Bedfordshire Youth Offending Service (YOS) has received an overall rating of ‘Requires improvement’ following an inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation.

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “Our inspection came at a time when the Bedfordshire area was still recovering from the impact of the Delta variant of Covid-19 – this significantly affected the youth offending service and what they could offer children under their supervision. They have made progress, but there is some way to go, resulting in an overall rating of ‘Requires improvement’.”

Bedfordshire YOS work with children aged 10 to 17. The majority of children under their supervision are aged 15 to 17 (88%), male (84%) and white (65%). The YOS supervise children with complex needs and some in the care of the local authority (Looked After Children). Black, Asian and minority ethnic children were significantly overrepresented in the YOS caseload compared to the local population.

The inspection looked at standards of organisational delivery (leadership, staffing, services and facilities), their management of children serving court sentences (court disposals) and children serving cautions or community reparation (out-of-court disposals). We also inspected the quality of resettlement policy and provision for children leaving custody, which was separately rated as ‘Good’.

Inspectors found the leadership and management of the YOS could do more to drive up the quality of service delivery. The inspection identified better communication across the organisation as essential in improving the quality of practice.

Mr Russell continued: “It is evident that Bedfordshire are trying to do the right thing by the children at the YOS, but there is some way to go for this work to be considered high quality. Staff are motivated and committed, and partnerships with other agencies are effective – leaders and managers need to build on this positive work and adapt it across the service.”

The inspection highlighted concerns around assessments for both court and out-of-court disposals – specifically rating this area of the YOS’s work as ‘Inadequate’.

Mr Russell explains what this means in practice: “Assessment of children when they first arrive at the service is a significant weakness for Bedfordshire YOS, and this impacts the next stages of their work, like planning. As such, there are gaps where there shouldn’t be – in work to protect the safety and wellbeing of the children themselves and to manage the risks they may present to others. We have made recommendations to address this.”

However, the inspection did find that children have access to innovative programmes and child-friendly premises. The service also has good working relationships with both local authorities in the area as well as with the wider YOS partnership, which includes local police. This has been effective in reducing the number of children entering the criminal justice system.

Mr Russell concluded: “Gaps in the quality of services Bedfordshire YOS provides are evident, but this is an organisation determined to progress and we understand the arrival of Covid-19 came at a time when the service was attempting to make positive changes. They are not alone in this challenge, but we hope the recommendations we have made will provide a blueprint for how Bedfordshire YOS can continue to improve.”

This inspection made nine recommendations, including to develop individual and collective board members’ understanding of the quality of assessment, planning and implementation, and delivery of services in court and out-of-court disposal cases. Also, the YOS needs to ensure that provision is in place to identify and address the speech, language and communication needs of children.

ENDS

Notes to editor

1. The report is available at justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation on 09 December 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 September 2021.
5. For media enquiries, please contact Corporate Communications Manager Diane Bramall 07929 790 564 or media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)