YOI praised for focus on education and training

YOI Parc in Bridgend, South Wales, was subject to a short scrutiny visit in April during which inspectors found “local leaders had been proactive in recovery planning, liaising with the Welsh Government and Public Health Wales to deliver consistent improvements in access to education and other activities during the previous year”.

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Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor said: “This successful planning had enabled children to spend nearly 10 hours out of their cell each weekday, including 4.5 hours of education, daily exercise and evening association. This was far better than at other YOIs.”

The inspection report adds that managers and staff had “maintained a clear focus on the wellbeing of children in their care during the pandemic”. 

“Positive staff-child relationships were used to encourage children to attend education, engage with their sentence or remand plan and behave well,” it states.

Incidents of violence, self-harm and use of force had reduced at the start of the pandemic and had remained at a lower level as time out of cell increased, inspectors noted, praising the cleanliness of facilities for children and healthcare provision at Parc.

Inspectors also found that every child left Parc with an employment, training or education place to attend.

However, they also noted that some children transitioning to adult establishments had faced “unacceptable delays” to find out where they would be placed. Similar concerns were raised for young people awaiting accommodation on release.

Taylor said: “Outcomes for children at Parc remain better than at other YOIs. Managers have been helped by a reduced population, but that should not detract from the impressive progress they have made in all areas during the pandemic. The recovery at Parc has been quicker than at other YOIs and it is commendable that leaders were able to reintroduce the full pre-pandemic regime shortly after our visit. This report describes much good practice that could be used to inform the recovery elsewhere in the children’s estate.”