Inspectors from HM Inspectorate of Probation, with Ofsted and its Welsh equivalent Estyn, looked at 181 cases of children aged 10 to 17 engaged with education, training and employment (ETE) services under their local youth offending teams.
“The quality of ETE provision was poorer for those who had been excluded from school or released under investigation by the police, and for children of mixed ethnic heritage,” their report states.
It notes that the worst access to ETE was for children requiring additional support through education, health and care plans (EHCPs) or the Welsh equivalent.
In more than 40 per cent of cases where children had such plans in place, their needs were not fully considered by professionals at the ETE service, the report adds.
It also acknowledges that the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the challenges in children accessing ETE.
Across all children whose cases were examined, inspectors found that 65 per cent had been excluded from school between November 2021 and January 2022, with 47 per cent excluded permanently.
This resulted in “some children not participating in any ETE services for two years or more”, inspectors warn.
Inspectors are calling on the Department for Education, and the Welsh government's Skills Higher Education and Lifelong Learning department, to address how access to ETE services can be improved for the most vulnerable children.
Recommendations include urging youth offending teams to address how such needs can be prevented by earlier specialist assessment, intervention and support of vulnerable children through the alternative provision and SAFE schools programmes in England and equivalent provision in Wales.
Meanwhile, the Youth Justice Board should revise its national indicator of ETE engagement to one that provides a more meaningful measure of performance, inspectors said.
They are also calling on YOT management boards to ensure that all children have a comprehensive ETE assessment alongside the establishment of a “greater range of occupational training opportunities for those children beyond compulsory school age”.
Youth offending services offering a broad range of opportunities for young people were among those deemed by inspectors to have “exceeded expectations”.
Services were also praised for the employment of specialists who provided support and guidance to case management staff in working with children who had neurological conditions or communication needs.
Chief inspector of probation Justin Russell said: “Our findings lay bare a truth that many working in youth justice have come to recognise – but has seldom been given the attention it deserves – that getting children with complicated backgrounds into education, training and employment can be extremely challenging.
“It’s worrying that those with the greatest need, and who are vulnerable, are the least likely to get the educational services they need. The support provided to the child to participate in ETE should be reviewed regularly and give every child under supervision the opportunity to improve their prospects and succeed.”
