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<p>In January 2017 we established a Youth Custody Reform Programme in response to
the recommendations made in Charlie Taylor’s review of the youth justice system, published
in December 2016. Our response to the recommendations subsequently made by the Youth
Custody Improvement Board (YCIB) were also incorporated into this programme. To date,
of the 19 recommendations made by the YCIB, nine have been fully achieved and six
have been partially achieved. A table setting out all of the recommendations and our
progress against each of them is attached below.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Recommendation</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Status</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Ministers
should clearly define what they believe the youth custodial system is attempting to
achieve, and only then how the success criteria can be developed in order to deliver
it</p></td><td><p><strong>Partially achieved.</strong> The Youth Custody Service (YCS)
was established with a clear mission statement to<ul><li>support young people in custody
to live positive and crime-free lives</li><li>reduce the numbers of young people released
from our care who reoffend</li><li>create an environment that is educational, safe
and decent</li><li>improve safety and maximise opportunities for personal growth.</li></ul>Performance
of the youth justice system is monitored by a quarterly performance board chaired
by the Permanent Secretary across key metrics and we are working to develop a performance
framework applicable across the secure estate.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>One national
body should be accountable for leading and taking responsibility for overseeing the
Youth Secure Estate (YSE), to ensure the vision for the estate is understood across
the system, a plan for fulfilling it is implemented and that support and specialist
professional advice is provided from the centre.</p></td><td><p><strong>Fully achieved.</strong>
The YCS was formally established in September 2017.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Decisive
action should be taken to bring the 8 existing establishments within one structured
system of governance and accountability.</p></td><td><p><strong>Fully achieved.</strong>
The YCS has oversight of the whole YSE with one Executive Director directly accountable
to ministers.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>A new framework for assessing the performance
of individual establishments should be established by the new national body</p></td><td><p><strong>Partially
achieved.</strong> The YCS have an assurance framework in place and have established
a programme of work to re-evaluate data recording with the ambition of developing
a sector-wide performance framework.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>HMPPS must urgently bring
in appropriate expertise and leadership to boost its capacity in caring for young
people.</p></td><td><p><strong>Fully achieved.</strong> The creation of the YCS brought
expertise across the sector together by combining the Young People’s Estate with the
custodial operations of the Youth Justice Board (YJB). The YCS now has experienced,
directly accountable, leadership in the post of Executive Director and two new Deputy
Director posts with responsibility for reform, placements and casework; assurance
and contracted services.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Plans for extending the autonomy
of governors in the YSE should be introduced as soon as is practical.</p></td><td><p><strong>Partially
achieved.</strong> The YCS has devolved additional funds and spending powers for YCS
governors regarding education (amounting to £1.8m across the four public-sector YOIs
in 2019/20), and we are considering other ways in which we can extend their autonomy
and flexibility to innovate.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Immediate action must be taken
to appoint a skilled individual to the proposed new post of Director of the YSE.</p></td><td><p><strong>Fully
achieved.</strong> The YCS has had a dedicated Executive Director, accountable to
ministers, since April 2017.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>All new staff in the YSE should
have appropriate skills and knowledge of working with young people.</p></td><td><p><strong>Fully
achieved.</strong> The YCS established a bespoke recruitment route and induction training
programme in April 2018 to ensure staff are recruited with the right skills and values
for working with young people. All new recruits will be expected to complete the new
professionalisation programme (see below). We have used this recruitment route to
expand the capacity of YOIs – there were 315 more Band 3-5 frontline officers in the
YCS at the end of 2018 than at the end of 2017, and increase of 35%.[1]</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>A
training programme for existing staff at all levels of the YSE should be developed
to heighten and develop their skills working with young people.</p></td><td><p><strong>Fully
achieved.</strong> The YCS has established a youth custody professionalisation programme
(to foundation degree level) for frontline staff of Bands 3 and 4 or their equivalents
in the private sector. Thee staff will be transitioned into a new Band 4 Youth Justice
Specialist role upon completion of the training. Over 400 staff have been enrolled
on this training to date, and the first YJ Specialists were confirmed in post this
month. We are developing further training options for managers.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>The
MoJ should identify immediately what additional measures can be taken in each YOI
and STC to improve the safety of young people.</p></td><td><p><strong>Fully achieved.</strong>
The YCS has introduced a new evidence-based behaviour management strategy focusing
on proactive relationship-building and positive reinforcement. This will sit alongside
a new holistic care framework for children and staff developed by the NHS, the recruitment
of more psychology staff in YOIs, new critical case panels for the children who present
the most severe issues, and the building of two new Enhanced Support Units (ESUs).</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>A
