An inspection between 4 and 20 April revealed that a quarter of the 77 boys held at the Kent YOI were forced to stay in cells for as many as 23.5 hours per day, including two for more than 100 days, as a means of managing conflict between children.
Records, seen by inspectors, showed that it was “not unusual” for boys to stay in their cells “for days on end”, with no meaningful human interaction, education or other intervention.
At the time of the inspection, 90 per cent of children were subject to “keep apart” protocol, meaning they were not allowed to mix with some of their peers, and staff were managing 583 individual conflicts.
Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor said: “We spoke to boys who’d had almost no human contact at all in days, and who had resorted to trying to stick up photos of home with toothpaste on the walls of the tiny cells that became their whole world. Such treatment of children is appalling. This is a scandal and it cannot be allowed to continue.”
In a letter to Justice Secretary Alex Chalk demanding a “concerted and urgent response” to improve conditions at the YOI, Taylor says children told inspectors they felt unsafe, and were increasingly resorting to carrying weapons, many of which were made from metal which boys had scavenged from equipment in their cells, including kettles.
More than 200 weapons had been recovered in the six months preceding the inspection, despite inadequate searching procedures, inspectors found.
In his letter, Taylor describes staff at the YOI as “exhausted” and “unsupported by senior managers”.
He highlights that at the time of the inspection, 450 staff were employed at Cookham Wood, including 44 directly employed managers, of whom 24 were senior leaders.
“The fact that such rich resources were delivering this unacceptable service for just 77 children indicated that much of it was currently wasted, underused or in need of reorganisation to improve outcomes at the site,” he adds.
The urgent notification was invoked on 26 April.
Chalk must reply within 28 days of the publication of the letter setting out a plan for improvement.
Responding to inspectors’ findings, the Alliance for Youth Justice tweeted: “Shocking findings on scandal at Cookham Wood YOI. Over a quarter children held in extended solitary confinement. Locked in cells 23.5 hrs a day with no meaningful interaction, education or intervention. Exhausted staff given up hope. Where is the Ministry of Justice’s strategy for children in custody?”
The Ministry of Justice has been contacted for comment.
