On National Children’s Day 2021 (16 May) my thoughts turn to the many children who are emerging from a long and difficult year at the hands of Covid-19. Whether it be domestic, educational or social disruption, the long-term effects will no doubt be profound but hopefully not irreversible. This impact is no doubt felt particularly keenly by children known to youth offending services – who we know from our inspections have struggled to access  education and suffered from their lack of face-to-face contact with support services – and so have faced an even more challenging time.

That is why it was more important than ever that we, as the independent Inspectorate, continue – as much as possible – with business as usual. Through remote-working and the cooperation of youth offending services we have managed to resume our core inspections this month (May 2021) to  add to the work we did last year on the impact of Covid-19 on these services. We have done so with empathy for the youth justice practitioners adapting to life under the shadow of Covid-19, but with no less scrutiny to drive improvements and identify best practice.

This year – following a consultation –  we have updated our inspection standards framework to include two new important elements: the quality of work to help children resettle in the community after custody and the quality of policy and practice in relation to out-of-court disposals (children who have received cautions or community resolutions).

It remains the case that the support offered to the relatively small number of children leaving custody each year (563, under 18, in July 2020) continues to be  poor and has not improved in the six years since the Inspectorate last inspected on this issue – particularly  for those in local authority care.

In addition and at the other end of the spectrum, we have noted that although cases dealt with out of court have become an increasing proportion of the youth offending service (YOS) caseload, our inspections, show that the quality of work with these cases continues to be lower than for cases receiving a court order.

We want to see improvements and great consistency in the quality of work both with children leaving custody or and with those who are being dealt with outside the court system. This will lead to better outcomes for the children themselves and for their parents/carers, for victims and communities. Where possible, we will always share best practice, via our published Effective Practice guides, and work with services to drive improvements.

I conclude by encouraging everyone this National Children’s Day to consider the vital role youth offending teams play in our society. The past year, more than ever before, has been challenging for all concerned with youth justice – I commend their efforts to adapt to changing circumstances and their efforts to deliver the best possible support for children in their care and the wider communities they serve.