Ways to improve quality
Information on the various ways in which practice can be quality assured and staff developed. It covers workforce development, performance indicators and statistical analysis.
Effective management and leadership of staff in your organisation is key to delivering a high-quality service. The standards for children in the youth justice system set out how effective leadership can deliver positive outcomes for children. The YJB expects youth justice service (YJSs) to treat children in the justice system as children. The Child First principles are that you will:
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Prioritise the best interests of children and recognising their particular needs, capacities, rights and potential. All work is child-focused, developmentally informed, acknowledges structural barriers and meets responsibilities towards children.
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Promote children’s individual strengths and capacities to develop their pro-social identity for sustainable desistance, leading to safer communities and fewer victims. All work is constructive and future-focused, built on supportive relationships that empower children to fulfil their potential and make positive contributions to society.
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Encourage children’s active participation, engagement and wider social inclusion. All work is a meaningful collaboration with children and their carers.
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Promote a childhood removed from the justice system, using pre-emptive prevention, diversion and minimal intervention. All work minimises criminogenic stigma from contact with the system.
Your self-assessment of your YJS against the Standards and against recommendations from inspection reports from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation will identify the areas in which improvement is needed to achieve these outcomes. The Youth Justice Resource Hub contains a range of resources and tools that can support improvement planning.
Other factors which can contribute to an excellent service are the relationship practitioners develop with the children they are working with and the quality, appearance and child focussed nature of facilities, equipment and communication materials used.
The most effective YJSs act as continuous learning environments where staff at all levels are responsible for their own development and contribute to that of the whole service. Practitioners should be supported to make defensible decisions to advance their practice. Mistakes and setbacks should be regarded as opportunities to learn rather than blame. Services should be actively encouraged and enabled to involve children, stakeholders and the wider community in improving practice, and learn from complaints, reviews and inspections.
You are responsible for providing the best and most professional service you can to:
- children
- parents and carers
- victims
- the justice system
- the local community
It is important to keep abreast of changes in youth justice legislation, research, guidance and practice. You should maintain professional development and take ownership of personal learning needs.
You should have regular supervision with your line manager and be able to discuss your work with the children on your caseload. This is to help you:
- receive support if needed to resolve difficulties
- discuss your performance
- raise learning and development needs that will assist you to enhance your professional practice
Supervision should be an opportunity for you to reflect on your work with children, what you feel has gone well and how you might develop your approaches. Lack of consistent, good quality supervision is frequently cited as an issue in youth justice services (YJSs) assessed as lower performing by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation. For more information on supervision please visit the Youth Justice Resource Hub
You should receive regular performance reviews following the procedures set by your employing authority. This should set work targets which are:
- specific
- measurable
- achievable
- realistic
- time-bound
One-to-one supervision sessions will examine your progress against these targets, support you with challenges and assist you to develop your practice.
The review process will also agree a development plan which sets out how you can improve your practice. Options within the plan might include:
- attending formal training courses
- using online resources such as the training development section on the Youth Justice Resource Hub
- being ‘buddied’ or mentored by other members of the team (or other YJSs)
- receiving guidance and feedback from managers
- taking part in quality assurance processes
- shadowing other workers
- other forms of feedback
It is vital that you take responsibility for your own development. You should:
- identify areas in which you would like to improve; discuss them with your line manager and agree what will be undertaken
- ask for feedback, which can be done in a variety of ways – see below
- implement the development identified by these processes
- use all opportunities, both formal and informal, to learn
It is important that you take time to consider your work and ways in which your practice or outcomes arising from your involvement have been effective or could have been different or improved. For this to be effective you should have sufficient time and focus to enable you to critically assess what you have done.
You can share what you learn from reflective practice with colleagues and provide observations from your experience to inform your personal development and that of the service. The aim is for you to develop an ‘internal supervisor’, so that you can:
- give your work a critical appraisal
- develop confidence in your skills
- make your practice more effective
The Youth Justice Resource Hub contains examples of how reflective practice is used.
See also, this example of reflective supervision from Tower Hamlets Youth Justice and Family Intervention Service.
