Cardiff Youth Offending Service (YOS) has received the lowest possible performance rating and must improve every aspect of its work, according to inspectors.

HM Inspectorate of Probation conducted a routine visit of the YOS with colleagues from health, police, education and social care inspectorates. Inspectors looked at 12 aspects of the service’s work and – for the first time – rated every aspect ‘Inadequate’.

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “These findings are very disappointing. We had serious concerns about the organisation’s senior leadership and structure, and the quality of its work with children who have offended or who are at risk of offending.

“At a strategic level, the Management Board did not have a clear vision or drive improvements in the YOS. Board members were unsure of their roles and responsibilities, and had a limited understanding of the challenges faced by children supervised by the YOS.

“At an operational level, we found widespread poor practice. More work should have been done to ensure the safety of children and protect the public.

“Many of the children known to Cardiff YOS have complex needs and come from difficult backgrounds. The YOS is not providing sufficient high-quality services that address children’s needs and support them to pursue crime-free lives.”

Cardiff YOS is based in the local authority’s Children’s Services Directorate and operates as a partnership with local agencies. However, inspectors found gaps in provision, which included having no health professional for 18 months and no education worker for nine months. This hindered the YOS’s ability to secure statutory services for children.

Inspectors found YOS staff are committed to working with children and their parents or carers, but face challenging conditions. Inductions are poor, policies and procedures are outdated, and there are training gaps.

Cases were allocated to staff in an unstructured way that did not take into account their skills, experience or current workload. Middle managers were so stretched that they could not supervise or prioritise work effectively.

Inspectors were so concerned that they raised an organisational alert after finding problems with safeguarding and public protection practice in three specific cases. Inspectors asked senior leaders to draw up an urgent action plan to address the shortcomings, which they did.

In other inspected cases, inspectors found the level of risk facing some children was underestimated. The national mechanism to protect children being groomed by adults in ‘county lines’ drug operations was not used sufficiently – leaving some children at risk of exploitation or potentially posing a risk to others.

Since the inspection, senior managers have brought in a new and experienced independent Chair to lead the Management Board and an additional service manager.

Mr Russell said: “The findings from this inspection are very disappointing. However, the actions taken since the inspection by senior managers in Cardiff encourage us to believe that they will act on our recommendations to improve the service, but there is a great deal of work to do. We, and our partner inspectorates, will closely monitor their progress to ensure they implement the recommendations in this report”.

ENDS

Notes to editor

1. The report is available at justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation on 02 July 2020 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. The Inspectorate introduced this rating system in 2018 and has published 39 inspections of youth offending services using these ratings. This is the first time that a service has received ‘Inadequate’ ratings for every aspect of its work.
5. Fieldwork for this inspection took place in January and February 2020.
6. For media enquiries, please contact Head of Communications Catherine Chan on 07889 405930 or media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)

 

Gwasanaeth Troseddau Ieuenctid Caerdydd – ‘Annigonol’ ac angen gwella pob agwedd

Mae Gwasanaeth Troseddau Ieuenctid Caerdydd (YOS) wedi derbyn y sgôr perfformiad isaf posibl a rhaid iddo wella bob agwedd ar ei waith, yn ôl arolygwyr.

Cynhaliodd Arolygiaeth Prawf EM ymweliad arferol â’r YOS gyda chydweithwyr o arolygiaethau iechyd, heddlu, addysg a gofal cymdeithasol. Edrychodd arolygwyr ar 12 agwedd ar waith y gwasanaeth a – am y tro cyntaf – graddio pob agwedd yn ‘Annigonol’.

Dywedodd y Prif Arolygydd Prawf Just Russell: “Mae’r canfyddiadau hyn yn siomedig iawn. Roedd gennym bryderon difrifol am uwch arweinyddiaeth a strwythur y sefydliad, ac ansawdd ei waith gyda phlant sydd wedi troseddu neu sydd mewn perygl o droseddu.

“Ar lefel strategol, nid oedd gan y Bwrdd Rheoli weledigaeth glir nac yn ysgogi gwelliannau yn y YOS. Roedd aelodau’r bwrdd yn ansicr o’u rolau a’u cyfrifoldebau, ac roedd ganddynt ddealltwriaeth gyfyngedig o’r heriau sy’n wynebu plant a oruchwylir gan yr YOS.

“Ar lefel weithredol, gwelsom arfer gwael eang. Dylid bod wedi gwneud mwy o waith i sicrhau diogelwch plant ac amddiffyn y cyhoedd.

