HMP/YOI Swinfen Hall had increased the amount of work, training and education places available, but needed to do more, said Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons. Today he published the report of an unannounced inspection of the Staffordshire training prison.

HMP/YOI Swinfen Hall holds young adults serving between four years and life. Its last full inspection in 2010 found outcomes to be reasonably good in all healthy prison tests (safety, respect and resettlement) except for the provision of work, training and education. The findings from this inspection were similar. Relationships between staff and prisoners were the prison’s main strength and the quality of relationships went some way towards mitigating other features of the prison’s provision that required improvement.

Inspectors were pleased to find that:

• young men received good care and support on arrival and this continued throughout their time at the prison;
• staff challenged antisocial behaviour and acted as role models;
• use of force was reasonably low and was used as a last resort;
• the promotion of some aspects of equality and diversity was excellent, although provision as a whole was fragmented;
• the standard of care provided by nurses in health care was impressive;
• the provision of purposeful activity had improved and the prison had a good range of work and vocational training and broadly sufficient places to meet the needs of the population;
• offender management was reasonably good and most prisoners knew their offender supervisor; and
• public protection arrangements were generally good, as was reintegration planning and resettlement provision.

However, inspectors were concerned to find that:

• although the number of violent incidents was reasonably low, prisoners reported comparatively poor perceptions of their own safety, which the prison had still not looked into;
• there had recently been a self-inflicted death, and there was a high number of incidents of self-harm, but support for prisoners in crisis was good;
• much of the accommodation continued to be sub-standard with nearly all cells on three wings needing repairs to the windows;
• not enough prisoners were achieving English and maths qualifications at level one, despite these being the entry requirement for a prison job;
• work for many was mundane and intermittent as workshops were often closed due to staff shortages or insufficient work; and
• the allocation of activity places required improvement as did punctuality and attendance, as about a third of prisoners were locked in their cell during the working day.

Nick Hardwick said:

“Overall this is a satisfactory report. Swinfen Hall remains a reasonably safe and respectful prison where prisoners are prepared adequately for release. However, despite the addition of some more activity places, too many young men are locked up when they should be working, or remain insufficiently active. This is a criticism we have raised before and for an establishment which styles itself as a training prison is a significant failing that undermines its other achievements.”

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

“Swinfen Hall holds a challenging population and I am pleased that the Chief Inspector has highlighted the safe and rehabilitative environment that the Governor and her staff have established.

“The levels of work and training for offenders have increased since the last inspection, and the ongoing recruitment of additional workshop instructors and a newly introduced education curriculum are set to further this progress.

“The Governor and her staff deserve credit for delivering a safe and positive regime whilst significantly reducing cost for the taxpayer. They will use the recommendations in this report to achieve further improvements.”

Notes to Editors:

1. Read the report.
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. This unannounced inspection was carried out from 23 June-3 July 2014.
4. HMP/YOI Swinfen Hall is a long-term training and category C prison. It holds young adult men aged between 18 and 25.
5. Please contact Jane Parsons at HMI Prisons on 020 3681 2775 or 07880 787452 if you would like more information or to request an interview.