Youth secure estate

Children in custody are being failed by establishments dominated by violence, disorder and a lack of education, according HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP).

The inspectorate's 2023/24 annual review – based on a survey of children living in young offender institutions (YOIs) and secure training centres (STCs) in England and Wales – found more children felt unsafe and fewer said they were attending education than the year before.

The analysis reflects the findings of inspection reports. In 2023/24 just one YOI – Parc – was judged to be “safe” and none of YOIs inspected offered good enough education.

The one area where ratings have improved is resettlement work to prepare young people for leaving custody.

There are currently four YOIs – Parc in Bridgend, South Wales; Feltham A in London; Wetherby in West Yorkshire; and Werrington in Stoke-on-Trent. There is only one STC in operation - Oakhill in Kent.

Last year, the Ministry of Justice announced the closure of Cookham Wood YOI in Kent following a complete breakdown in behaviour management and standards of care.

Efforts to reform the youth justice system and develop a new approach led to the launch of the Oasis Restore Secure School in August 2024.

The state-of-the-art facility in Rochester, Kent, promises a new approach with a “child first” ethos and a focus on enrolling all children in formal education or training. The hope is this will provide a new model for secure settings.

Lack of progress

To date, youth custody leaders have struggled to make headway despite the Youth Custody Service spending nearly £189mn in 2023/24.

Young people in custody – totalling 510 in February but an average of 580 in 2023/24 – tend to be male, are more likely to be from non-white ethnic groups and more likely to have been in care. Many are on remand.

A key trend has been an increase in the number of young people aged 18 in children's prisons due to overcrowding in adult prisons, placing additional pressure on institutions that are not set up to provide education and work experience for adults.

Of those who took part in HMIP's 2023/24 survey, 28% were aged 18 or older compared with 17% the year before.

Inspection findings show leaders and staff are making improvements but HMIP says it remains concerned especially about a “lack of meaningful progress” at YOIs in England.

Safety has been a key issue, and recent inspections have highlighted an over-reliance on separation to manage conflict – even in the best-performing settings.

The survey found 72% of young people reported spending more than two hours out of their cell during the week and just 43% said this happened at the weekend.

However, the time spent out of cells varied dramatically between settings with children at Oakhill and Parc – the two smallest sites – reporting far more time out of their cells.

The most recent inspection report on Feltham A – which has seen a 50% increase in the number of inmates due to the closure of Cookham Wood – found children were spending less than three hours a day out of their cells and sometimes less than two.

A progress review, published in November last year, found the institution was locked in a “vicious cycle” of staff sickness, exacerbated by two serious violent incidents in which 34 staff members were injured.

“This dramatically reduced the ability of leaders to deliver a constructive and consistent daily routine,” says the report. “The frustration this caused led to more staff assaults.”

Assault incidents

The latest figures on safety in the children's secure estate – which cover YOIs, Oakhill STC and secure children's homes – show a fall in the number and rates of assaults in the three months from July to September 2024 compared with the same period last year.

However, the volume and rate of serious assaults increased over the same period.

There were 472 assault incidents from July to September 2024 of which 53 were serious assaults. The number of individual children and young people involved as assailants or fighters was 347, a 6% decrease compared with the same period the year before.

The report shows 229 of these incidents were assaults on staff.

The figures show there were 391 separate incidents of self-harm – involving 91 young people – in the three months from July to September 2024. This equates to an annual rate of self-harm of 287.5 per 100 children, a 23% decrease compared with 2023.

Progress at Wetherby – the largest YOI – has been slow and violence, disorder and self-harm had been rising, found a progress review published in December last year.

However, inspectors found a new governor had begun to improve the regime.

A progress report on Werrington, published in July 2024, found safeguarding and education provision had improved although some children had limited time out of cells.

At its last full inspection in October 2023, Oakhill STC, which is run by private provider G4S and jointly inspected by HMIP, the Care Quality Commission, and Ofsted – was rated “requires improvement”.

