Surrey Youth Offending Service goes from 'inadequate' to 'good' in three years

Surrey Youth Offending Service gone from ‘inadequate’ to ‘good’ in its first inspection in three years, a watchdog has said.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation said staff had shown commitment to improving a “once-struggling service” and succeeded in becoming a “developed, well-motivated and knowledgeable service”.

The inspection report published this month said the quality of the casework inspected in both court and out-of-court work was “impressive” and “the management team and practitioners know the children well and have access to an impressive range of services to address their needs”.

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “To go from an inadequate to good rating in just a few years is quite an achievement.

“Surrey YOS is now an organised and focused service that understands the children under their supervision.”

He also said the inspection saw “innovative practice”, with multiagency daily risk briefings effective in intervening with children at an early stage.

Assessment by the service was said to sufficiently analyse how to keep other people safe in 67 per cent of the inspected cases. This leaves a third where they did not clearly analyse the risk of harm that the child posed to others however.

Of the 56 current cases to go through court (out of 109 cases), the greatest number (48 per cent) were for violence against the person, 10 per cent were for drug offences and 10 per cent for robbery.

In 2019, Surrey YOS’s use of cautions for serious offences was said to be a serious concern. This time inspectors saw evidence that decisions were made appropriately, though they found the child’s voice was missing from the joint decision-making panel.

They also recommended the YOS ensures management oversight and quality assurance of practice are effective across the area’s teams, and that they actively monitor staff training and development needs.

Councillor Clare Curran, Surrey County Council’s cabinet member for children and families, said: “The report is extremely positive and illustrates the service transformation over recent years.

“We will continue to work closely with partner agencies to improve services and outcomes for young people even more.”

Youth Justice Board figures show that 104 per 100,000 kids aged between 10 and 17 entered the criminal justice system in 2020, compared with 167 per 100,000 in England and Wales overall.

Of the youths on the Surrey YOS caseload, 16 per cent are black and minority ethnic, compared to 9.6 per cent of Surrey’s population.