Cheshire Youth Justice Service (YJS) has received an overall rating of ‘Good’ following a joint inspection led by HM Inspectorate of Probation.

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “Cheshire YJS has much to be proud of, having achieved the highest score of any of our joint inspections undertaken with colleagues from the police, social care, education and health sector to date.”

The service scored 26/36, when being assessed against three key areas: organisational delivery, the quality of the management of children on a court order (court disposals) and that of children subject to out-of-court disposals (serving cautions or community resolutions).

The service works with children aged 10 to 18. Most children under their supervision are aged 15 to 17 (77 per cent), male (86 per cent) and white (95 per cent). They supervise children with complex needs, and some are in the care of the local authority (Looked After Children).

Mr Russell continued: “Overall, we found a good service, where the children are at the heart of their work. The service works hard to steer children away from the criminal justice system. Their Divert scheme allows children a second chance to break the cycle of offending and access essential services, including education, health and early help.

“However, we are aware that funding arrangements for these diversion services are not yet part of the mainstream YJS budget. I urge Cheshire YJS and its partners to proactively consider how this programme – and the successes it has brought – are sustained.”

The Inspectorate awarded Cheshire YJS an ‘Outstanding’ rating for leadership, as well as their joint working and delivery of out-of-court disposals.

Mr Russell said: “Cheshire YJS is a well-led and well-managed service. The board fully understand the complex needs of children who come into contact with the criminal justice system and have a clear vision for the service. We were particularly impressed with their staff’s commitment to understanding why children offend.”

Inspectors reported that partnership arrangements between the service and four different local authorities were ‘Good’ and children consequently have excellent access to health services and support to remain in education, training or employment.

Staff at Cheshire YJS are, rightly, focused on interventions, how children respond to desistance, as well as the many safety and wellbeing factors involved. However, inspectors felt that there needs to be more confidence in how risk of harm is managed and recommended more effective management oversight in this area.

The inspection found that there was a lack of suitable buildings available for children, victims and staff to meet for face-to-face appointments. We recognise this was exacerbated by Covid-19 restrictions, but not caused entirely by them. We have recommended that the management board should prioritise providing safe, confidential and accessible places for the YJS to meet children.

Mr Russell concluded: “During our inspection, we noted that the limited spaces to work with children and victims is having a detrimental impact on their case work. Cheshire YJS need to prioritise finding suitable locations to conduct their work, in order to keep the children and community safe.”

The Inspectorate made four recommendations to Cheshire YJS, including ensuring funding for Divert is maintained and mainstreamed, clarity around the police roles within the YJS and improving management oversight, particularly in cases where risks of harm are identified.

ENDS

Notes to editor

1. The report is available at justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation on 08 December 2021 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. Fieldwork for this inspection took place, remotely, in July 2021.
5. The recommendations can be found, in full, on page 13 of the inspection report.
6. For media enquiries, please contact Corporate Communications Manager Diane Bramall on 07929 790 564 or email media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)