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

Chief Inspector of Probation, Martin Jones, said: “The staff know and understand their children well, and are firmly focused on helping each child to succeed. I commend the staff for achieving such a positive outcome in this inspection.” 

Inspectors were impressed by the health and education offer at Bromley YJS, which benefitted from strong links with statutory partners and providers. Access to services which help children desist from offending were good, with provision including a YJS teacher, an education welfare officer, a safeguarding nurse, and support for substance misuse. Reparation projects were also varied, including gardening projects, catering, and bicycle maintenance.  

The inspection found the youth justice service had access to a range of reports and management information about the profile of children, which supports the service to channel their resources towards identified need. However, Bromley YJS did not have a seconded probation officer due to a lack of capacity in the Probation Service. While work to transition young adults into the Probation Service is being undertaken, more work is required by the partnership to ensure there is a seconded probation officer within the YJS team. 

Mr Jones continued: “Leaders and partners at Bromley YJS have worked hard to create a mature and well-functioning partnership, where a clear vision and roadmap are in place to help children achieve their potential. We trust the findings and recommendations in this report will assist the service in improving even further.” 

Two recommendations are made for Bromley’s executive management board, including to review how best to use its volunteers to ensure they are consulted on what they can offer the partnership. One recommendation is made for Bromley YJS – to provide staff with effective and regular training on Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements. 

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 07 January 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 September 2024. 
7. For media enquiries, please contact Head of Communications media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)