Inspectors praise education improvements at Werrington YOI

But the report, published today, into the Stoke-on-Trent YOI, which can hold up to 160 young people, raised concerns about levels of violence and the number of boys who felt unsafe.

Inspectors praised reception facilities and the practice of locating newly admitted boys alongside those on enhanced level of the rewards and sanctions scheme, which it said had had a "motivating effect".

Safeguarding information was shared effectively across the institution, mediation was used to resolve differences and relationships between staff and young people were observed to be good.

Although there were no significant behaviour issues, inspectors said there had been an "over-reliance" on formal measures such as adjudications to address problems.

The report said there is scope to make more effective use of the scheme to manage behaviour, and the YOI has drawn up plans to address this.

Inspectors said the YOI and education providers Manchester College had a clear strategic direction for education, learning and skills, and had worked together effectively to resolve most of the weaknesses identified at the previous inspection.

Cancellation of classes was no longer a problem and attendance had improved significantly, as had success and retention rates on education and vocational courses over the past three years.

Resettlement work was effective and while obtaining suitable accommodation on release was difficult, staff efforts to get the best for young people were praised.

However, violence at the YOI remained a problem. Interviews found that 43 per cent of boys said they felt unsafe at some time, with 21 per cent saying they felt unsafe at the time of the survey.

The YOI's own survey indicated that 37 per cent said that they had been hit or kicked by another boy, although recorded incidents of violence had fallen slightly since the previous inspection.

Levels of self-harm had also fallen in the previous six months.

Survey results indicated that boys were given more opportunities to take exercise than at the previous inspection, but this was still significantly worse than the comparator.

At around eight hours a day, the average time out of cell was less than expected.

Inspectors found that over the previous two months, association had been cancelled regularly, while checks carried out showed just over a quarter of boys were locked up during core activity time, sometimes for no apparent reason.

The lack of attention given to diversity meant that it was not possible to determine if young people from minority groups were experiencing discrimination, the report added.

Chief inspector of prisons Nick Hardwick said: "Werrington is a well-run establishment and we were mostly encouraged by what we found.

"Notably, changes since the last inspection have resulted in significant improvements in living conditions and the opportunities boys are offered in education and training.

"These are important advances and it is essential this progress is consolidated and sustained.

"Nevertheless, levels of violence are still too high and many boys told us they felt unsafe.

"Werrington benefits overall from being a small institution where the quality of relationships is good.

"It is important that this is capitalised on and that staff work with the children to find better ways of maintaining a safe environment."