New staff have been appointed and old staff retrained following an inspection report on the Isle of Wight’s Youth Justice Service (YJS).

Inspectors from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation visited the service, noting in their report that six of the 13 categories require improvement, with two rated as ‘inadequate’, two ‘good’ and one ‘outstanding’.

The Isle of Wight Council has thanked inspectors for their constructive approach and says it acknowledges their recommendations.

The council’s Youth Justice Service was rated as good or outstanding for staffing, implementation, delivery and reviewing of court disposals, out-of-court disposal policy & provision, and resettlement policy and provision.

Meanwhile, governance and leadership, partnerships and services, information and facilities, implementation and delivery, assessment and planning were rated as requiring improvement, with out-of-court disposals planning and assessment marked as inadequate.

The report noted that the frequency of reoffending is reducing and compares well with the average figures in England and Wales and that the council has committed and highly motivated staff.

A council spokesperson said: “The inspection came at a time when there was an increase in workload and at a time of council staff changes.

“At that time, this impacted on the way work was delivered to children who were subject to out-of-court disposals, including children subject to cautions.

“Since the inspection, the workload has reduced, new staff have been appointed, and we have invested in retraining staff in the completion of assessments and plans.”

The council says that, with the support of the Youth Justice Service Management Board, it will address some other areas such as providing a speech-language and communication resource, developing its approach to children with diverse needs, and improving the way it uses feedback from children and families to inform and develop the service.