Chief inspector names YOI 'best in England and Wales'
Fiona Simpson
Friday, March 6, 2020
Parc young offender institution (YOI) has been described as “easily the best performing in England and Wales”, by the chief inspector of prisons.
The establishment received high praise in areas including relationships between staff and inmates, education and resettlement and rehabilitation of young people, in a report by Peter Clarke.
Parc is a young offender institution based on the site of an adult prison in Bridgend, Wales.
It has capacity for 64 young people aged 15 to 18.
At the time of the inspection in November 34 children were placed in the YOI – 60 per cent of children had previous involvement with children’s social care and 46 per cent of the population were of black and minority ethnic background.
Clarke said “there is much to learn from Parc” and called on prison staff and the government to “pay close attention” to his report.
Key successes highlighted in the report include:
Settlement of new arrivals
Parc was praised for its “well-planned induction” which ensured new arrivals spent a lot of time out of their cell.
Some 84 per cent of children told inspectors that they were “treated well” by staff at reception while 82 per cent said they felt safe on their first night at Parc.
Clarke noted in his report that staff were “well informed” about children before their arrival and praised the shortening of induction from five days to three following consultation with children.
Relationships between staff and children
Children at Parc said they “felt cared for by at least one member of staff” during interviews with inspectors.
“More children than at other YOIs said that staff encouraged them to attend education and helped them to achieve the objectives in their training or remand plan,” the report states.
It adds that leaders and managers were focused on “treating children as individuals and meeting their specific needs”.
“We found staff from all areas were very knowledgeable about the children in their care and continued to work in a motivational, patient and caring way,” Clarke says.
The report also praised the presence of two full-time nurses at the YOI who, inspectors said, “helped to build caring and trusting relationships with the children”.
Support for victims and perpetrators of violence by staff was also described as “excellent”.
Daily routine and activities
Parc’s “daily regime for the children was also in stark contrast to what we have seen elsewhere,” Clark says.
Some 97 per cent children spent 10 hours out of their cell on weekdays and seven hours out of their cell on weekends, the report states.
Clarke said he was “particularly pleased” to see all meals taken communally and praised Parc’s “excellent” gym facilities and physical education provision.
The report described library access at Parc as “reasonably good”, stating the facility was open three-and-a-half days a week.
Education
At the time of inspection nearly all children were working at least one level above their level for literacy and numeracy on admission, the report states.
Most children achieved several appropriate qualifications during their sentence and a few completed GCSEs and AS levels, it adds.
Lessons in subjects including carpentry and cookery were praised by inspectors who said “nearly all children attended education regularly and developed good attitudes to learning”.
“Children with additional needs and those from a black and minority ethnic background progressed at the same rate as other learners,” the report states.
“Teachers took very good account of children’s initial assessments, interests and dispositions when planning their sessions to ensure there was effective differentiation and challenge in the work,” it adds.
Resettlement
“A very high proportion of children said that someone at Parc had helped them to keep in touch with their family or friends”, the report states, with 100 per cent of inmates saying they could use the phone every day compared with an average of 58 per cent at other YOIs.
Staff were praised for their efforts to continue or re-establish contact with family members. One child told inspectors staff had reconnected him with his sibling, the report states.
The report also highlights “effective” programmes for long-distance family members and a one-to-one support scheme for children who were parents.
Frequent meetings with case workers meant children who had not made significant progress before release were quickly identified, the report states, praising “highly effective” partnership work with outside organisations.
Prior to release budgeting and money advice was incorporated into education provision and all children received it, Clarke adds.
In the six months prior to the report being released no children had left the YOI without an address to go to.
Amy Rees, HM Prison and Probation Service director general, said: “Inspectors have described this institution as the best performing in England and Wales, which is a huge credit to the work of the Director and G4S staff.
"Relationships between young people and those who work at HMYOI Parc are strong, the children are regularly out of their rooms in education and, most importantly, they feel safe and able to rehabilitate.”
