Cambridgeshire Youth Justice Service (YJS) has received an overall rating of ‘Good’ following an inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation.

Interim Chief Inspector of Probation Sue McAllister said: “Overall, Cambridgeshire Youth Justice Service is performing well, and it is highly regarded by its partners. We found children benefit from a wide range of services including access to a psychologist. We are confident the service is committed to using our recommendations to assist it in achieving its high ambitions for youth justice delivery in Cambridgeshire.”

Our inspection found a highly motivated team of staff who were skilled and knowledgeable, and a service committed to learning and development  However, the out-of-court disposal scheme (where children receive support without having to go to court) needs review to ensure it is meeting its intended aims, and the quality of assessment and planning activities needs improvement to provide a clear understanding of the risk of harm to others and safety needs of children.

We identified that the service needs to improve how the diverse needs of all children are met and the management board needs to assure itself on the quality of assessment and planning activity being undertaken. However, we also found many positive examples of service delivery, with practitioners engaging well with children, supporting them to participate in education, and work to strengthen family relationships. An impressive aspect of work was the promotion of community integration, where there was a clear focus on providing a network of support for the child at the end of their involvement with the YJS.

We also inspected the quality of resettlement work – the key services which need to be in place when a child is released from custody, for example to meet accommodation needs – which was separately rated as ‘Good’.

This inspection made four recommendations which we believe will have a positive impact on youth justice services in Cambridgeshire.

ENDS

Notes to editor

1. This service works with children aged 10 to 17. The YJS 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 rated work on resettlement separately as ‘Good’
4. The report is available on the HM Inspectorate of Probation website on 31 October 2023 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 August 2023.
7. For media enquiries, please contact Head of Communications Diane Bramall media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)