Inspectors criticise Newport youth offending service

Inspectors from HM Inspectorate of Probation, Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission and HMI Constabulary found that work by Newport YOT staff to protect the young offenders they work with and reduce their vulnerability was substandard.

The report said the vulnerability of young offenders was generally considered solely with respect to child protection and deliberate self-harm, with other risky behaviour such as use of alcohol or drugs being ignored.

Meanwhile, monitoring to ensure sentences were served was "unsatisfactory".

Inspectors said staff knew the children and young people they were working with well, but did not involve them sufficiently in assessment and planning for the changes they needed to make in their lives.

"More could be done to ensure that children and young people take greater responsibility for their own compliance with the sentence," the report said.

Efforts to reduce reoffending was also found to be poor, with not enough priority given to it. The inspection report said the overall quality of work to reduce reoffending needed "rapid and substantial improvement", with staff held to account consistently and effectively.

Chief inspector of probation Paul McDowell said the quality of work with young offenders in Newport had "deteriorated markedly" since the last inspection in 2010.

"The youth offending service management board and management team need to ensure that the quality of work improves substantially and rapidly," he said.

"They need to focus sufficiently the activity of the team to reduce reoffending and protect the public, and ensure provision is consistent across the service.

"In particular, urgent work is required to ensure that the youth offending service management team works effectively."

The Youth Justice Board (YJB) said Newport YOT accepted the report's findings and was working with YJB Wales to develop an immediate improvement plan, which will be implemented as soon as possible.

Lin Hinnigan, chief executive of the YJB, said: "While the report has highlighted good work in terms of a reduction in the number of children and young people entering the youth justice system, there is a clear need for rapid and significant improvement in a number of other areas."