Agenda item

Youth Justice Service Inspection

A report providing information on the Youth Justice Service HMIP inspection report and consideration of the associated Improvement Plan.

Minutes:

The Committee received a report on the Youth Justice Service inspection undertaken by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) between 9 and 13 September 2024. The inspection had focused on four domains; 1 - Governance and Leadership, 2 - Post Court Work, 3 - Pre-Court Work and 4 - Resettlement.

 

The report explained that HMIP had published their inspection report on 3 December 2024. Overall, the service was rated as Inadequate, with four sub ratings provided for domains 1 – 3. Domain 4 was not rated as there were no resettlement cases to inspect. 

 

The report made the following eight recommendations:

 

  • The Reading Youth Justice Service manager should:

 

  • ensure that quality assurance arrangements, oversight of practice, and supervision arrangements consistently supported staff and volunteer development.
  • ensure that assessing activity always considered how best to achieve safety for the child and the community.
  • ensure that planning activity was comprehensive and that it aligned effectively with activity undertaken by other services, including the consideration of appropriate contingency arrangements.
  • ensure that staff consistently liaised with all relevant services when delivering interventions.
  • ensure that commensurate focus was given to the needs of victims.

 

  • The Reading Youth Justice Management Board should:

 

  • ensure that the YJS was both sufficiently resourced and structured to facilitate the delivery of high-quality interventions for children and the victims of crime
  • assure itself that the disproportionality action plan was being used effectively across the partnership to enhance equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging (EDIB)
  • work together to ensure that children had access to, and could engage with, high-quality, aspirational education, training and employment opportunities.

 

The report explained that a detailed and robust improvement plan had been created and endorsed by the Reading Youth Justice Management Board and submitted to HMIP by 20 December 2024. The plan set out in detail how the service and partnership would meet the recommendations and address the findings. Following the inspection, the service had undertaken a full review of all open cases to provide assurance that case work met a minimum level of safety for both children and victims.

 

The Committee discussed the report and it was noted that all staff posts had been filled and offered.  The HMIP had not given an indication of when the next inspection would take place however, the service would be given time to improve before the next inspection.

 

The officers were thanked for their hard work and report.  The Committee requested that an update on the improvement plan be provided in six months.

 

Resolved –   That the contents of the Youth Justice Service HMIP inspection report be noted and the Youth Justice Service Improvement Plan be endorsed.

Supporting documents: