Portsmouth Youth Offending Team receives an overall rating of ‘Good’ following an inspection

Portsmouth Youth Offending Team (YOT) received the rating after a visit by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation.

Chief inspector of probation Justin Russell said: ‘Portsmouth YOT has created an environment where children flourish, and they are doing all they can to help them lead better lives.

‘In the face of the considerable challenges posed by Covid-19, staff at the YOT remain enthusiastic and eager to improve – they are creative and innovative in how they work with children and their parents or carers. I look forward to seeing how they develop further in the future.’

The report noted that the management board at Portsmouth YOT was relatively new but had quickly established a clear vision for the team and was working well with partners across the criminal justice system.

This meant that, during the pandemic, partners – such as the local authority – understood the importance of children having effective supervision throughout and supported the YOT to achieve this.

Inspectors did, however, report that the YOT needs a better understanding of the children in the service, particularly those who are disproportionately represented - girls, black and minority ethnic children.

As a result, one of the four recommendations made to Portsmouth YOT, was to collect more data to better tailor their services and improve the outcomes.

The team works with children aged 10 to 17 of which the majority under supervision are aged 15 to 17.

Males make up 86 per cent and white children 71 per cent. Those with complex needs are supervised.