But an assurance visit in March 2024 found it was making “solid and steady progress”.

Inspectors highlighted the fact children and young people were involved in some decisions about routines and the running of the establishment and there was a “sense of children's views being valued and acted upon”.

Inspectors found staff intervene “sensitively and skillfully to prevent escalation of conflict between children”.

INSPECTION SHORTS

EDUCATION

Two thirds of parents who took part in a survey said they preferred Ofsted's proposed report cards to current inspection reports. The online poll of 1,090 parents conducted by YouGov in March found 67% preferred the report cards while just 15% preferred current reports. Most participants – 78% – felt report cards would be useful to them while 86% said the information they contained was easy to understand.

YOUTH JUSTICE

A standalone judgment on children's resettlement work has been removed from inspections of secure training centres. The move, which follows a consultation in autumn last year, is designed to ensure more emphasis on the care and planning for children moving to adult prisons as well as those returning to live in the community. From now on resettlement work will come under the judgment for “overall experiences and progress”.

SOCIAL CARE

Ofsted has made a series of changes to inspections for social care providers such as children's homes and fostering agencies to encourage them to look after more children with complex needs. The regulator said the changes were designed to provide clarity and reassurance for providers who may worry about their Ofsted grade when considering whether to take on children with high or multiple needs. The changes will put more focus on how providers ensure stability for children and how they work with other agencies to manage risks.

EDUCATION

Careers guidance for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds varies in quality, found new research by Ofsted. The regulator visited three secondary schools, 19 further education colleges and six sixth-form colleges as part of the government-commissioned study. It found most students were positive about the careers advice they received but some who would benefit from extra support were missing out. The report found difficulties in recruiting experienced careers advisers was affecting quality.

SOCIAL CARE

Agencies in North Yorkshire have been told to strengthen their work to protect babies and children affected by domestic abuse. A joint inspection by HM Inspectorate of Probation, Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services found most services were effective and performing well but also found room for improvement in areas like information-sharing. Inspectors found children aged up to seven were not always seen as victims of domestic abuse with too much emphasis on protecting them by focusing on adults.

PARC YOI DELIVERS SUPPORTIVE CULTURE BUT STRIVES TO IMPROVE EDUCATION OFFER

Following an inspection in 2023, Parc Young Offender Institution was described as “the best in England and Wales” by HM chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor, who said the setting was a benchmark for others.

At the time of the unannounced inspection in October 2023, there were 28 boys in residence at the YOI in Bridgend, South Wales, which is run by private firm G4S.

“Parc YOI was a safe institution and boys were treated well with good care from the moment they arrived,” wrote Taylor.

“There was a full agenda of initiatives and incentives, as well as an active regime which promoted positive behaviour and helped to reduce violence.”

Inspectors found leaders had been successful in maintaining a “very supportive” culture and 80% of the young people felt cared for by staff.

However, they also identified areas for improvement including a concerning increase in the use of separation and a noticeable decline in education provision.

Parc was rated “good” for safety, care and resettlement work but inspectors downgraded its rating for purposeful activity to “not sufficiently good”.

The education on offer at Parc had been rated as excellent by Welsh education inspectorate Estyn but was judged “inadequate” in October 2023 following a change in education provider.

Inspectors raised concerns about the limited curriculum on offer, a lack of specialist teachers, poor access to learning resources and no reading strategy.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons returned to the YOI in December last year – when 31 children were in residence – and found progress had been made, including a reduction in the use of separation.

“Oversight was stronger and leaders had a focus on incentivising children to live together as one community, which contributed to the good progress made,” says the progress report.

Inspectors found the education team was better staffed but lesson planning and assessments of individual progress still needed work.

The curriculum had been reviewed and the YOI had introduced a reading strategy which included giving new arrivals a book for their first night and ensuring all young people got a new book each month that was read and discussed in education sessions.

“These strategies had been designed to help normalise reading as part of everyday life and a few learners reported that they had read a book from cover to cover for the first time since arriving at the YOI,” says the report.