An inspection of Newham youth offending team (YOT) in east London found that safeguarding aspects of work were done satisfactorily 55 per cent of the time, compared to a national average of 68 per cent.
Work to keep to a minimum each individual’s risk of harm to others was done satisfactorily 46 per cent of the time against a national average of 63 per cent and re-offending work was done satisfactorily 60 per cent of the time, compared to 71 per cent nationally.
The inspection, which took place before last summer’s riots, related to cases that were dealt with by the YOT more than a year ago.
Changes since then received praise from Andy Smith, assistant chief inspector, but he said that, overall, the findings were "disappointing".
"In Newham we found a YOT working with children and young people from diverse backgrounds and with many needs," he said. "Better attention needed to be paid to the quality of work to manage risk of harm to others and to address safeguarding.
"It was therefore encouraging to note that new managers were now in place to provide consistent oversight of practice. We also found a committed and enthusiastic staff group and a management board that was keen to learn from the inspection findings," Smith added.
A spokesman for Newham Council said dealing with youth offending is a priority and the recommendations are being taken seriously.
"We are changing the way our services are delivered and the inspectors were encouraged that new managers will provide consistent oversight of practice and that we have a committed and enthusiastic group of staff keen to learn from the findings," he added.
"Our prospects for improvement are good and we want to deliver consistent good practice across the service."
