Young in justice system often unprepared for the outside world

Children and young people are suffering as a result of variable standards of support when moving into and out of custody, according to a report published today by Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills.

While their achievements in custody provide the first experience of educational success for many young people, the report Transition through detention and custody highlights how poor initial assessment of learning needs and insufficient preparation for independent living leaves children and young people ill-equipped for outside life.

Poor arrangements to transfer personal information delayed the start of children’s and young people’s education programmes. Secure establishments and youth offending teams often failed to develop sustained effective links with mainstream schools, colleges and employers, and fell short in offering children and young people the right help to find jobs, accommodation, and training opportunities.

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, said:

‘Young people moving through the youth justice system need well co-ordinated education, training and support if they are to reintegrate into the community. But too often information about young people entering and leaving secure establishments is not good enough to enable organisations to plan effectively and meet their needs. It is vital that youth justice teams, local authorities and their partners learn from the examples featured in this report and consider the recommendations for improvement we have made.’

The report found that children and young people gained a range of qualifications while in custody, being able to access a wide range of subjects in secure training centres and juvenile establishments. Secure establishments also placed emphasis on improving the children and young people’s levels of literacy and numeracy, and most made progress in their achievements.

However, young people who were transferred between establishments during custody were often unable to complete their programmes or progress to higher level courses because the subjects and qualifications offered differed across establishments. Some children of school age known to youth offending teams failed to receive an education or training programme matched to their needs while others did not their receive full entitlement to statutory education.

Support for children and young people moving back into the community was insufficient, with successes due largely to individual staff endeavour rather than an effective overall plan. A lack of integration between services and weaknesses in the planning of agencies, such as between social care staff in local authorities and youth offending teams in the young people’s home area, meant preparation for resettlement was often not effective. While young children benefited from some innovative placements, including partnerships with local colleges, and in one instance, a girl’s training scheme with the Football Association these opportunities were often undeveloped.

Weak relationships between the secure establishment and the local authorities in the young person’s home area often made finding accommodation on release difficult. Without an address, young people found it difficult to access bank accounts, and to take up training and education opportunities. Too many changes of care plans immediately prior to resettlement often left young people feeling unsettled, unmotivated and unwanted.