Inadequate youth justice service 'neglected' children

A service to tackle youth offending in Reading “neglected and overlooked” the needs of some vulnerable children, inspectors found.

HM Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) rated the service as inadequate - the lowest possible rating and only the second time any service has been given that since July 2020.

But Chief Inspectorate of Probation Martin Jones said there were “green shoots of hope” developing in the borough and that a recently appointed manager was already making positive changes.

The service said it was “disappointed” by HMIP’s findings but that it had started to make changes after feedback in the autumn.

It is operated by Brighter Futures for Children, a not-for-profit company owned by Reading Borough Council but run independently.

“Sadly, too little attention has been given to youth justice work in Reading since our last inspection," Mr Jones said.

"We identified numerous shortcomings in service delivery - the needs of this vulnerable and complex cohort of children have been neglected and overlooked by the partnership.”

HMIP’s report found while half of the youth justice caseload in Reading involved drugs, there was “minimal intervention to support these needs”.

Following HMIP's visit, which started in September, the service was given five marks out of a possible 36.

The report also found “evidence of drift and delay” after a child’s case was not completed for seven months.

Michael O’Connor, chair of Reading Youth Justice Service's management board, said: “We are all clearly disappointed with the inspection findings but we have taken a strategic and pragmatic approach to address all the recommendations made in the report.

“We have drawn up a comprehensive improvement action plan and are also building on progress made within the last 12 months, which was too soon for the impact to be seen by inspectors while they were here.

“While the grading is a blow to staff across all agencies in the partnership, we will use it to drive us forward positively and demonstrate that what we are doing is improving outcomes for young people who find themselves caught up in the criminal justice system.”

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