Vale of Glamorgan Youth Offending Service (YOS) has received an overall rating of 'Good' following an inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation.

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: "Stability, passion and experience – Vale of Glamorgan Youth Offending Service has these, and many other attributes, which is ensuring the right ingredients for success.

"Children have access to what they need to succeed and move away from further offending – this is good news for all concerned, not least the local communities in the Vale and throughout south-east Wales."

Inspectors praised the knowledge of staff at the YOS, and their overall delivery of good-quality work that is deterring children from crime. We also found specific areas of their work to be of a high standard. This is a positive sign that a service has struck the right balance between helping children and protecting the public.

This inspection did find areas for improvement, notably that the YOS must continue to improve the quality of services available to children, which has stalled in recent months.

Additionally, the report outlines a need for the service to be more consistent with how they assess and oversee each child under their supervision and fully address their safety and wellbeing.

The report makes six recommendations to Vale of Glamorgan YOS, including that they should fully implement their resettlement policy – the work which helps children return to the community after being in custody – within the next 12 months.

The full report can be found via this link.