Creative Conversations with CYCJ is a place for debating, discussing and questioning justice for children and young people. CYCJ is a boundary spanning organisation that uses it's unique position to advocate for a rights-respecting approach to youth justice both in Scotland, and further afield.
CYCJ produce robust internationally ground-breaking work; bringing together research evidence, children and young people's contributions and system know-how we operate as a thought leader within the fields of youth justice and children's rights. Find out more at: www.cycj.org.uk
Communications and Engagement Advisor Katya Allcott-Amjad interviews Practice Development Advisors Carole Murphy, Pamela Morrison, and Joanne Lee about CYCJ's workforce development opportunities and their impact on youth justice practitioners.
28 Apr 2026
Episode 20: Craig Houston
In this episode, Communications and Engagement Advisor, Katya Allcott-Amjad was joined by Craig Houston, CYCJ Research Intern and Dr Kayleigh Charlton, CYCJ Research Associate to discuss the Craig's research into antisocial behaviour and school exclusion.
Craig Houston is a PhD candidate at the University of Glasgow, where he is currently exploring the meaning of, and how, places impact feelings of social connectivity for care-experienced children and young people in Scotland. He joined CYCJ in January 2026 for a 3-month internship, organised through the Scottish Graduate School of Social Sciences.
Dr Kayleigh Charlton is a Research Associate at CYCJ. She joined CYCJ on the Nuffield-funded project 'Challenging Justice Inequalities: Co-producing Change with Children in Conflict with the Law'. The project will run from 2024-2026 and aims to explore how intersecting inequalities affect children's experiences of (in)justice. Kayleigh completed her PhD at the University of Bath titled 'The Imaginary Queer Prison: The Possibilities and Limitations of Queering the Prison'. This was an interdisciplinary thesis that explored conceptualisations of queer spaces, uses and meanings of 'queer', LGBTQ+ pains of imprisonment and the use of speculative fiction to (re)imagine responses to the social and economic inequalities faced by LGBTQ+ communities.
To read a blog from Craig where he reflects on the experiences of his internship, click here.
4 Dec 2025TRANSCRIPT
Episode 19: Professor Carlene Firmin
In this episode, Communications and Engagement Advisor, Katya Allcott-Amjad was joined by Professor Carlene Firmin and CYCJ Director Professor Fiona Dyer.
On the day we recorded this episode, our guest Professor Carlene Firmin gave the 23rd Kilbrandon lecture, which CYCJ plays a key role in organising, along with our colleagues at CELCIS and the department of Social Work and Social Policy here at the University of Strathclyde.
Professor Firmin is Professor of Social Work and Director of the Global Centre for Contextual Safeguarding at Durham University. She is also Co-Editor in Chief of the British Journal of Social Work, co-convener of a special interest group on Social Work and Adolescents for the European Social Work Research Association, a Global Ashoka Fellow, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the Churchill Fellowship Advisory Council. Carlene is also a member of CYCJ's Associates scheme.
Professor Fiona Dyer is Director at the Children and Young People's Centre for Justice. As Director, Fiona leads CYCJ towards its ambition of ensuring that Scotland's approach to children and young people in conflict with the law is rights-respecting, contributing to better outcomes for children, young people and communities.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Kilbrandon Lectures - https://www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/socialworksocialpolicy/thekilbrandonlectures/
Global Centre for Contextual Safeguarding - https://www.contextualsafeguarding.org.uk/
Criminal Exploitation of Children Framework for Practice - https://www.cycj.org.uk/resource/criminal-exploitation-of-children-cec-framework-for-practice/
Inside a recent episode
Episode 21: Workforce development
Published 2 Sept 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] And I think the field changes so quickly in terms of policy and legislation, but also the evidence base as to what's effective and what helps children and their families. So it's really a case of trying to keep that as up to date as possible and then linking that research directly to practice. […]
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