There are a range of ways in which you can obtain and receive feedback on your performance and about the operation of the service more generally (and your role in it). You should take enough time in discussion with your manager to assess feedback given to you and decide on actions for improvement with your line manager. Feedback can be obtained from:
- management and supervisory processes
- children’s experience of the service
- panel membership
- external partners
Management feedback can be provided through:
- regular supervision, discussion and reflective practice
- team meetings
- team learning and development days
- gatekeeping of reports
- quality assurance of AssetPlus (or other assessment and planning) documentation
- direct observations of practice
- management board views on the operation of the service
- inspection findings and information from other external sources (e.g. an independent evaluation)
- analysis of qualitative data on youth justice service performance which indicates trends and how the service is operating
If you would like management oversight and feedback of a particular assessment, intervention or other piece of work you have undertaken, it is important to ask for it even if it falls outside what would normally be routinely covered in your supervisory arrangements.
Discussions and actions agreed by panels and multi-agency meetings (particularly those managing children who present a risk of harm to themselves or others) may include critical analysis of how cases are managed; what has gone well; what has not and what could be done differently. This can assist in personal and organisational development and could arise from attendance at:
- risk of custody meetings
- internal risk management or Multi Agency Public Protection meetings
- case discussion reviews
- Compliance/Engagement Panels
- learning from critical case reviews
As a case manager, you need to provide children in the justice system with:
- reliability
- dependability
- responsiveness
- trust
- confidence
The knowledge and courtesy of practitioners and their ability to convey trust and reliability to the child is vital for positive engagement. The responsibility is on you to find positive ways to engage children, because positive relationships are central to achieving good outcomes for the child.
Children should be asked to provide feedback on the service they have received, both formally and informally through the following means:
- AssetPlus – the Voice of the Child section
- bespoke self-reporting tools specifically designed to obtain feedback from children about their experiences of the service e.g. Viewpoint or the Outcome Star where they can map their own progress (both are subject to licences for use)
- participation process established by the youth justice service (YJS), local authority or third sector
- (peer) mentoring or advocacy services
- complaints and compliments processes
The Child First Pathfinder Evaluation, published by Ceredigion Youth Justice and Prevention Service might be helpful when considering some of the principles to adopt when obtaining feedback from children using youth justice prevention services.
There should be a consistent and appropriate way to ensure that the views of children are known and taken into account. This will help in the development and delivery of the service. Approaches should consider the:
- sensitivity of the services provided to meet the child’s particular needs
- effectiveness of the work that was undertaken to support desistence
- child’s safety and well-being and assistance provided to help them to develop their skills and strengths
- child’s relationship with their worker and how they were supported
- extent to which the felt they made progress that could be sustained
This information should be regularly obtained and collated to feed back to staff and the management board on the operation of the service from children’s perspectives.
The service may also want to consider whether it is able to go further in developing other opportunities for participation and co-creation, for example by:
- involving children in staff recruitment processes
- engaging children in the processes of reviewing and selecting the resources and interventions used by the YJS
- involving children in training opportunities for staff in YJSs or partner agencies such as the police
- asking children to engage in working groups to share their views on specific topics and initiatives
- developing a youth participation group
It is important that any activity is not tokenistic, that children understand their views will be taken seriously, that they receive feedback and understand how their views have been incorporated into plans for change or if not, why not. See also resources developed by PeerPower specifically for the youth justice sector.
The youth justice service (YJS) should obtain feedback from a range of partners involved in the delivery of youth justice services. These will include:
- victims – asking for feedback on their experience of contact with the YJS; involvement in restorative activities and satisfaction with the overall process
- the local community – their experience of involvement in the work of the service e.g. on diversion panels or as Referral Order Panel members; involvement in identifying opportunities for reparation activity
- partner agencies – consulting with and involving key partners about service development and delivery including the police; health services; children’s services and the local housing authority
- the inspectorate – you should implement recommendations for all YJSs from thematic inspections of services by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation - you should also be aware of findings from individual service inspections, and use these to develop your service
- the courts – there should be opportunities for magistrates and judges to give feedback on reports and other services provided by the YJS and on the progress of children who have received court orders
- your YJB lead for your area will have access to a range of data which can inform performance planning
- panels/multi-agency meetings – through attendance at Multi Agency Public Protection panels, Integrated Offender Management and other meetings with partners (e.g. children’s services) who can provide information about individual children to inform how they are worked with
- the Youth Custody Service or secure estate – about placement decisions and progress or problems experienced whilst in custody
- the YJS management board – to understand the child’s perspective and experiences
Where appropriate there should be a feedback loop back to stakeholders to demonstrate how their input has had an impact in shaping the delivery of services.
