Children and Young People's Centre for Justice

The 2026 edition of our guide, Children and young people in conflict with the law: policy, practice and legislation, has been launched this week at the National Youth Justice Conference.

This year we’ve brought you two brand new sections covering Brain Development and Neurodiversity, and Children in conflict with the law and Data.

We’ve also updated the cover art for every section this year. Thank you to the children and young people with justice experience whose artwork is featured on the new cover pages.

Check them out at our website here: https://buff.ly/cjOGq4K

Lunchtime read from CYCJ's Participation, Engagement and Policy Advisor Julia Swann 💻

Julia has written a fantastic blog about her recent trip to Tromsø for the Arctic Youth Research Conference. In it, she shares her highlights from the conference and the common thread from conversations with colleagues from around the globe - that young people from all contexts are claiming power in times of injustice.

Read the full piece here: 👇

https://www.cycj.org.uk/from-the-arctic-circle-to-the-centre-of-glasgow-how-young-people-are-claiming-power-in-the-face-of-injustice/

On Day 2 of , we will be hearing from three excellent speakers following Professor Clare Allely’s presentation.

Dr Tracy Kirk, Lecturer at the University of Stirling will share her expertise from her role as a lecturer in Child and Family Law.

James Hamilton will bring his expertise from his work as a Principal Speech and Language Therapist at Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

And Katy Nisbet, Head of Legal Policy at Clan Childlaw will also contribute expertise from their delivery of child centred legal services.

Day 1 afternoon speakers are as follows 🎉

This expert panel will feature ACC Mark Sutherland, whose experience from 25 years of policing will inform the discussions following Andrew Nichols-Clarke’s presentation.

Claire Borden, Interim Service Manager for Children and Justice Services at South Lanarkshire Council will contribute her experiences from social work practice to this discussion.

The panel will also be joined by Geoff Tordzo-Taylor from the RMA. His knowledge from leading on research and development will be a fantastic contribution to this discussion.

Introducing our speakers who will form expert panels during the plenary sessions at !

On Day 1, we’re looking forward to hearing from Laura Price, Deputy CEO and Head of Training and Programmes at Power the Fight. She will be giving a short input before the morning panel session.

Joining Laura will be Lucien Staddon Foster, race equality researcher and anti-racism campaigner, who is currently working with the Coalition for Race Equality and Rights, as Research and Policy Officer.

We will also be hearing from Dr Kayleigh Charlton on the morning panel. Kayleigh is a Research Associate with CYCJ, and is currently researching how intersecting inequalities affect children’s experiences of (in)justice.

We’re very much looking forward to hearing their presentations

Introducing the marketing stall holders!

If you are attending the National Youth Justice Conference next week, be sure to visit the marketing stall holders during the conference breaks. They will be showcasing their work and how their services support children and young people in conflict with the law. The CYCJ team will also have a stall to share more information about our services.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

Day 2 of will also feature a performance from GIVIT some STREET, an early intervention programme which offers trusting relationships, one to one support, group work, diversionary work and creative practice to those beginning to take risks around alcohol or substances, or who are affected by a loved one’s substance use.

We’re very much looking forward to this part of the programme!

Introducing your conference chairs for this year’s !

Joanna Macdonald, Chief Executive of the National Social Work Agency and National Chief Social Work Adviser will be chairing Day 1, and on Day 2, we will be joined by Juliet Harris, Director of Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights).

Together, they have a wealth of experience to draw on for bringing out key points of reflection from across the conference activity. We’re going to be in safe hands with the wonderful Joanna and Juliet at the helm!

Looking forward to seeing you all there.

Meet your keynote speakers! With almost a week until the National Youth Justice Conference we’re excited to reveal this year’s keynote speakers. 📣

We are delighted to be hearing from Luke Billingham on Day 1. Luke brings a wealth of experience with him from his role as a youth worker at Hackney Quest, an independent charity based in North East London, and as an academic researcher at the Open University. We’re very excited that he can join us for this year’s conference!

Our Day 1 afternoon keynote speaker will be Andrew Nichols-Clarke, Head of Health & Justice Children Programme, NHS England. We are very much looking forward to his presentation on the Framework for integrated care, complexity, collaboration and compassion. We're sure that his presentation will be much anticipated by our delegates!

Day 2 of will be kicking off with a presentation from Professor Clare Allely. We’re honoured that Clare is joining us to deliver a keynote to delegates, bringing her expertise from her role as Professor of Forensic Psychology at the University of Salford. We’re looking forward to listening to what is guaranteed to be a fascinating presentation.

Day 2’s afternoon keynote presentation will be delivered by Professor Nancy Loucks OBE. Nancy will bring her expertise from her role as Chief Executive of Families Outside, a Scottish charity that works on behalf of families affected by imprisonment. It will be brilliant to hear from Nancy whose wealth of experience will bring another perspective to the conference theme.

We look forward to seeing all our delegates, workshop hosts and speakers next week 🎉

We're delighted that Siobhian Brown MSP, Minister for Children, Young People and the Promise will be joining us on Day 1 of ! We’re looking forward to hearing her vision for this coming parliamentary term and beyond for her new portfolio.

Keep an eye on our socials as we announce more of what's to come at this year's National Youth Justice Conference! 📣