Knowledge and skills partnerships between academics and practitioners can be a useful mechanism to apply criminological theory or research evidence into practice. Partnerships of this nature between stakeholders can provide fertile ground to collaborate on initiatives, ‘test out’ new and mutually beneficial areas of interest, co-design resources or bespoke guiding frameworks and/or open-up research opportunities for scholars and practice-focused academics alike. The Knowledge and Skills Partnership (KSP) between Edge Hill University, University of Chester and Cheshire Youth Justice Services is a case in point. Through consultancy, evaluation work and training or coaching activities, empirical evidence and criminological theories can be applied in practice and used to inform or influence policy developments across and within multi-agency child and youth justice services. This has been achieved through co-founding a Research Group to operationalise a commitment to research informed practice, and in so doing, identifying and promoting progressive and principled ways of working. Here, members of the group (practitioners, volunteers and academics) share insights into the use of theory and contribute to discussions around the development and efficacy of approaches to practice. As part of the KSP, practitioners and researchers have co-designed a relationship-based practice framework and identified key principles necessary to help create and sustain meaningful partnerships between children and professionals. Alongside incorporating key features of this framework into their work with children in or on the cusp of the justice system, practitioners within the research group have consulted with academics and are in the early stages of developing a bespoke model of children’s participation. This has led to in-house and external presentations around participatory rights-based practices. The KSP has also facilitated opportunities for academics to support practitioners and young people during the Covid-19 pandemic. This research has led to changes in orthodox ways of working, for example recognising the value of relationship-based practice and the social prescribing of more creative/participatory interventions. As the chapter reveals, despite local, regional and national lockdowns, professionals continued to offer diverse and creative interventions. Conversations with youth justice practitioners have been integrated within the chapter to illustrate the enablers, barriers, challenges and opportunities for the development of KSPs in youth justice.