National recognition for East Riding’s Outstanding service as Youth Justice Board Interim Chair visits

The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales Interim Chair, Phil Bowen, has visited East Riding’s Youth Justice Service to hear about the service’s work with young people and victims of crime.

Mr Bowen spent a day meeting the Youth Justice team, to hear about the ways in which the service supports young people – diverting them away from crime, delivering activities and interventions that are innovative, tailored and responsive to individual needs, and supporting young people to make positive choices.

The team outlined examples of how they work creatively alongside young people, listening to their voices and views, to achieve positive outcomes. He also visited the innovative Our Place mobile youth service, which won the Children’s Services Award at the LGC Awards last year for the outreach work offering a safe and inclusive space for young people – providing creative activities and addressing issues including mental health, online safety, child exploitation and LGBTQI inclusion. Finally, Mr Bowen heard about the restorative justice work with victims of crime, which provides an individualised and sensitive approach to victim support.

East Riding’s Youth Justice Service became the first in the country to achieve full marks in an official inspection in 2019 scoring 36/36 and was rated as Outstanding. HM Inspectorate of Probation inspected the service again at the beginning of 2026 and again awarded full marks, 12/12, and an Outstanding rating.

Phil Bowen, Chair of the Youth Justice Board, said: “I was delighted to spend the day meeting the dedicated professionals at East Riding Youth Justice Service, as well as the children that they work with. I was particularly impressed with its victim and restorative approach, which is tailored to the individual needs of both the child and the victim. It promoted safety in a way that was both innovative and personalised and was achieving positive outcomes for the victim, the child, and the wider community.”

Councillor Victoria Aitken, Cabinet Member for children, families and education said: “East Riding’s Youth Justice Service brings together policing, probation, health, education and social care and does exceptional work supporting children to move away from crime and build positive futures. The service’s restorative justice work and support for victims is a real strength and plays an important role in helping victims feel heard and supported, whilst also strengthening community confidence.

“The highly skilled and committed team go above and beyond every day to support children, families and communities. I’m delighted that the best practice is being showcased on a national level, and other areas will be able to benefit from hearing about how we deliver youth justice work.”

East Riding Youth Justice Service works with young people aged 10 to 18 who have committed an offence and have come to the attention of the police. It is a multi-agency partnership, bringing together professionals from:

• East Riding of Yorkshire Council
• Humberside Police
• the National Probation Service
• speech and language therapy services
• substance misuse services
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
• Community and Voluntary organisations

Find out more about the Youth Justice Service: eryc.link/youthjusticeservice