeth, Leeds, Northamptonshire, West Mercia and Southwark). 

The model sets out ten practical steps for delivering restorative justice with children aged 10 to 17, from referral and risk assessment through to the restorative process, outcome monitoring and follow-up. It establishes a consistent approach while allowing services to respond to local needs. 

RJ4All will lead delivery of the programme with support from the Youth Justice Board, while Coram will independently evaluate it, testing both how it is implemented and its impact on reoffending. 

If successful, the pilot could pave the way for a larger-scale efficacy trial, providing more robust UK evidence on whether restorative justice can reduce reoffending among children and young people. 

Jake Grout-Smith, Assistant Director of Impact, Programmes and Partnerships at Youth Endowment Fund, said: “Our Violence Prevention Toolkit suggests restorative justice can have a high impact — reducing violence by 34% and reoffending by 15% on average. But most of the evidence comes from the US, and we need to better understand how it works here in the UK. This evaluation will generate important insights into delivering restorative justice more consistently and, if successful, will lay the foundations for a full-scale efficacy trial.” 

Professor Theo Gavrielides, Founder and Director of RJ4All, said: “For too long, restorative justice in the youth justice system has operated without the kind of rigorous evidence base it deserves. This pilot is an opportunity to change that. By developing a shared practice model with practitioners on the ground and testing it properly, we can begin to build the evidence that policymakers, victims, and young people themselves need. We are grateful to the Youth Endowment Fund and the Youth Justice Board for entrusting RJ4All and all participating Youth Justice Services with this important work.”

Kate Langley, Operations Director at the YJB, said: “Restorative approaches play a powerful role in reducing reoffending when delivered well. This pilot will help strengthen the evidence on what works to deliver high-quality restorative justice across the youth justice system. The Youth Justice Board’s role is to support local services to improve practice, and this work will provide valuable insight into how restorative approaches can be delivered consistently and effectively for children, victims and communities.”

Emily Blackshaw, Principal Investigator, The Coram Institute for Children shared: “We are delighted to be conducting this pilot randomised controlled trial for the Youth Endowment Fund, alongside RJ4All. Despite growing interest in restorative justice approaches, there remains limited evidence on how and for whom these interventions work, particularly for children who have offended. This pilot will generate much-needed evidence to inform policy and practice, strengthening the evidence base on what works in youth justice, and ensuring that children receive timely and appropriate support.”