comprehensive review of the specific needs of young people and the specific forms
of interventions required should be undertaken as an essential prerequisite to opening
new specialist units in YOIs and STCs. Appropriate specialist staff should also be
appointed by the time such units become operational.</p></td><td><p><strong>Fully
achieved. </strong> The YCS has a detailed evidence-based operating model and eligibility
criteria for ESUs developed by psychological and healthcare staff. Dedicated staff
were in post for each before becoming operational.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>As a priority,
specific consideration must be given to the over-representation of Black and Minority
Ethnic (BAME) young people in the YSE and further action be taken urgently to ensure
young BAME people do not experience discrimination whilst in custody.</p></td><td><p><strong>Partially
achieved.</strong> The MoJ has created a dedicated youth disproportionality team with
a key focus on explaining or changing disproportionate outcomes for BAME children
in the justice system and the YCS has introduced a new behaviour management framework
which requires each establishment to demonstrate a commitment to addressing discrimination
and disadvantage and to promote equitable outcomes for children.[2]</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>The
government should carry out a clear needs analysis of young people in custody, with
a particular focus on mental health, mental and neurodevelopmental disorders. This
will allow full details of the cohort and what services they need to aid effective
and appropriate commissioning.</p></td><td><p><strong>Partially achieved.</strong>
The MoJ carried out a comprehensive cohort analysis, including mental health needs,
of the youth secure estate at the start of the programme to guide the development
of reform proposals and service commissioning. Comprehensive identification of children’s
needs relating to neurodiversity and mental health are performed on entry into custody
by healthcare and this process itself is under review (see below).</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>A
review of the use of the Comprehensive Health Assessment Tool (CHAT) should be undertaken
to ensure it is effectively collecting and communicating the information about individual
young people that is needed.</p></td><td><p><strong>Partially achieved.</strong> A
comprehensive review of the CHAT has been undertaken by NHS England and its conclusions
are being finalised, after which an action plan will be developed to implement its
recommendations.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Ministers should consider removing the requirement
for 30 hours of education and replacing it with a national framework based on ensuring
each young person has mastered the basics of learning and can develop relevant academic
and vocational skills.</p></td><td><p><strong>Not yet achieved.</strong> We are retendering
education contracts for 2021 and intend to test elements of core day and curriculum
flexibility with our current providers to inform this exercise.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>National
minimum standards of experience should be required for teaching in YSE establishments,
with greater consideration given to the calibre of teaching staff recruited.</p></td><td><p><strong>Not
yet achieved.</strong> We are retendering education contracts for 2021 and as part
of this we are exploring new models and types of provider, including the staffing
requirements.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>For the purposes of the pilot, the MoJ should
consider direct management of the 2 secure schools through a national agency, government
department or local authority model.</p></td><td><p><strong>Rejected</strong>. Secure
schools will be set up and run by not-for-profit secure academy trusts. Providers
will have to have a clear child-focused ethos at their core and a proven record of
the knowledge and skills required to work with children in crisis. Secure academy
trusts will enter into a funding agreement with the Secretary of State for Justice
and be accountable to him</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Plans for piloting secure schools
should give serious consideration to how provision for young women could be made within
them.</p></td><td><p><strong>Fully achieved.</strong> All children that are currently
deemed suitable for placement into YOIs and STCs, including girls, will be considered
for Secure Schools. In our published ‘Guidance on How to Apply to Run a Secure School’,[3]
we have advised potential providers that they will deliver a provision that caters
to the specific needs of girls and demonstrate how an understanding of their lives
and diverse needs will inform interventions at the secure school.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Each
of the piloted secure schools should be designed to test evidence-based approaches
with a specific cohort of young people, for example those serving long (or short)
sentences, or those that would benefit from, and respond to, a therapeutic model of
intervention and care.</p></td><td><p><strong>Rejected. </strong> Any boy or girl
aged 12 to 17 who is remanded or sentenced into youth detention accommodation could
be placed into a secure school, and we expect them to accommodate children with a
wide range of complex needs. The secure schools model has been designed to deliver
an individualised, therapeutic approach to meeting children’s needs that ultimately
addresses their offending behaviour and improve their life chances, which is based
on evidence of what works and we believe they underpin best practice for any type
of youth custody provision. Rigorous evaluations will be carried out to evaluate the
benefits and impacts on children within custody, the estate’s workforce, and the community
as a whole</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics</p><p>[2]
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bridges-a-positive-behaviour-framework-for-the-children-and-young-people-secure-estate</p><p>[3]
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/secure-schools-how-to-apply</p>
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