“Mae gan lawer o’r plant sy’n hysbys i YOS Caerdydd anghenion cymhleth ac maent yn dod o gefndiroedd anodd. Nid oedd y’r YOS yn darparu digon o wasanaethau o ansawdd uchel sy’n mynd i’r afael ag anghenion plant ac yn eu cefnogi i ddilyn bywydau di-drosedd.”

Mae YOS Caerdydd wedi’i leoli yng Nghyfarwyddiaeth Gwasanaethau Plant yr awdurdod lleol ac yn gweithredu fel partneriaeth ag asiantaethau lleol. Fodd bynnag, canfu arolygwyr fylchau yn y ddarpariaeth, a oedd yn cynnwys bod heb weithiwr iechyd proffesiynol am 18 mis a dim gweithiwr addysg am naw mis. Roedd hyn yn rhwystro gallu YOS i sicrhau gwasanaethau statudol i blant.

Canfu arolygwyr fod staff YOS wedi ymrwymo i weithio gyda phlant a’u rhieni neu ofalwyr, ond eu bod yn wynebu amodau heriol. Mae cyfnodau cynefino yn wael, mae polisïau a gweithdrefnau wedi dyddio, ac mae bylchau mewn hyfforddiant.

Dyrannwyd achosion i staff mewn ffordd heb ei strwythuro nad oedd yn ystyried eu sgiliau, profiad na’u llwyth gwaith presennol. Roedd rheolwyr canol wedi’u hymestyn gymaint, fel na allent oruchwylio na blaenoriaethu gwaith yn effeithiol.

Roedd arolygwyr mor bryderus nes iddynt godi rhybudd sefydliadol ar ôl dod o hyd i broblemau gydag arferion diogelu ac amddiffyn y cyhoedd mewn tri achos penodol. Gofynodd arolygwyr i uwch arweinwyr lunio cynllun gweithredu brys i fynd i’r afael â’r diffygion, a gwnaethant hynny.

Mewn achosion eraill a arolygwyd, canfu arolygwyr fod lefel y risg sy’n wynebu rhai o’r plant heb ei sylweddoli. Ni ddefnyddiwyd y mecanwaith cenedlaethol i amddiffyn plant a oedd yn cael eu paratoi gan oedolion mewn gweithrediadau ‘llinellau cyffuriau’ yn ddigonol – gan adael rhai plant mewn perygl o gael eu hecsbloetio neu o bosibl peri risg i eraill.

Ers yr arolygiad, mae uwch reolwyr wedi penodi Cadeirydd annibynnol newydd a phrofiadol i arwain y Bwrdd Rheoli ac wedi buddsoddi mewn staff ychwanegol.

Dywedodd Mr Russell: “Mae canfyddiadau’r arolygiad hwn yn hynod siomedig. Fodd bynnag, mae’r camau ers yr arolygiad gan uwch-reolwyr yng Nghaerdydd yn ein hannog i gredu eu bod am weithredu ar ein hargymhellion i wella’r gwasanaeth, ond mae llawer iawn o waith i’w wneud. Byddwn ni, a’n harolygwyr partner, yn monitro eu cynnydd yn ofalus i sicrhau eu bod yn gweithredu argymhellion yr adroddiad hwn.”

DIWEDD

Nodiadau i’r golygydd

1. Mae’r adroddiad ar gael yn justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation ar 02 Gorffennaf 2020 00.01.
2. Arolygiaeth Prawf EM yw’r arolygydd annibynnol ar wasanaethau troseddau ieuenctid a phrawf ledled Cymru a Lloegr.
3. Mae’r Arolygiaeth yn defnyddio graddfa pedwar pwynt: ‘Rhagorol’, ‘Da’, ‘Angen gwella’ ac ‘Annigonol’. Mae’r Arolygiaeth graddio agweddau penodol ar bob gwasanaeth a hefyd yn rhoi sgôr gyffredinol.
4. Cyflwynodd yr Arolygiaeth y system raddio hon yn 2018 ac mae wedi cyhoeddi 39 arolygiad o wasanaethau troseddau ieuenctid gan ddefnyddio’r graddfeydd hyn. Dyma’r tro cyntaf y mae gwasanaeth wedi derbyn graddfeydd ‘Annigonol’ ar gyfer pob agwedd ar ei waith.
5. Cynhaliwyd gwaith maes ar gyfer yr arolygiad hwn ym mis Ionawr a Chwefror 2020.
6. Ar gyfer ymholiadau gan y cyfryngau, cysylltwch â’r Pennaeth Cyfathrebiadau, Catherine Chan ar 07889 405930 neu media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)