Standford Hill, an open resettlement prison on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, was found in 2019 to have maintained the high standards of treatment and conditions identified at the previous inspection in 2015.

The prison – holding men coming to the end of their sentences and being prepared for their resettlement back into the community – was assessed as good, the highest grade, in three of the four ‘healthy prison tests.’ It was reasonably good in the fourth test, respect. These were the same as the assessments made in 2015.

Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said Standford Hill was “doing well in fulfilling its purpose as a resettlement prison.”

The prison remained safe and calm, and prisoners were well behaved. There had been no fights or assaults in the previous six months. Staff rarely used force, though inspectors were disappointed to find that officers did not routinely complete paperwork following the application of handcuffs when returning prisoners to closed conditions. “This omission meant some force was effectively unaccounted for”, Mr Clarke commented.

Inspectors found that prisoners understood the freedoms and opportunities the prison offered and did not want to risk a return to closed conditions. In 2015, the prison took a zero-tolerance approach to infringements of the prison rules. In 2019, Mr Clarke said, “the prison responded to poor behaviour in a more nuanced way by trying to understand the prisoners’ poor behaviour and, where appropriate, offering a second chance to remain in open conditions. This innovative approach was promising and we found no evidence that the prison was taking undue risks; around five prisoners a month were still returned to closed conditions.”

Relationships between staff and prisoners were strong, despite some consistent reports of a few uninterested officers. In 2015, fewer black and minority ethnic prisoners were satisfied with their treatment than white prisoners. In 2019, the inspection survey suggested equality of treatment had improved. An equality and diversity manager had been appointed, though more work was still required to address some prisoners’ perceptions of unequal treatment.

Prisoners were never locked in their rooms and could move around the site. A key strength of the prison was the opportunity it afforded prisoners to study, train and work. The prison had addressed most weaknesses relating to purposeful activity identified in 2015. No prisoners were unemployed and 48% regularly worked, studied or trained in the community. The prison’s partnership with East Kent College was impressive, though prison managers still needed more oversight of the quality of its delivery. A total of 55% of prisoners were in employment on the day they were released from the prison.

Work to rehabilitate prisoners and plan for their release continued to be good. The prison, along with the children’s charity Spurgeons, offered prisoners a wide range of opportunities to maintain and rebuild their family lives. The outstanding visitors’ centre was one of the best in the prison estate and was used to host regular and constructive family days. Offender management work was also good.

Overall, Mr Clarke said:

“Despite a few criticisms and the identification of a small number of areas for improvement, highlighted throughout the report, the prison fulfilled its resettlement function well. The prison’s calm atmosphere, the good staff-prisoner relationships, its impressive education, training and work opportunities and the solid rehabilitative work clearly motivated and incentivised prisoners and gave them a good chance of a successful return to the community on their release.”

Phil Copple, HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) Director General for Prisons, said:

“Staff at HMP Standford Hill deserve praise for creating a safe and respectful prison, where offenders are treated well and given the opportunity to turn their lives around. The relationships between staff and prisoners are crucial to this, so I am very grateful to the Governor and her team for their work.”

– End –

Notes to editors

1. A copy of the full report, published on 4 February 2020, can be found on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website.
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. Standford Hill is an open resettlement prison on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. It holds category D prisoners who are coming to the end of their sentences and are being prepared for their resettlement back into the community.
4. HM Inspectorate of Prisons assesses adult prisons against four ‘healthy prison tests’ – safety, respect, purposeful activity and rehabilitation and release planning. There are four assessments – good (4), reasonably good (3), not sufficiently good (2) and poor (1). In 2015 Standford Hill scored 4-3-4-4. The score remained the same in 2019.
5. Notable features from this inspection: there were no violent incidents and none of the prisoners were formally monitored using anti-bullying procedures in the six months before the inspection; there was no segregation unit; prisoners were not required to share rooms; all prisoners were employed; about 80% of the population had access to release on temporary licence (ROTL), amounting to 28,300 incidences of ROTL in the six months before the inspection; 55% of prisoners had a job to go to on release; 96% of prisoners were released to suitable permanent accommodation.
6. This unannounced inspection took place between 19 August and 5 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.