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

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “Overall, we found ‘Good’ work at Thurrock YOS. It was clear to see that the children are at the heart of their work and a
solution-focussed culture is embedded at all levels of the organisation. The post-court work at Thurrock YOS was consistently effective, with children being able to access the support they need to break the cycle of offending. However, the service should now work to strengthen their approach to supporting the wellbeing of the children they work with, which will consequently ensure the safety of the child, victims and local community.”

The governance and leadership of Thurrock YOS was a significant strength, with Inspectors rating this as ‘Outstanding’. The board comprises of colleagues from across the criminal justice sector and the local council, who have successfully embedded a ‘child-first, offender second’ approach to all aspects of the service. The partnership invests in evidence-based services (including research, data and audits) to ensure that children under their care, especially those most vulnerable, are provided with effective support.

This inspection found that improvements were required to the service’s work with children receiving cautions or community resolutions (out-of-court disposals), specifically in their planning to promote the safety of the children. It was noted that the YOS did not take sufficient account of diversity to ensure the child’s needs were being fully met. Going forward, children and their parent/carers should be better engaged with this area of work, to strengthen the provisions provided by the service.

There were eight recommendations stemming from this report – four of which were aimed at the Youth Crime Partnership Board – relating to improving their out-of-court disposal work and reviewing protected characteristics to strengthen the services provisions. Inspectors also called on Thurrock YOS to promote children’s safety in their services and provide a child-friendly environment for children to meet with case managers.

ENDS

 Notes to editor 

1. Thurrock YOS work with children aged 10 to 17. The majority of children under their supervision are aged 15 to 17 (77%), male (87%) and white (62%). The YOS supervise children with complex needs and some in the care of the local authority.
2. The Inspectorate uses a four-point scale: ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires improvement’ and ‘Inadequate’, rating specific aspects of each service and giving an overall rating.
3. 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, which was separately rated as ‘Outstanding’.
4. The report is available on the HM Inspectorate of Probation website on 23 August 2022, 00.01.
5. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth offending and probation services across England and Wales.
6. Fieldwork for this inspection took place in May 2022.
7. For media enquiries, please contact media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)