Positive report for Youth Offending Service

Date published: 13/01/2006

The work of Rochdale's Youth Offending Service provides a good basis for future development. That's the verdict following an inspection of the Team by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation, in partnership with Ofsted and the Audit Commission.

Rochdale borough's Youth Offending service is delivered by a multi-disciplinary team charged with preventing and reducing crime committed by children and young people.

The inspection commended the YOT (Youth Offending Team) on many aspects of its work. The report stated, "We found a hard working and enthusiastic team who provided evidence of some good practice across a range of core activities".

'There were some good interventions, in particular the parenting programme and the reparation scheme. Volunteers felt well trained and supported."

Amongst the report's key findings, inspectors noted that prevention work balanced the use of ASBOs with positive interventions, and a broad range of options were available to help those at risk of offending.

Where children and young people had offended, amongst the strengths of the YOT were efforts to ensure they understood what was required of them, and a good understanding amongst staff of the purpose of interventions used.

The inspection identified a number of areas for improvement both in the management and provision of services and an Action Plan to address these issues is required. Inspectors judged that the YOT, was well placed to carry out their recommendations and continue to improve.

The Lead Inspector said, "This positive report has been achieved as a result of the hard work of staff within the service, both those employed by Rochdale Council and through partner agencies, as well as the commitment of  volunteers who provide their time to the benefit of the local community." 

The latest Government produced national performance tables ranked Rochdale's YOT in 26th position out of 150 YOTs across England and Wales.