National conference launching a consistent model for implementing and measuring Restorative Justice in England and Wales
RJ4All 6th Annual International Conference
London, September 2026
The Restorative Justice for All International Institute (RJ4All) will bring together Commissioners, youth justice services teams, the Youth Justice Board, academics, policy makers and researchers at a national conference to launch the programme Restorative Justice – the Evidence, funded by the Youth Endowment Fund aiming to address the evidence gap on restorative justice. The event is part of RJ4All’s Annual conferences and will be held on Tuesday 15 September 2026 in from 9:30 to 17:30 at London Marriott Hotel Regents Park. Bookings are still open and free prorating RJ4All members and those working in the youth justice sector.
The conference will be chaired by Professor Theo Gavrielides, Founder and Director of RJ4All. His keynote “No More Excuses” will highlight the need for getting it right for young people who continued to be let down by the youth justice system. Other keynotes include Ms. Stephanie Roberts-Bibby, Chief Executive of the Youth Justice Board; Mr. Jeremy Miles, Chief Executive of the Youth Endowment Fund; Mr. Tim Jacques, Prevent Commissioner; and Dr Emily Blackshaw, Research Manager at Coram.
For years, the youth justice system in England and Wales has lacked consistent implementation and evidence on whether restorative justice works for children and young people. That gap has taken on new urgency since the Ministry of Justice published its White Paper on Youth Justice Reform and Delivery Plan, setting out a programme of reform for the sector.
The project will measure case work delivered by ten Youth Justice Service (YJS) teams implementing a Shared Practice Model that RJ4All co-designed with justice services. It was published by RJ4All Publications and will be launched and debated at the conference. The Guide is supported by certified training delivered by RJ4All Education and a case management system tailored to allow accurate measurement of high-quality restorative justice practice.
"There are ‘No More Excuses’ for getting it right for young people. This was the title of the White Paper that led to the 1998 law that introduced restorative justice in the youth justice system. 28 years later, there is no consistency in the application of restorative justice while the evidence on what works is lacking. I am grateful for the trust that YEF, the YJB and the youth offending justice services put in us in coordinating this much-needed national pilot. I very much look forward to continuing working with our partners over the years”
RJ4All is working with ten participating Youth Justice Services from across England and Wales to test direct and indirect restorative justice interventions for children and young people aged 10 to 17 who have offended. This work produced a Shared Practice Model (SPM), setting out 10 practical steps covering the full process from referral through to follow-up, and supporting both direct and indirect approaches.
The model is now being piloted across the ten Youth Justice Services, with RJ4All providing structured training and implementation support. Coram’s evaluation will assess its feasibility and potential outcomes, to inform national restorative justice programme and policy design in the youth justice system.
“Whether we are working to prevent young people being drawn into harm or helping them take responsibility when things have gone wrong, the principle is the same: early, well-evidenced intervention changes lives. Restorative justice offers exactly that, a chance to address the root causes of offending and repair relationships before they escalate into a cycle of harm. I welcome RJ4All's work to build a consistent, tested model for restorative justice in the youth justice system.”
Restorative justice has been part of the youth justice system for decades, yet we still have important questions about how it should be delivered and what works best for children and young people. International evidence gives us reason to think restorative justice can help reduce violence and reoffending, but we need to understand how that evidence translates into practice here in the UK. “This pilot gives us a valuable opportunity to build that knowledge. I’d like to thank RJ4All, the ten participating Youth Justice Services and Coram for their work on the project, and everyone who has contributed to developing the Shared Practice Model. We look forward to learning from the pilot and using that evidence to inform future practice.”
"Restorative justice approaches have the potential to make a real difference for children, victims and communities. I’m delighted to be speaking at this conference, which explores Restorative Justice - The Evidence, a pilot which will help us build our understanding of how restorative approaches can be delivered most effectively, ensuring youth justice services have the evidence they need to develop practice and achieve better outcomes."
“We’re excited to work with Youth Justice Services and RJ4ALL to create new evidence on the potential of restorative approaches to improve outcomes for children, people who have been harmed, and communities. This work will help us understand what is feasible in terms of evaluating restorative justice and how future research can build on this to inform practice and policy.”
"There is increasing awareness of the concept of restorative justice for resolving harms caused and making good. There is less attention to the processes of restorative practice, in which RJ4All leads the way, delivering its diversity of approaches, from the provision of a community fridge on the ground to high-level policy advice that transforms the nature of interventions. In between is the research and writing that both guides and critically reflects on such work. I am sure the conference will both broaden and deepen participants’ understanding of the salient issues at play and at stake."
Parallel afternoon workshops will be led by the participating Youth Justice Service teams, covering Leeds, Cambridgeshire, Lambeth and the Isle of Wight in one workshop, and Southwark, Wigan, Buckinghamshire and West Mercia in the other, offering their lived experience, challenges and lessons learned implementing restorative justice for youth and children with offence.
To reserve your place and for more information about the Opening Conference, please visit: https://rj4all.org/opening-conference-rj-the-evidence/
Contact: Prof. Theo Gavrielides | T.Gavrielides@rj4all.org | 0044(0) 7708758600
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Information for editors
Restorative Justice for All International Institute (RJ4All)
RJ4All is a charitable international institute with a mission to address power abuse, conflict, and poverty through the use of restorative justice values and practices. We do this through a combination of restorative justice projects delivered both internationally and locally at the RJ4All Rotherhithe Community Centre in London. We advance community cohesion, equality, human rights, and redistribute power by supporting civil society and delivering social justice and poverty relief projects, educational programmes and high-quality volunteering opportunities for marginalised groups.
For more information: https://rj4all.org/
Youth Endowment Fund (YEF)
The YEF is as an independent charitable trust, established in March 2019 by Impetus. The charity’s mission is to prevent children and young people becoming involved in violence. It does this by finding out what works and building a movement to put this knowledge into practice.
For more information: https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/
Youth Justice Board
The YJB is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Ministry of Justice and is responsible for oversight of the entire youth justice system in England and Wales. Its vision is for a youth justice system that sees children as children, treats them fairly and helps them to build on their strengths so they can make a constructive contribution to society.
For more information: www.gov.uk/yjb
Coram
Coram is the first and longest serving children’s charity in the UK.
Established as the Foundling Hospital in 1739, today we are a vibrant group of specialist charities and organisations, supporting hundreds of thousands of children, young people and families every year. The Coram Institute for Children is the UK’s first ‘think and do’ centre dedicated to advancing the life chances of children and young people, both at home and internationally, and committed to turning insight into impact in both policy and practice.’
For more information: https://www.coram.org.uk/
Professor Theo Gavrielides’s Power, Race, and Justice named winner of the Social Change category in Book of the Year at the 2026 International Book Awards