Whatever your level or degree of experience, you can contribute to improving your youth justice service (YJS), by:
- taking part in peer reviews of reports, assessments, interventions and case management
- giving constructive feedback to managers or colleagues on the development of policies and practice and their interactions
- taking part in working groups to develop specific areas of practice, or ‘champion’ particular initiatives
- acting as a ‘buddy’ or mentor to colleagues on specialised areas of practice
- identifying development opportunities for yourself and your colleagues and suggest ways these could be met
- reporting back to colleagues after attending a training course
Working in justice services for children is a highly specialised area, and it is important that staff receive adequate training and support to develop the skills they need to understand the legislation, practices, processes and procedures which support the system. They should be able to ensure that there is congruence between the assessment and the plan put in place. They should:
- ensure that the plan is unique to the child
- balance welfare and risk considerations
- incorporate an understanding of child development in their interactions with children
- know when to request specialist assessments
- understand a wide range of more specialist procedures when they relate to safeguarding, managing children who pose a risk of harm to others and when managing children who are remanded or sentenced to custody
The Youth Justice Board Learning and Skills Matrix outlines the knowledge, skills and activities needed at different levels within the justice system and you can be used to assess the learning and development needs of individual staff and form a plan for the service as a whole. It covers:
- child and adolescent development
- engagement and communication
- assessment
- effective practice
- multi-agency working
- risk of reoffending and risk of harm
- transitions
- safeguarding
The skills audit works alongside the Matrix and is intended to help practitioners to reflect on their practice and identify gaps and targeted training needs.
Practitioners who provide a professional service to the courts will need specific training and shadowing opportunities to be able to fulfil the role effectively.
Practitioners who prepare reports for courts and panels will also need the skills to be able to assess, compile, analyse and present the information they have obtained from children and their parents/carers. Those new to report writing should receive feedback on their report writing to help them to develop their skills. Support can be provided through quality assurance processes, ‘buddying’ with a more experienced practitioner and in undertaking joint interviews, writing parallel reports, and getting feedback on assessments, these can enable thorough and effective learning. These can also assist with balancing welfare and risk considerations; incorporating an understanding of child development; if and when to bring in experts for a fuller assessment; and ensuring there is congruence between the assessment and the plan put in place.
Relevant courses and qualifications include the Youth Justice Effective Practice Certificate, certificate of higher education in youth justice and the degree foundation degree in in Youth Justice. More information is on the Unitas website.
A range of short online distance learning courses (Effective Practice Awards) are also available through the Youth Justice Institute.
The youth justice service (YJS) should have policies in place for ensuring the quality of case management. Practitioners should receive training to be familiar with the contents as part of induction and through refresher training as policies are revised and updated. The AssetPlus framework enables managers to decide on how they want to quality assure processes within the service and the levels of countersignature they require. This will help to maintain consistency and the overall quality of the service. You could quality assure processes by:
- all documents: or all prepared by specific case managers
- the level of assessed risk of harm (to the child and others)
- all cases where there is a specific offence category
- frequency of contact
Local decisions as to the level and degree of oversight required will depend on:
- the assessment of overall quality of case management
- feedback and actions identified from audits and inspections
- quality improvement processes set in local policies, the youth justice plan and the national standards for children in the youth justice system self-audits
If you are a line manager, you may undertake a range of day-to-day activities to ensure that work with children is of a sufficient quality. This could include:
- gatekeeping reports for court, Referral Order Panels etc
- ensuring that assessments are comprehensive and up to date
- discussing cases in supervision meetings to provide feedback on actions taken and guidance on next steps
- observing practitioners at work in one-to-one sessions with children, delivering interventions or acting as a court officer to give informed feedback on their practice
- dip sampling cases, either directly or using colleagues, peers, sector partners or independently commissioned consultants
- countersigning relevant sections of AssetPlus
- advising and guiding through discussions at panels/multi-agency meetings where risk of custody, public protection and safeguarding, case reviews and compliance/engagement are being discussed
- ensuring that wherever possible work undertaken with children is evidence based
You have a responsibility to recognise the strengths of individual staff members. This includes providing opportunities for them to develop the knowledge and skills they need to do their work effectively. You also need to provide practical and emotional support for staff who can be handling high and challenging caseloads.
It is vital that you feel confident in your ability to give honest and constructive feedback, including when this may be received with negativity or defensiveness. You may find that the following help you develop these skills:
- training
- management meeting discussions
- peer support within the service
- peer support from other local youth justice services and disciplines such as children’s social care
You should clearly record:
- management oversight expectations in policies and procedures youth justice service (YJS) staff are required to follow
- supervision notes, which should be shared with the supervisee and kept as a record of discussions
- actions on individual cases, in the appropriate management oversight category on the information management system
If you are a line manager, you are responsible for providing advice and agreeing actions which need to be carried out to ensure that children are effectively supported.
