Inspectors reported a backdrop of decline which has severely affected children’s custody during the year, with inspectors judging that only Parc YOI was safe and that no YOIs were providing adequate education. Only half of the children who responded to the survey felt cared for by staff, and half of frontline staff reported suffering from low morale and fears for their personal safety. This, coupled with staffing shortfalls, meant many YOIs were unable to deliver a consistent approach to behaviour management, leading to a vicious cycle of increased levels of violence and disorder, which meant children had less time out of their cells fuelling further frustration.

At the time of the survey, 15% of children felt unsafe, more than twice the proportion in 2022-23 when just 7% said that they felt unsafe. Concerningly, those children who reported feeling unsafe experienced far worse outcomes in almost every aspect of daily life with inspectors often finding them isolating in their cells with minimal exercise or human interaction. In the worst cases, some children spent more than 22 hours a day locked up.

Violence, disorder and weak education

The report reflects inspection reports that describe institutions dominated by violence and disorder and weak education provision at every YOI. Most sites were unable to break out of a vicious cycle of conflict leading to children being locked in their cells for long periods of time. This led to frustration and ultimately higher levels of violence when they were unlocked.

In this unpredictable environment it is perhaps unsurprising that just 51% of children felt cared for by staff and only 31% would tell staff if they were being victimised by other children. Just 52% of children thought their experiences of custody made them less likely to offend in the future.

Feltham

These patterns of conflict, violence and staff shortages are echoed in the report of an independent review of progress at HMYOI Feltham A, also published today. Although inspectors identified some progress at the YOI, fundamental weaknesses remained and there was insufficient or no meaningful progress in six of the nine concerns reviewed from the last inspection in March.

The establishment was locked in a vicious cycle of high levels of staff sickness (some of which was the result of serious incidents of violence), leading to children having less than three hours a day out of cell, and sometimes less than two. This created frustration which then led to more staff assaults, further affecting staff and children.

The closure of HMYOI Cookham Wood in May 2024 had compounded the problems by dramatically increasing the number of new arrivals and the proportion of children on remand, as well as Feltham’s overall population by nearly 50%. Children’s attendance at education and work had consequently been severely curtailed, and they were unable to make any kind of meaningful progress. 

Girls

While girls made up a tiny minority of children in custody – just 11 compared with 519 boys in March 2024 – they accounted for the majority of self-harm occurring in the children’s estate. Frontline staff told inspectors of their concern for girls in their custody, with one saying their YOI wasn’t suitable for girls and was being used as a “dumping ground” for vulnerable young people. Last week the Minister for Youth Justice Sir Nic Dakin commissioned Susannah Hancock to lead an independent review into the placement of girls in the children and young people’s secure estate. The review will consider current placement options and care for girls in the youth estate and report back in 3 months. 

Conclusion

Charlie Taylor, Chief Inspector of Prisons, commented in the press release accompanying these two reports:

“These reports are stark reminders of the scale of the problems in youth custody. What should be an opportunity for children, many of whom have lived chaotic lives, to make up for lost time by gaining qualifications and addressing the underlying causes of their offending. None of this is possible while a child is locked behind a cell door. Leaders in the youth custody service must focus on getting the basics right, prioritising a consistent and motivational approach to behaviour management and giving staff enough time and support to build effective relationships with the children in their care.”

Thanks to Andy Aitchison for kind permission to use the header image in this post. You can see Andy’s work here