East Kent PDU rated as ‘Inadequate’

While shortfalls in staffing were gradually being addressed and the PDU was making some progress in reaching its target operating model, too often indicators of harm were not identified, explored, or sufficiently understood by practitioners.

Martin Jones, Chief Inspector of Probation, said: “Despite efforts by the leadership team across the PDU, along with a passionate and committed staff group and some promising innovation, the quality of work to reduce reoffending and manage risk of harm was insufficient.”

The report found the level of inexperience across all grades of staff was evident in the cases inspected, and this led to a lack of effective liaison and information-sharing with police and children’s social care to safeguard children and victims of domestic abuse. Middle managers, many of whom were also new in post, were overwhelmed by the demands of their role compounded by the extent of the training and development needs of their staff and were unable to provide the necessary level of oversight required.

While leaders were concerned about staff welfare and had attempted to mitigate the impact of resourcing issues by adopting a prioritisation model, the principles of this approach were not fully adhered to, and service delivery by commissioned providers was insufficient to reduce reoffending and harm.

Mr Jones added: “Undoubtedly, staff and leaders in East Kent PDU will be disappointed by our findings, but we hope they will not be deterred from continuing to make the improvements which will enable them to realise their vision that East Kent PDU will become a high-performing and inspiring place to work.”

ENDS

Notes to editor

1. Probation Delivery Units (PDUs) replaced Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and the National Probation Service (NPS), which merged into a unified Probation Service in June 2021.
2. East Kent PDU encompasses a large geographical area, serving six local authorities of Kent County Council (Ashford, Canterbury, Dover, Folkestone and Hythe, Swale, and Thanet).
3. The report is available at justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation on 21 March 2024.
4. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth justice and probation services across England and Wales.
5. The Inspectorate uses a four-point scale: ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires improvement’ and ‘Inadequate’. The Inspectorate rates specific aspects of each service and also gives an overall rating.
6. Fieldwork for this inspection took place in December 2023.
7. For media enquiries, please contact Louise Cordell, Head of Communications 07523 805224 / media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)