Youth services face new inspection regime

Ofsted is planning to change the way it inspects youth services
to bring the inspection process into line with the
government’s new youth service agenda.

Under draft plans for consultation, Ofsted will inspect every
local authority youth service every four years, instead of just a
sample inspection of 12 services a year, as it does now.

Youth services will be judged according to young people’s
achievements, the quality of youth work practice and the quality of
the curriculum and provision generally. The third aspect will be
leadership and management.

The inspections will last four to five days, to be preceded by a
self assessment and Youth Service Performance Report using data
from the DfES, Ofsted and the National Youth Agency.

Ofsted says it expects to be able to “align” youth
service inspections with inspections of Connexions services to
minimise disruption. But young people themselves will not be
involved in the first four-year cycle of inspections, under current
proposals.

The government published its plans for the youth service,
‘Resourcing excellent youth services’ in December 2002.

The Ofsted consultation document