“Much to commend” for Youth Justice Service rated ‘Good’
A service aimed at helping young people improve their lives has received a positive report following a recent inspection.
Wirral Youth Justice Service has received an overall rating of ‘Good’ following an inspection of youth justice work with children and victims. The rating comes after a recent visit from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) in April this year, with one area of work rated as outstanding.
Youth Justice Services (YJSs) are multi-agency teams, co-ordinated by local authorities, that aim to reduce offending by young people.
Cllr Stephen Bennett, Chair of Children, Families and Education committee for Wirral Council, said:
Wirral Youth Justice Service works with some of our borough’s most vulnerable children, often at an extremely challenging time in their young lives. Creating and nurturing a service culture that is attuned to and adaptive to the needs of each child, as well as the issues in our communities, is key in ensuring that services are effective.
We welcome this report from HMIP with open arms.
Introducing the report, Martin Jones, Chief Inspector of Probation, said:
Wirral YJS demonstrated genuine care and understanding for the children they work with. Creating trusting relationships was the basis of service delivery, and children spoke positively about the impact and value of the mentor service offered which provided positive role models.
There is much to commend Wirral YJS and the wider partnership for. This is a well-led and well-managed service, and by strengthening the work with victims I am confident they can build on their already strong base and improve further.
The report goes on to highlight the service’s exceptional efforts and successful strategies in delivering effective youth justice services across Wirral communities.
The inspection involved a tour of the Wirral area – travelling from the service’s base at Solar Campus (Wallasey) through to Birkenhead and visiting the multi-agency Pilgrim Street, a vibrant hub offering creative activities and groups for young people with special education needs and disabilities (SEND).
Inspectors found that assessing activity to help children make positive changes had been prioritised and care had been taken to include the views of children, parents, and carers to shape service delivery.
One child relayed how providing opportunities had helped to keep them out of trouble, stating the YJS:
Helped me keep busy and stay out of trouble. I used to be bored before, but I have other stuff going on now. Doing reparation and building the bird boxes, I've learnt new stuff.
The report also noted that the service and community partners have invested in prevention work, an approach which is based on evidence and knowledge of the local patterns, trends and understanding of the external influences driving drug related crime, exploitation of children and the associated use of violence.
Following assessment, Youth Justice Services are placed into one of four performance quadrants, with a score of 1 being ‘strong performance’ down to 4 ‘persistent underperformance’. The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales have placed Wirral in quadrant one, the highest performing category.
Cllr Bennett said:
The report rightly commends the service on its many successes and we’re keen to ensure that any and all feedback is taken on board, to continue to improve and evolve our services and move with the times.
I’d like to personally thank the families and children who assisted HMIP in their inspection, sharing invaluable first-hand feedback and experiences. I’d also like to give a big thanks to the staff across many teams for their continued hard work, commitment to and passion for improving outcomes for the children they work with.
You can view the full report here: An inspection of youth justice work with children and victims in Wirral – HM Inspectorate of Probation.
