Wolverhampton Youth Offending Team (YOT) has received an overall rating of ‘Good’ following an inspection by HM Inspectorate of Probation.

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “Wolverhampton YOT is a service driven by committed and dedicated staff. They have proven what can be achieved by a youth offending team, despite the challenges of Covid-19, to continuously deliver high-quality work – that not only benefits the child, but the local community.”

Wolverhampton YOT work with children aged 10 to 17. The majority of children under their supervision are aged 15 to 17 (87%), male (88%) and white (53%). The YOT supervise children with complex needs and some in the care of the local authority (Looked After Children).

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

Mr Russell continued: “The work of Wolverhampton YOS is delivered to a high standard. The youth justice workers go over and above to meaningfully engage with children under their supervision, particularly those with complex needs.”

The partnerships and services at Wolverhampton were rated as ‘Outstanding’, with Inspector’s particularly impressed by the restorative justice unit at the YOT.

Mr Russell explained: “Restorative justice is an essential part of reparation – bringing the child and the victim together to encourage understanding of an offence. The work conducted by the restorative justice unit at Wolverhampton is particularly strong, taking a holistic approach and working with both parties.

“We were pleased to see that this essential work was maintained, alongside many other services, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Victims had access to virtual support and the children were able to complete home-based activities, evidencing the creative and quick response of Wolverhampton YOT to Covid-19 restrictions.”

Inspectors praised the strong health care provisions available at Wolverhampton YOT – noting they have a full-time forensic and clinical psychologist.

However, there was limited provisions for children with special educational needs (SEND) and more work needs to be done to understand the experiences of black, Asian and minority ethnic children within the service.

Mr Russell added: “While the range of health care services available to children under the supervision of Wolverhampton YOT was impressive, more needs to be done to effectively engage and deliver provisions to minority groups within the service.”

“We were disappointed by the lack of provisions for children with special educational needs and, although good work has been done to analyse disproportionality in the YOT, the board must develop services which will support the unique experiences of black, Asian and minority ethnic children.”

The inspectorate made three recommendations to Wolverhampton YOT, including to improve the quality of contingency planning when managing the child’s risk of harm to others.

Mr Russell concluded: “Wolverhampton YOT actively and continuously seeks to better the services they provide. In light of this, we hope they will consider our recommendations, to assist them in continuing to deliver these essential services to the children and families of Wolverhampton.”

ENDS

Notes to editor

1. The report is available at justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation on 08 February 2022 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 October 2021.
5. The recommendations can be found, in full, on page 13 of the inspection report.
6. For media enquiries, please contact Corporate Communications Manager Diane Bramall on 07929 790 564 or email media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)