Some good news on prisons

Work with offenders on a new inspection into HMYOI Feltham

When prison inspectors visited Feltham A Young Offender Institution in 2019, they found “a dramatic and precipitous collapse in standards”. The prison had become so violent and chaotic that the then Chief Inspector decided to invoke the urgent notification (UN) process – the first time it had been used in a children’s prison.

The Urgent Notification process was first introduced in November 2017 and is only used in extreme circumstances. When the Chief Inspector finds “significant concerns with regard to the treatment and conditions of prisoners”, she/he writes to the Secretary of State to invoke formally the urgent notification process. The Chief Inspector sets out an indication of the evidence that prompted them to issue the UN, their rationale for doing so and a note summarising all the main judgements arising from the inspection, focusing on the issues which require improvement. In response, the Ministry of Justice is required to develop an action plan to rectify the situation and the action plan must be published by the Justice Secretary within  28 days.

The inspectorate then follows up with a number of inspections to ensure that concerns are addressed.

The inspectors returned to Feltham in July 2020 and February 2021 and found some improvements on both visits. The inspectors undertook a full inspection in February/March this year and has published the resulting inspection which paints a much improved picture with the YOI being described as providing a “safer, happier and more productive environment”.

The inspection

The current Chief Inspector Charlie Taylor attributed the transformation to the  “excellent work of the governor”, Emily Martin who remained in post after the UN and “created a strong team around her with a renewed sense of purpose and vision.” The report highlights “good functional leadership” in a number of areas, including education, resettlement, and safety – where the establishment showed marked improvements.

The inspectors picked out the ‘Alpine’ unit as a particular success. The unit provides enhanced support for children with the most complex needs and was managed by a staff group with excellent knowledge of the children under their care. Vulnerable children were allowed to mix together and time out of cell (unlike at many other establishments) was maximised. The inspectors praised the use of weekly enhanced support meetings which involved both children and their families.

Feltham was found to operate a successful incentives scheme which motivated children to behave well. Again, this is an area in which many prisons and young offender institutions are failing. Inspection reports often comment on the lack of motivation prisoners have toward the incentives and earned privileges (IEP) scheme, “in which sanctions are harsh and desultory rewards are often not forthcoming”. At Feltham, inspectors rated the IEP very highly with good behaviour noted and rewarded while poor behaviour was usually addressed quickly. Good behaviour was rewarded with a place on the Dunlin unit, where children spent more time out of cell and could access vocational training programmes. All the children the inspectors spoke to were aware of the opportunities on offer on Dunlin and were motivated to achieve them.

Inspectors were pleased that a very high (96%) proportion of children attended education, although they wanted to see improvements in the quality of education on offer.

It is heartening to share some good news from the prison system for a change although the inspectors conclude their report with a note of caution. Ms Martin has now moved on from Feltham (successful governors are often moved to other problem institutions) and inspectors note that there is still much to do at Feltham to complete the recovery from COVID-19. The inspectors set out three key areas where improvement is still needed: the recruitment and retention of sufficient staff, improvement of the quality of education and a sustained focus  on reducing levels of violence which remain too high.