HM Young Offender Institution (YOI) Cookham Wood in Kent, which holds up to 188 boys aged between 15 and 18, was found to be insufficiently good in all four of HM Inspectorate’s healthy prison tests.

These assessments in September 2019 included a deterioration in the ‘care’ test, from reasonably good in December 2018. The assessments for safety, purposeful activity and resettlement remained the same year on year.

However, Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said: “Despite these disappointing verdicts, local managers sought to provide some context in terms of their frustration at being unable to recruit and retain sufficient staff. New recruitment initiatives were underway and there was some hope that the impending closure of the adjacent Medway Secure Training Centre (STC) would lead to an influx of transferred staff in the new year.”

“Staff shortages, however, could not have come at a worse time as the institution was running near capacity as children were diverted away from Feltham A YOI, as that institution responded to the Urgent Notification we issued to it earlier in 2019.”

Cookham Wood was still not safe enough. Children were received into the institution reasonably well and levels of self-harm were lower than at comparable prisons. However, levels of violence, some of which was serious, remained high.

Mr Clarke added: “Work was in place to resolve conflict, supported by a comprehensive behaviour management strategy, but much of this was impeded by the shortage or regular re-deployment of staff. In addition, too much low-level poor behaviour went unchallenged and too little was done to encourage fuller engagement among children.” Safety was further undermined by overreliance on ‘keep apart’ lists, which hindered a full and smoothly-run daily regime, and by significant amounts of lock-up.

Use of force by staff had increased and was high, and more than half of incidents required the full deployment of restraint techniques. Children could also find themselves segregated on at least two units, Bridge and Phoenix, or on normal location. “The purpose of these units required clarification and the regime for children on them was too limited, despite the attention of caring and supportive staff,” Mr Clarke said.

The YOI was modern but the upkeep was poor. Relationships between staff and children generally were not good enough. Barely two-thirds of children felt respected and staff rarely had sufficient time to engage meaningfully with them.

Inspectors found 28% of children locked in cell during the school day, with most accessing just five hours a day out of cell during the week and two hours at weekends. Access to the gym and library was restricted. Despite some improvements in provision, punctuality and attendance at education and vocational training were poor.

Oversight of resettlement work was similarly disappointing, lacking focus and coordination. Release on temporary licence (ROTL) assessments and public protection work were not sufficiently robust and just a quarter of children said they thought someone was helping them with their release. “The lack of suitable accommodation for children being released was very concerning,” Mr Clarke added. However, a “family therapist” project to support children’s family ties was identified good practice.

Overall, Mr Clarke said:

“In the coming year, progress at Feltham will hopefully ease population pressures at Cookham Wood and the prospect of new staff provides some assurance that managers will be better placed to resolve the problems we identified. At this inspection we saw many hard-working staff and managers, and some improvements were evident, but so was some deterioration… Priorities we identify include an insistence on higher standards of living conditions and children’s behaviour, a need for a more active regime that incentivises and engages young people and a more robust and better coordinated delivery of effective resettlement services.”

– END –

 

Notes to editors

1. The report, published on 18 February 2020, can be found on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website at: www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/inspections

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. HMYOI Cookham Wood was built in the 1970s, originally for young men, but its use was changed to meet the growing need for secure female accommodation at the time. In 2007-8, it changed its function to accommodate 15 to 17-year-old young men to reduce capacity pressures in London and the South East for this age group. In January 2014, a new purpose-built residential unit was opened incorporating integrated facilities and designed to meet the needs of the young people and improve safety.

4. HM Inspectorate of Prisons assesses YOIs against four ‘healthy prison tests’ – safety, care, purposeful activity and resettlement. There are four assessments – good (4), reasonably good (3), not sufficiently good (2) and poor (1). In 2018 Cookham Wood scored 2-3-2-2. In 2019 it scored 2-2-2-2.

5. Notable features from this inspection: 31 children were remanded or sentenced for murder or attempted murder; 28% of children were on remand; 75% of children had had involvement with children’s social care; almost two-thirds of the children were from a black and minority ethnic background; there were 20 young adults over the age of 18, eight of whom were awaiting placements in the adult estate; there had been 466 instances of ROTL in the last six months, 39% of which were used for education and training purposes.

6. This unannounced inspection took place between 9 and 20 September 2019.

7. Please contact John Steele at HM Inspectorate of Prisons on 07880 787452, or at john.steele@justice.gov.uk, if you would like more information. Please contact the Ministry of Justice news desk on 020 3334 3536 for a comment.