Kirklees Probation Delivery Unit rated inadequate

Probation services in Kirklees has been rated inadequate after an inspection

Kirklees Probation Delivery Unit has been rated inadequate following an inspection
Author: Katie Lyons

Inspectors said staff, services and planning among other areas at Kirklees Probation Delivery Unit (PDU) have been rated inadequate and leadership "requires improvement".

Management at the prison have been told they need to prioritise providing high levels of support to staff, to prevent burnout and retain their employees.

The inspection took place at the start of the year and the report said they recognise some progress has been made but impact of vacancies is making it challenging .

It also said programmes for sex offenders were extremely limited and were only being delivered from outside the PDU in Leeds and Wakefield.

The report stated while there are examples of good and effective practice, they didn't find these in enough of the cases.

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “Though the services in Yorkshire and The Humber will be disappointed by our inspection ratings I know they are determined to meet the challenges that face them, some of which are national issues such as retaining and recruiting new staff.

"All four local services we inspected in this region demonstrated a commitment to people on probation and to protecting the local community, and I hope to see improvements in the future. I look forward to seeing their progress.”

It's after three three other area's received a poor report including Sheffield (rated ‘Inadequate’), North and North East Lincolnshire (rated ‘Requires improvement’) and Hull and East Riding (rated ‘Requires improvement’).

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