Westmorland and Furness Youth Justice Service (YJS) have been praised by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation as showing ‘impressive results’ in its first 2 years.
Whilst the overall rating was Requires Improvement the Chief Inspector of Probation, Martin Jones, said: “Westmorland and Furness YJS has made impressive progress since its establishment in 2023. The service is being guided by an inspirational manager and a knowledgeable board chair, who have prioritised staff wellbeing during a period of massive organisational change, and staff are committed to achieving the best for the children they work with.”
Commenting on the report Jonathan Taylor, Assistant Director for Children and Families at Westmorland and Furness Council and Chair of the Youth Justice Board, said:
“We welcome the findings of this report and that inspectors have acknowledged the effort and achievements of staff and partners. We are particularly proud of the quality of the work carried out by our staff. We are a newly established service and have a clear vision and strategy to help us on our improvement journey.”
Cllr Janet Battye, Cabinet member for Children's Services, Education and Skills at Westmorland and Furness Council, added:
“I am so very proud of Childrens services and all they have achieved so far, this is a testament to the talented staff we have who working with our partners are together making a real difference to children and young people. There are many strengths identified by the inspectors but, helpfully, recognition that our areas of focus will allow us to continue to build on our impressive improvement journey so far.”
The report can be found on the HM Inspectorate of Probation website.