HMP Kirklevington Grange maintained high standards and had improved still further, said Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons. Today he published the report of an unannounced inspection of the resettlement prison in Cleveland.

HMP Kirklevington Grange prepares men, most of whom are coming to the end of long sentences for serious offences, for their re-entry back into the community. Its last inspection in May 2011 found that the prison was performing its specialist function very well. This more recent inspection found that the prison had maintained those high standards despite holding a more complex population and, in some important areas, had improved further.

Inspectors were pleased to find that:

• the prison was very safe, with few incidents of violence or self-harm;
• prisoners responded positively to staff who expected high standards of behaviour;
• security measures were mostly effective and although there were some problems with illegal drugs, this was less so than in comparable jails;
• safety and security were driven by very good relationships between staff and prisoners;
• the prison had done some particularly good work with veterans to identify their needs and link them with specialist services;
• the accommodation was mostly good;
• purposeful activity was very strong and all prisoners were engaged in work, training or education in the prison or paid and voluntary work in the community;
• processes of assessing prisoners’ eligibility for release on temporary licence (ROTL) were rightly cautious and well managed;
• offender management arrangements were among the best inspectors have seen, as the whole prison worked together with a clear focus on resettlement; and
• no prisoner left the prison without accommodation arranged.

Some prisoners were concerned about being arbitrarily returned to closed conditions and were reluctant to use the complaints system because of this, but when inspectors examined a large number of cases, they found returns to closed conditions were made for good reasons and not linked to complaints.

However, inspectors were concerned to find that:

• prisoners had no access to the internet, which could have been used to prepare and equip them with the skills and resources they needed for life in the community; and
• prisoners needed to have more information before they arrived at the prison about the process and timescales for release on temporary licence opportunities.

Nick Hardwick said:

“Kirklevington Grange has a unique and important specialist role. It performs this role very well although there is absolutely no room for complacency. It holds a more complex population than before and the risks inherent in its work will always need careful management. The prison’s future rule under the transforming rehabilitation agenda was not sufficiently clear at the time of this inspection but as we have said in the past, it should not be seen as an anomaly but a highly effective model from which other parts of the prison system could learn.”

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

“This report reflects the outstanding work being carried out at Kirklevington Grange to prepare prisoners to re-enter their communities.

“As the Chief Inspector has found, offenders here are being given real opportunities to gain the skills and experience needed to find jobs on release.

“We will continue to fully support the Governor and his staff as they maintain and build upon their high standards.”

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. HMP Kirklevington Grange is a category D resettlement prison for adult men.
4. This unannounced inspection was carried out from 15-19 December 2014 and 5-9 January 2015.
5. Please contact Jane Parsons in HM Inspectorate of Prisons Press Office on 020 3681 2775 or 07880 787452 if you would like more information or to request an interview.