Agenda item

The Democratic Services Officer presented a brief overview of the draft final report on the topic of Youth Offending and Partnership Working with Schools. The following information was provided:

 

1.      The purpose of the review was to examine how the South Tees Youth Justice Service (STYJS) worked in partnership with schools in Middlesbrough to improve school attendance, educational engagement and attainment for those young people involved in the criminal justice system.

 

2.      The terms of reference, for the review, were detailed at paragraph 3 of the report.

 

3.      Evidence in respect of Term of Reference A was included at paragraphs 9 to 24 and provided details on the role of the STYJS.

 

4.      Evidence in respect of Term of Reference B was included at paragraphs 25 and 35 and provided details on the barriers to young people in the youth justice system engaging in education, such as drug and alcohol issues, serious youth violence and complex needs.

 

5.      Evidence in respect of Term of Reference C was included at paragraphs 36 to 61 and provided details on how the STYJS worked with schools and covered the support provided by the service’s Education, Training and Employment Team, the development of the Inclusion Pathway and the contextual safeguarding approach that had been promoted.

 

6.      Evidence in respect of Term of Reference D was included at paragraphs 62 to 71 and provided details on national effective practice in respect of partnership working with schools, as identified by HM Inspectorate of Probation.

 

7.      The report contained 7 conclusions, which were detailed in full at paragraph 77 of the report. The conclusions summarised the main points of the report and identified key areas for further consideration.

 

Following discussion, the following recommendations were agreed for inclusion in the final report:

 

a)     That the STYJS supports Children’s Services to undertake a review of Middlesbrough Council’s contextual safeguarding/risk outside of the home approaches to ensure delivery of a robust and co-ordinated whole-system/multi-agency response to violence and exploitation; which:

 

Ø  allows schools and education providers to react swiftly and firmly to early signs of criminal behaviour;

Ø  improves ETE outcomes for young people involved in the criminal justice system; and

Ø  supports the work of the Cleveland Unit for the Reduction of Violence (CURV).

 

b)     That each young person who goes into custody is assessed to determine whether an educational psychologist should be allocated to them, to ensure their educational needs are being met (especially during the transition periods into and out of custody).

 

c)      That data is collected, analysed and evaluated to demonstrate the impact of the STYJS Inclusion Pathway on school attendance, exclusions and attainment.

 

d)     That a system, data management arrangements and information exchange agreements are put in place to ensure the STYJS can access a wealth of data and information, from partner agencies, to:

 

Ø  drill down to an individual level;

Ø  determine trends;

Ø  develop summary dashboards for key areas;

Ø  report on the progress of young people and their successes;

Ø  identify barriers and challenges; and

Ø  improve service delivery. 

 

e)     That, in 6 months’ time, the Children and Young People’s Learning Scrutiny Panel receives:

 

Ø  a detailed account of the work that has been undertaken to implement recommendations a) to d); and

Ø  an effective analysis of data from partner agencies (including schools), reporting on:

o   the profile of children/young people who come into contact with the STYJS, their needs, challenges and experiences of education; and

o   the STYJS’s performance, specifically the impact of the STYJS Inclusion Pathway on school attendance, exclusions and attainment.

 

AGREED

 

That, subject to the inclusion of the agreed recommendations, the final report on Youth Offending and Partnership Working with Schools be approved and submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Board for consideration.