An inspection of Kent Youth Justice Service (YJS), by HM Inspectorate of Probation, has laid bare the significant impact of Covid-19 on staff, and children under their supervision.

The Inspectorate gave the YJS an overall rating of ‘Requires Improvement’ but noted that the fieldwork for the inspection reflected a ‘difficult period’ for practitioners.

The Inspectorate uses a four-point scale: ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires improvement’ and ‘Inadequate’. The Inspectorate rates specific aspects of each service and also gives an overall rating.

Kent YJS works with children aged 10 to 17 who are serving court sentences (court disposals) or who have received cautions or community resolutions (out-of-court disposals). The majority of children under their supervision are aged 15 to 17 (81 per cent), male (80 per cent) and white (86 per cent).

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “This has been a difficult period for practitioners at Kent Youth Justice Service. The pressures of their workload, caused by Covid-19, have been considerable – particularly the impact of the Kent variant of the virus.

“We found inconsistencies in the level of management oversight and in the support offered to new staff.  Improvements were also required  in the quality of assessments, to identify the  risk of harm posed by children under their supervision. However, they have strong leadership and where we have made recommendations to strengthen the service, we  have every confidence these will be implemented quickly and effectively.”

Inspectors praised Kent YJS for its work during the Covid-19 pandemic and noted that it had continued to provide children with consistent access to essential services, such as in-person group sessions and educational and health support. However, where the service may have excelled in supporting desistance, in too many cases its planning to keep children and other people safe did not meeting the standards expected.

Mr Russell continued: “There is a lot for Kent YJS to be proud of – it demonstrates outstanding commitment to integrated services, partnerships and to ensuring children under its supervision have access to appropriate facilities. The inconsistences should be relatively straightforward to solve.

The inspection noted the success of (youth) justice participation apprentices, who speak to children supervised by the YJS – the aim is to channel the voice of children into strategic and operation decisions. This was seen to boost the already solid work of the service in including children, and their families, in a positive and supportive way.

Mr Russell concluded: “The accomplishment of the service in their work with children and understanding their needs, is countered with discrepancies in the quality of assessment and planning, and the priority given to protecting victims. A successful balance is required to move the service into an overall rating of ‘Good’. Service leaders demonstrated their determination to progress, so this should result in the improvements required.”

The Inspectorate made six recommendations to Kent YJS, including that they give sufficient focus to protecting victims, a more consistent approach to case management, and work with partners to ensure decisions around out-of-court disposals are proportionate.

ENDS

Notes to editor

1. The report is available at justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation on 05 October 2021 00.01.
2. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth offending and probation services across England and Wales.
3. The Inspectorate uses a four-point scale: ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires improvement’ and ‘Inadequate’. The Inspectorate rates specific aspects of each service and also gives an overall rating.
4. Fieldwork for this inspection took place in June 2021.
5. The recommendations made following this inspection are detailed on page 11 of the inspection report.
6. For media enquiries, please contact Corporate Communications Manager Diane Bramall on 07929 790 564 or media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)