THE lack of education provision for young offenders in Dudley has been slammed as a 'serious issue' that has not been given the attention it deserves, by inspectors.

Dudley Youth Offending Service received a rating of 'requires improvement' from the HM Inspectorate of Probation after a routine inspection.

The Dudley Youth Offending Service (YOS) works with 10 to 18-year-olds who have either been sentenced by a court or who are being dealt with outside the formal justice system.

The inspection looked at 12 aspects of the service's work, including governance and leadership; staff; partnership and services; information and facilities; assessment; planning; implementation and delivery.

Chief Inspector of Probation, Justin Russell, said: “All children and young people are entitled to access education, employment or training. This is particularly important for individuals who have offended because it can support them to move away from further crime and give them the key to a better future.

“Our inspection found education provision is poor for children known to the YOS, and it has not had the strategic attention that it merits. A high number of young people known to the YOS are not in education or training, and children are offending at times when they should be in school. Some staff have resorted to teaching children who have been excluded because there are no suitable alternatives.”

However inspectors also found 'significant areas of good practice' and praised the service's desistance work as 'outstanding in some respects'.

Inspectors also found that staff were well motivated and focus on maintaining a positive working relationship with children and young people.

Mr Russell added: “The YOS has some significant areas of good practice. However, we would like to see improvements in the quality of work to keep people safe. The YOS needs to assess, manage and review risks to keep children and young people safe and to prevent risk of harm to others.

“Dudley YOS has the potential to improve its performance and secure a ‘Good’ rating in the future. I hope the five recommendations in our report will assist the service to build on its strengths and focus on the areas for improvement.”

Councillor Ruth Buttery, cabinet member for children’s services at Dudley Council, said: “The Dudley Youth Offending Service was visited by the Inspectorate of Probation during the spring and we welcome the report.

“The report reflects our tireless work to make important improvements to our youth offending service and praises the motivation and understanding of our staff.

“However, we fully accept the report’s overall findings that we require further improvement and our focus remains upon working closely with all partners and stakeholders to ensure we share information and increase effectiveness and efficiency across the service.

“We will now ensure the recommendations of the report are incorporated into our strategic plans and can assure parents and young people that we will continue to work together to secure the best possible outcomes.”