In British law, what is a 'referral order'?

A referral order is a form of probation. It is a sentence available for first-time offenders aged between 10 and 17 and includes some form of community payback and work to address offending behaviour - much the same as a community order for an adult. It is only available where the offender pleaded guilty. The panel that decides the contract of what the order involves includes the victim of the crime, who can ask for certain things to be included in it, such as apologising for what they did, or repairing any damage they did if that's possible. So it's a form of restorative justice where the victim can actually get involved.

If the offender does not co-operate with the contract, they will go back to court and be re-sentenced to another punishment.

It is the full sentence and certainly does not go along with anything custodial, so the details in the question make no sense. A look at the actual story http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/cruel-teens-t... shows that they were banned from keeping animals for 5 years and given referral orders for 12 months (which is the maximum length of a referral order). Goodness knows where you got "juvenile detention" from - we don't use the word "juvenile" in the UK anyway.

Its an order available for young offenders who plead guilty to an

offence whereby the young offender is referred to a panel of two trained

community volunteers and a member of the local youth offending team.

It can be for a minimum of three months and a maximum of twelve months. The youth offender

panel is headed by two volunteers from the local community and a member of the

youth offending team.

The offenders can be obliged to provide reparation or restitution to the

victim, for example, repairing any damage caused or making financial

recompense, as well as undertaking a programme of interventions and activities

to address their offending behaviour.

I'm not sure what this would entail in your case but the fact that restitution is often involved probably means you're going to be asked about it.

A referral order is an order available for young offenders who plead guilty to an offence whereby the young offender is referred to a panel of two trained community volunteers and a member of the youth offending team. It can be for a minimum of three months and a maximum of twelve months.

Referrals can be almost any relevant agent - in this case i`m guessing they would have to undergo a mental health assessment.