‘Concerns’ over youth offender workers

A DAMNING inspection has revealed serious failings at a West Yorkshire organisation working with troubled young people.

Inspectors found staff at the Bradford Youth Offending Team are not proficient at dealing with child sexual exploitation or safeguarding and do not have the knowledge to manage risks safely.

In one example, the HM Inspectorate of Probation revealed potential gang-related activity was not recorded on a young person’s file and subsequently the gang assaulted the child and a family member leading to armed police being called to the scene. Following the incident, staff did not review the initial assessment or seek further details from children’s social services or the police.

The service was graded as “requires improvement” – the second lowest mark.

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “We had a number of serious concerns about this YOT, with performance on eight of our 12 quality standards judged to be ‘Inadequate’ and the service only rescued from an overall ‘Inadequate’ rating by some better-quality work with out-of-court disposal cases.

“Bradford YOT has been through a period of instability, particularly among its senior ranks. There has been an absence of strategic leadership, which has affected the team’s ability to work effectively with children and young people who have offended or who are at risk of offending.”

Mark Douglas, Strategic Director of Children’s Services at Bradford Council, said: “We fully accept the report’s findings and the service is acting on these urgently to ensure that improvements are made to practice and that young people in Bradford are safe.

“Our new senior leadership team was already aware of the areas of concern and we are working closely with the police and other partners to ensure effective working arrangements are in place.”