The National Offender Management Service (Noms), which oversees the secure estate for the Ministry of Justice, has recommended to YOIs that for every 12 young people there should be one officer as the minimum staffing standard.
Currently, child-to-staff ratios differ across YOIs, however some have ratios of 10 young people to one prison officer.
The move could see staff numbers at YOIs reduced, raising concerns among youth justice campaigners about inmate welfare and the ability to deliver effective interventions.
The introduction of the new ratio is part of a Noms review of staffing at YOIs across the country in light of a big fall in the number of under-18s in custody in recent years.
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