The outstanding news that Bromley Youth Justice has received the highest category overall rating following an inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation is being welcomed.

The outstanding rating means Bromley is recognised as one of the country’s leading local authorities for Youth Justice, with only 4 other councils in London recognised as ‘outstanding’. Nationally, 17 Youth Justice services have achieved an ‘outstanding’ rating. Additional ‘outstanding’ recognition was also received for resettlement, meaning there is a high-quality, evidence-based resettlement service for children leaving custody.

Councillor Kate Lymer, Deputy Leader and Executive Councillor for Children, Education and Families said, “This is heartening and welcome news which is directly attributable to the professional dedication of so many, which the Inspectorate highlights, including our partners. We pay tribute to this work, which can be immensely challenging but which directly helps each child to succeed. We welcome the findings and recommendations and will consider the best ways to bring these forward to improve still further.”

As part of the inspection, several different aspects of the Youth Justice were assessed, which included organisational delivery (leadership, staffing and facilities), the management of children serving court sentences (court disposals) and children serving cautions or community sentences (out-of-court disposals). All service areas were judged to be ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’, with an overall rating of outstanding and a total score of 33 out of a possible of 36 points.

In addition to the impact that Youth Justice service staff, leaders and partners have on the service, the report also draws attention to the statistics which also show the impact. The Inspectorate’s report notes that there “is a focus on improving impact and this is supported by evidence showing significant reductions in the reoffending of its cohort of children” with the statistics also showing the reoffending rate in Bromley being lower than the national figure.

The outstanding inspection outcome for Youth Justice follows earlier news last year that an Ofsted inspection of Bromley’s Children Services concluded that children in the borough receive “exceptionally strong services”, with an outstanding rating in all categories.

The report is available on the HM Inspectorate of Probation website