This will include ensuring that:
- actions are completed within agreed timescales
- children receive appropriate and good quality interventions, advice and support
- the interventions are tailored to the needs of each child
You should ensure that discussions are not focussed on processes and systems to the extent that qualitative issues are not given sufficient attention. There should be a shared understanding of what ‘reflective practice’ means to your YJS, and staff should have the opportunity to consider the impact of their own feelings, assumptions and attitudes; and the connections with their actions; without criticism for doing so. If you are a supervising manager you need to create relationships of trust, honesty and respect, and understand emotions and the pressures staff may be facing. You should have good links with children’s social care, so that there is a shared ethos of support for children in the justice system; and joint access to training and development opportunities.
You should undertake systematic and in-depth audits of case work to assess and improve quality, by:
- undertaking full audits of various aspects of assessment, planning and case management work
- undertaking thematic audits e.g. responses to educational need and high-risk cases etc
- utilising the Youth Justice Sector Improvement Partnership
- undertaking statistical analysis which indicates how the youth justice service (YJS) is performing using local data and feedback from the YJB
- conducting self-audits of the national standards for children in the youth justice system
A full audit of a selected case would assess all aspects of case management from allocation and report writing, assessment and planning; to delivery of interventions and managing the end of the order or transition process. This can assist in producing development plans for particular practitioners or practice more generally. Resources which can help with this include:
- utilising locally devised tools and measures
- using the quality assurance tools and templates on the Youth Justice Resource Hub – including the summary ethnic disparity tool
- His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation’s Rules and Guidance documents: Youth offending services inspection
- commissioning external agencies which undertake auditing exercises
- Auditing the standards for children in the youth justice system, which includes operational strategic self-assessments
Thematic audits examine specific areas of practice such as intervention planning, or responses to certain types of offences (e.g. responses to serious violence), to assess the work the youth justice service is doing and whether it is effective. The YJB has several mapping tools which can be used to audit different elements of practice which are found in the evidence and reports section of the Youth Justice Resource Hub.
You may also want to consider commissioning an external evaluation of a particular aspect of your work.
Your service reports to the Youth Justice Board on its performance against a set of Key Performance Indicators on a regular basis, as well as providing quarterly data and regular documents as agreed for grant compliance. Managers will be expected to ensure robust data collection and careful inputting so that information is accurate, and can be used to examine trends and patterns. The YJB counting rules are published on the Youth Justice Resource Hub.
Exercises in statistical analysis inform your planning and service development. Youth justice services (YJSs) should undertake periodic analysis of the cohort of children they are working with as the composition of caseloads can change, as can the needs of the population as well as the types of crimes committed. For example, this could include analysing your cohort of children who reoffend to examine the age, sex, ethnicity and other factors which increase risk, the interventions provided and whether they have been effective or not and whether services need to change to be more responsive to current needs.
For more information see how to understand the profile of children in your area.
Examples include:
- using the reoffending live tracker within the Youth Justice Application Framework document library to analyse patterns of reoffending and the YJS’s response
- examining the congruence rates of pre-sentence reports to outcomes determined by the courts, to be able to discuss with magistrates any areas of variance or where outcomes were unexpected
- monitoring the diversity of children to examine whether any groups are over-represented compared to the local population, and to develop responses appropriate to their needs - this could include all children who are over-represented in the youth justice system or who have protected characteristics
- undertaking routine analysis of YJS activity to monitor levels of activity at different points in the system and trends over time
These should be reflected in the Youth Justice Plan and monitored by the YJS Management Board.
The Youth Justice Sector Improvement Partnership (YJSIP) is a partnership between the YJB who fund it via a grant, the AYM who administer and co-ordinate it, and senior leaders in the youth justice sector who deliver it.
The YJSIP sector improvement offer includes peer review and bespoke peer support as well as coaching/mentoring and operational managers training to YJS in England and Wales. To apply for sector support, services need to submit an application form, setting out what support they would like and the reasons why.
Applications are considered for approval on a quarterly basis at the YJSIP Programme Board. In addition to the sector ‘offer’, the YJSIP run several training events including:
- peer reviewer training
- leadership training
- coaching and mentoring
- an operational managers ‘train the trainer’ programme