XXXX are yet to be inspected via the existing His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, (HMIP) Youth Justice Inspection Framework 2021. Therefore, it is highly likely that XXXX Youth Justice partnership will be subject to youth justice inspection in the near future. All youth Justice services across the country are subject to the current HMIP inspection regime, and given the framework is to be adjusted for future youth justice inspections, it is appropriate to assume XXXX will be called for inspection in accordance with the current framework before any changes are made.

The Youth Justice service leadership, in recognition of the pending inspection, have been proactive, and have already initiated preparation plans. A strategic inspection preparation forum has been introduced, in addition to commissioning the collation of all ‘evidence in advance’

SCOPE

To support XXXX YJS preparation for youth inspection, we will review existing practice against HMIP inspection domains:

​Domain 1 - Organisation Delivery

Domain 2 - Court Orders

Domain 3 - Out of Court Disposals

Domain 4 - Resettlement

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We must note that we will NOT provide a score as an outcome to this diagnostic review as we do not have access to HMIP systems and metrics that will ensure any scoring is accurate. Instead, we will provide narrative conclusions, and an indication of what can be improved prior to inspection. We will make a broad prediction, based on evidence gathered, what HMIP rating is most likely.

We will also pay particular attention to key questions identified by the YJS leadership team:

Analysis of YJ data – what messages can be gleaned from local/ national data sets?

How effective are Out of Court Disposals – what is the completion rate?

Resettlement – how well do we resettle children returning from custody?

Does practice incorporate a whole family approach?

How effective are the partnership governance arrangements in place?

The diagnostic key lines of enquiry have been discussed and agreed by the service as detailed in this proposal. It is important to state that this diagnostic is not an inspection, nor a peer review, but an evaluation inspection readiness of the XXXX youth justice Partnership and service. This diagnostic will draw on different approaches: one to one interview, focus groups, case audit and discussion, plus a desktop review of documentation and some data. In the interests of children, we will create an opportunity for children to share their views and experiences in ways they feel most comfortable to do so. This will be agreed with the YJS. 

The outcome of the diagnostic will be presented to the service within 10 working days of the completion of our evaluation via a short, focussed report, detailing our observations, conclusions, and recommended action to support inspection readiness.