A Nottingham organisation that works with troubled children and young people requires improvement, according to inspectors.

HM Inspectorate of Probation led an inspection of Nottingham City Youth Justice Service (YJS) in November and December. Inspectors – who were joined by colleagues from the police, health, and social care inspectorates – looked at 12 aspects of the service’s work. The Inspectorate has given Nottingham YJS a ‘Requires improvement’ rating.

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “Nottingham City YJS has a number of strengths. Staff are motivated and engage well with children and young people to help them move away from offending.

“We also found an impressive range of partnerships to manage the risk that children and young people can pose to others, as well as their own safety and wellbeing needs.

“However, there are two main areas for improvement: leadership and governance, and the service’s work with children and young people outside the formal court system.”

Inspectors found the Management Board had excellent data about the children and young people known to the service.

Mr Russell said: “Despite this information being available, board members were not aware that a disproportionate number of children known to the service are of a very young age. This was disappointing – data should be used to identify patterns and inform discussions.

“We recommend the Board looks at this issue closely to ensure children are not entering the criminal justice system unnecessarily.”

Nottingham has a relatively high number of children entering the criminal justice system for the first time. In Nottingham the rate is 535 per 100,000 children, compared to the average for England and Wales of 222 per 100,000.

Nottingham YJS works with 10 to 17-year-olds who have offended or are at risk of offending. Some had been sentenced by a court, while others are being dealt with outside the formal court system.

At the time of the inspection, the arrangements for out-of-court work were not always clear.

Mr Russell said: “There should be a clear framework in place that sets out whether a young person should receive a youth conditional caution, a youth caution or a community resolution.

“It was not always clear how these decisions are made in Nottingham. In some of the inspected cases, the police made decisions without consulting the youth justice service – this goes against national guidance.”

Inspectors have also questioned if it is effective to deliver mandatory activities to all children and young people known to the service. For example, everybody has to complete a knife crime course, regardless of whether or not they have been involved in this type of crime. Inspectors have urged the service to consider a more tailored approach that meets the needs of individuals.

The Inspectorate has made six recommendations with the aim of improving the quality of youth offending services across the city.

ENDS

Notes to editor

1. The report is available at justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation on 19 March 2020 00.01.
2. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth offending and probation services across England and Wales. For this inspection we were joined by colleagues from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, Ofsted, and the Care Quality Commission.
3. Fieldwork for this inspection started in November 2019.
4. Paragraph nine refers to the first time that 10 to 17-year-olds receive a youth caution or court conviction recorded on the police national computer. Source: Youth Justice Board, April-March 2019.
5. For media enquiries, please contact Head of Communications Catherine Chan on 07889 405930 or media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)