Some of the work HMYOI Wetherby did with vulnerable young people was excellent, said Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, publishing the report of an announced inspection of the West Yorkshire young offender institution. He also published the report of a short follow-up inspection of a specialist unit within HMYOI Wetherby, the Keppel Unit.

HMYOI Wetherby holds mostly 16 and 17-year-old boys. Forty-eight young people were held on the self-contained Keppel Unit, which was inspected separately. Wetherby holds a wide range of young people, many of them challenging and many of them extremely vulnerable. In the main young offender institution, most young people were reasonably safe.

Inspectors were pleased to find that:

• the new anti-bullying strategy appeared to be having a positive impact and fewer young people said they had been bullied than in comparable establishments;
• the use of force was subject to detailed scrutiny and had reduced considerably over the previous six months;
• suicide and self-harm prevention was generally sound;
• child protection procedures were efficient, although some elements lacked sufficient independence, and the addition of three social workers would strengthen the arrangements further;
• young people’s perceptions of relationships with staff had improved since the last inspection;
• mental health services were well resourced and much good practice was noted;
• education and learning assessments were good and the special needs co-ordinator provided excellent support;
• resettlement provision was generally sound, and Wetherby’s partnership with an organisation who provided accommodation for looked-after children appeared to be a very good initiative; and
• most young people had an education, training or work placement to go to on release and there was a good range of programmes to address young people’s offending behaviour.

However, inspectors were concerned to find that:

• the new escort contract was still causing problems and some young people arrived very late which risked the most vulnerable not getting the attention they needed;
• reception processes were marred by the automatic strip searching of all new arrivals who had not come from another Prison Service establishment;
• the care and separation unit was bleak and there was little effort to address young people’s behaviour or prepare them for reintegration;
• about half of the young people were more than 50 miles from home and some young people received no or very few visits, either because of distance or because family relationships had broken down.

The Keppel Unit opened in October 2008 and was designed to offer a safe and supportive environment for 15- to 17-year-old young men who could not cope in the mainstream prison system. In 2009, inspectors described the unit as an impressive facility, achieving a great deal with some very damaged young people. This short follow-up inspection found that the needs of the young people remained very challenging. The proportion of young people with mental health problems, physical disabilities, previous time in care, learning difficulties and low levels of literacy and numeracy remained high, and self-harm had increased. More young people were a long distance from their home and more had committed violent offences, including sex offences.

Inspectors were pleased to find that:

• despite the challenges, the Keppel unit remained fundamentally safe and staff cared for young people with a great deal of sensitivity;
• the unit was busy and purposeful and young people were prepared well for release;
• prolonged funding negotiations had been resolved and Wetherby was funded to increase its previous social work complement threefold; and
• the involvement of the local authority had improved, but inspectors felt there should be more independent scrutiny of the Keppel unit, as a unique resource in the YOI estate.

Inspectors felt there was a need to review the needs of vulnerable people across the juvenile estate and have greater clarity about the role of the Keppel unit within a national strategy, with clear and consistent support from the centre. Monitoring how and when young people were placed at the unit was crucial, as well as assessing whether additional resources were required to help the unit manage additional risks, such as an increase in self-harm.

Nick Hardwick said:

‘Overall, Wetherby provided reasonably good outcomes for most of the young men it held and some of the work it did – the care for young people with mental health problems for instance – was excellent. It had some weaknesses that need to be addressed; the poor segregation unit was notable among these. However, the greatest concern was the vulnerability of some of the young people it held and the difficulty of holding them safely in a large establishment with a wide spread of population a long way from home. That raises issues about how young offenders should be dealt with, which cannot be resolved in one establishment alone.

‘Keppel unit staff at all levels are to be commended for their collective and individual commitment to the care of this vulnerable group of young people. It is welcome that the YJB are committed to developing further specialist units in the long-term. In the meantime, we believe that a review is needed of the central support and resources provided to the Keppel unit as the sole national resource for particularly vulnerable young people who have different needs to the population in mainstream young offender institutions. That needs to be done without further delay.’

Michael Spurr, Chief Executive Officer of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), said:

‘I am pleased that the Chief Inspector recognises the positive work being done at Wetherby with a challenging population of young people. The Governor and her staff are rightly commended for their care and commitment and they will use the recommendations from the report to further improve and develop the work at Wetherby.’

Notes to editors

1. Read the full reports. (520 kB)
2. HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent inspectorate, inspecting places of detention to report on conditions and treatment, and promote positive outcomes for those detained and the public.
3. The announced inspection of HMYOI Wetherby was carried out from 30 January – 3 February 2012. The unannounced short follow-up inspection of the Keppel Unit was carried out from 13-16 February 2012.
4. HMYOI Wetherby is a young offender institution for young men under 18. The Keppel Unit is a specialist unit holding vulnerable young men aged 15-17.
5. Please contact Jane Parsons at HMI Prisons on 07880 787452 if you would like more information. Nick Hardwick has limited time available for interviews.