Reading Youth Justice and Prevention Service (YJS) has received an overall rating of ‘Inadequate’ following an inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation. This is only the second ‘Inadequate’ rating given to a Youth Justice Service since July 2020.

Chief Inspector of Probation Martin Jones said: “Sadly, too little attention has been given to youth justice work in Reading since our last inspection. We identified numerous shortcomings in service delivery – the needs of this vulnerable and complex cohort of children have been neglected and overlooked by the partnership.”

Inspectors were concerned the management board had previously been unsuccessful in tackling and understanding the structural barriers youth justice children face. Sufficient attention needs to be given to addressing these – for example, the many instances of children being unable to access suitable education provision – to promote desistance and support children in leading crime-free lives.

The inspection found planning and assessment to keep the children and others safe was inconsistent, and inaccurate assessments of the child’s potential risk of harm to others resulted in activity that did not adequately support or promote safety in the community.

Work to support victims was also highlighted as an area to be strengthened operationally, with the service needing to better prioritise the needs, wishes and safety of victims, as well as review the service offered to them.

Mr Jones continued, “Some green shoots of hope are developing at Reading YJS, with a recently appointed, experienced service manager, who is already making some positive changes. If the recommendations made in this report are accepted and addressed swiftly, I have no doubt the service will develop positively.”

This report makes eight recommendations – five for the Service Manager at Reading YJS, including to ensure that staff consistently liaise with all relevant services when delivering interventions, and three for the Reading YJS management board, including to ensure that the disproportionality action plan is being used effectively across the partnership to enhance equity, diversity, and inclusion arrangements.

ENDS

Notes to editor

1. The last rating of ‘Inadequate’ was given in November 2024 to Ceredigion YJPS.
2. HM Inspectorate of Probation’s 2023 Annual Report of Youth Justice Services found that 75 per cent of YJS inspections result in a rating of ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’.
3. This service works with children aged 10 to 17. The YJPS supervise children with complex needs and some in the care of the local authority.
4. The Inspectorate uses a four-point scale: ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires improvement’ and ‘Inadequate’, rating specific aspects of each service and giving an overall rating.
5. 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).
6. The report is available on the HM Inspectorate of Probation website on 03 December 2024 at 00.01.
7. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth justice and probation services across England and Wales.
8. Fieldwork for this inspection took place in September 2024.
9. For media enquiries, please contact Head of Communications media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)