East Riding Youth Offending Service in the running for national award
Tue 3rd December 2019
The East Riding Youth Offending Service (YOS) has been shortlisted for a prestigious national award after becoming the first in England and Wales to score full marks in an official inspection.
HM Inspectorate of Probation gave East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s service an overall ‘outstanding’ rating earlier this year, awarding it the top rating for all 12 aspects of its work.
Now the service has been shortlisted for the Local Government Chronicle’s ‘Team of the Year’ award, which will be announced in March.
The service works with 10 to 18-year-olds who have either received a court sentence or who are being dealt with outside the court system. HM Inspectorate of Probation inspectors praised the quality of its work with both groups.
The inspectors found that the East Riding YOS builds fruitful relationships with children, young people, parents and carers and partner services, striking a good balance between preventing offending behaviour and its statutory work in delivering court and out-of-court orders.
They said the YOS’s handling of out-of-court cases was ‘exemplary’ and included excellent work to incorporate the needs and wishes of victims.
East Riding youth justice manager Samantha Matthews said: “We are delighted to be shortlisted for the ‘Team of the Year’ at the LGC Awards in London. This recognises the hard work and commitment of the team.
“Practitioners within the team work in partnership with other agencies including the police, education and health to achieve the best outcomes for some of the most vulnerable children living in the East Riding. The team also supports victims of crime through restorative approaches and helps keep victims safe. To be shortlisted for such an award is a reflection on the highly-skilled, motivated and dedicated practitioners who go above and beyond on a daily basis.”
