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

Chief Inspector of Probation Martin Jones said: “Flintshire YJS are committed to becoming a trauma-informed service and it was pleasing to see practitioners work with academic establishments to make sure services are research-led and evidenced-based.”

Flintshire YJS is a newly distinct service, having previously been within integrated youth services in the area.

Inspectors were impressed with plans being co-produced with children and saw staff who went above and beyond to improve children’s engagement. Practitioners know their children well and have a child-centred approach to service delivery. The victim work at Flintshire YJS was also of a high-quality and the service ensure victims feel safe and supported.

However, partnership services at Flintshire YJS need to improve. Inspectors found healthcare provision was limited, especially for children’s emotional health and wellbeing and speech, language, and communication needs. The inspection also found case managers often having to bridge the gaps in the partnership provision themselves to make sure children’s needs were being met.

Mr Jones added “Flintshire YJS and the motivated, positive and passionate staff should be very proud of what they have achieved since becoming a distinct service. I look forward to seeing this emerging service develop further.”

The report makes six recommendations, including to make sure healthcare provision for YJS children meets their emotional health and wellbeing needs, and to continue to challenge the Probation Service to fulfil its statutory duties in providing appropriate secondment provision to the YJS.

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).
4. The report is available on the HM Inspectorate of Probation website on 11 July 2024 at 00.01.
5. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth justice and probation services across England and Wales.
6. Fieldwork for this inspection took place in March 2024.
7. For media enquiries, please contact Head of Communications media@hmiprobation.gov.uk