Read the report: HMP Send

HMP Send, a closed training prison in Surrey holding more than 200 women, was found by HM Inspectorate of Prisons in May 2021 to have remained a safe and respectful establishment with a strong culture of support.

However, inspectors, in the first full inspection of the prison since 2018, found that purposeful activity – training, education and other work – was not sufficiently good. Rehabilitation and release planning had deteriorated from good to reasonably good. A report on the May 2021 inspection, published today, makes clear that restrictions in the COVID-19 period had reduced women’s ability to engage with training, education and sentence progress work.

Send has a complex population, with many women presenting a high risk of harm to others. Sixty per cent reported mental health problems, 37% had a disability and 40% had a history of self-harm. The prison contains the only democratic therapeutic community for women in the country, as well as a psychologically informed planned environment (PIPE) unit.

Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said:

“After a year spent with lockdown restrictions in place, a serious outbreak of COVID-19 in January 2021, in which a staff member died, and the forced closure of two wings at short notice due to fire safety concerns, Send was coping remarkably well.

“Women, many of whom had complex needs and were serving long sentences, felt generally well cared for and supported by staff. The excellent relationships between women and staff were evident throughout the prison.”

Support was in place for women who were distressed, self-harming or particularly vulnerable. Self-harm was high at Send, though a small number of women accounted for a large proportion of incidents. Staff members had noted that self-harm tended to increase when the lifting of restrictions in the community was not mirrored in the prison.

Women felt supported by their peers but the restrictions on social visits had hit women hard, particularly those with young children. Mr Taylor added:

“Many had chosen not to see their families at all because the ban on hugging during visits had been too painful for both mother and child.

“In-cell telephones and extra credit meant that connections had at least been maintained, but it was no substitute for physical contact. One woman movingly told me how she could feel her son beginning to drift away from her.”

Women were getting out of their cells for at least three hours a day but the loss of time to socialise, and get access to peer support, education and training, meant they had suffered. Ofsted inspectors who took part in the inspection noted: “Leaders had not made sure that the culture at the prison promoted the benefits of education effectively or challenged women to achieve.” However, ‘Making Connections’ was a very impressive community mentoring scheme offered to all women six months before they were due for release.

Mr Taylor added:

“The governor had a very positive vision for the prison and a clear set of priorities that included restoring education, release on temporary licence (ROTL), visits and the therapeutic interventions. Inspectors agreed with her analysis that sentence progression, particularly for women on longer sentences, was not as good as it should be, although the outstanding chaplaincy had developed a mentoring support scheme for those who were due for release.

“There was a strong, deep culture of respect and support that had been established in the prison, maintained by the visible and accessible leadership team and a dedicated staff… This culture had sustained the prison through the last, challenging year and inspectors were confident that as restrictions are lifted, the prison will continue to make good progress.”

– End –

Notes to editors

1. Read the HMP Send report, published on 26 August 2021.
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 is the first report on a full prison inspection since we returned to full unannounced inspections after the easing of COVID restrictions.
4. This is also the first full inspection and published report on a women’s prison to use our new Women’s Expectations.
5. This inspection took place between 10 and 21 May 2021.
6. Please contact John Steele at john.steele@justice.gov.uk or on 07880 787452 if you would like more information.