Vale of Glamorgan Youth Offending Service receives positive inspection report
The Vale of Glamorgan Youth Offending Service (YOS) was given an overall rating of ‘Good’ following an inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation.
A multi-agency organisation, the YOS is made up of representatives from the Council’s Social Services team, the Police, Probation Service, Health, Education and those tackling drugs and alcohol misuse.
It works with young people aged between eight and 17-years-old who are offending or at risk of offending and the victims of their crimes.
The service aims to:
- Prevent offending and reoffending by children and young people.
- Enable children and young people to address any harm caused to the victims of their crime or the wider community.
- Assist parents in promoting positive behaviour and outcomes for their children.
A range of support is offered to achieve these aims, including anger management where young people consider positive ways of dealing with their anger.
Drug counselling involves trained workers discussing the consequences of drug taking, while family mediation allows families to raise concerns and explore solutions to difficulties with their relationships.
Victim awareness allows young people to meet and listen to the victims of crime to help them understand its effect on individuals.
General group work to boost self-esteem and confidence is also sometimes provided on a range of topics, such as contraception and safe sex and accessing education, training and employment.
Following the recent assessment, Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “Stability, passion and experience – Vale of Glamorgan Youth Offending Service has these, and many other attributes, which is ensuring the right ingredients for success. Children have access to what they need to succeed and move away from further offending – this is good news for all concerned, not least the local communities in the Vale and throughout south-east Wales.”
Inspectors praised the knowledge of staff at the YOS and their overall delivery of good-quality work that is deterring children from crime.
They also found specific areas of their work to be of a high standard, a positive sign that a service has struck the right balance between helping children and protecting the public.
There were also a few areas identified for improvement, with the YOS asked to look at the quality of services available to children and a direction for the service to be more consistent in how it assesses and oversees each child under their supervision.
The report makes six recommendations to the Vale of Glamorgan YOS, including that it should fully implement its resettlement policy – the work which helps children return to the community after being in custody – within the next 12 months.
Cllr Eddie Williams, Vale of Glamorgan Council Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health, said: “The Vale of Glamorgan Youth Offending Service does great work in a large number of areas to help young people turn away from crime. It is a great example of people from different agencies collaborating productively together to offer a varied suite of support.
“I’m delighted that their efforts have been recognised in this inspection report. It is a fitting reward for dedicated individuals who often have to deal with challenging situations.”