HMIP Inspections of Cookham Wood

The prison was inspected in April 2023, the full report can be read at the Ministry of Justice web site, just follow the links below. The inspectors were so troubled at their inspection they issued an Urgent Notification to the Secretary of State. In their latest report the inspectors said:

 

The findings of this inspection were extremely concerning, with evidence indicating outcomes for young people were poor in our tests of safety and purposeful activity, and not sufficiently good in care and resettlement. They were the latest in a pattern of deterioration dating back to 2016. These findings would be deeply troubling in any prison, but given that Cookham Wood holds children, they were unacceptable. As a result, I had no choice but to write to the Secretary of State immediately after the inspection and invoke the Urgent Notification process. That letter is published on our website and provides the detail behind my decision.

The most evident failing at Cookham Wood was the near total breakdown in behaviour management. Nearly a quarter of the boys told us they felt unsafe; this was perhaps unsurprising in view of the prevalence of delinquent behaviour and the number of weapons found – more than 200 in the months leading up to the inspection. The diffidence and lack of confidence we observed among staff in their dealings with young people suggested that some of them may also have felt unsafe. Inspectors witnessed repeated examples of intimidating and threatening behaviour by children towards staff, including insulting or pushing past them, which went unaddressed.

Staff had very low expectations of those in their care, and the ready acceptance of poor standards was widespread. Living units were dirty, important equipment was broken and graffiti was rife. Significantly, standards in staff facilities, such as offices, were also not good enough, and it was perhaps symbolic of the general malaise that several staff were not even wearing correct uniform. No one it seemed, had challenged any of this deterioration.

The only response to escalating poor behaviour appeared to be a readiness to lock down protagonists with a web of ‘keep apart’ orders which confined young people to their cells for extended periods of time. This overwhelmed any meaningful regime and dominated the experience of staff and children alike. During our visit 90% of boys were being kept apart from other prisoners, with nearly 600 keep apart instructions. There seemed to be no imagination, creativity, or plan for how to promote good behaviour with ineffective incentives on offer. Only on the small Cedar unit, with the possibility of temporary release for a few, were children being motivated to behave.

The separation of boys had led to a situation where solitary confinement had become normalised. Many were locked in their cells for 23.5 hours a day with hardly any meaningful human interaction. Some did not come out of their cells for days on end, a situation that amounted to solitary confinement. During the inspection, for example, we came across two boys requiring protection from their peers who had been subjected to these conditions for more than 100 days. The lock up and isolation meant the daily regime for all had become sclerotic, stifling any attempt at meaningful and sustainable access to education, work or activity. It was no surprise that our Ofsted colleagues judged education, learning and skills provision to be ‘inadequate’ in every regard.

The newly appointed governor had been in post for about six weeks and he indicated to us that he was aware of the problems in the establishment. The leadership team, however, lacked cohesion and had failed to drive up standards. In this context we were also surprised to be told that since the governor had been appointed, no senior leader from the Youth Custody Service had visited to make their own assessment of the establishment’s evident failings. Many staff were open about how little confidence they had in leaders and managers. We were informed of some staffing shortfalls, but also that around 360 staff were currently employed at Cookham Wood. This included 24 senior leaders. In addition, there were several more working for partners in health care, education, and other areas. The fact that such rich a resource was delivering such an unacceptable service to just 77 children indicated that much of it was being wasted, underused or needed reorganising to improve outcomes at the site.

There will need to be urgent, concerted, long-term commitment from leaders at the YOI and from the Youth Custody Service to improve standards at Cookham Wood and make it an acceptable establishment to hold children.

Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
May 2023

The inspectors also provided a brief list of their major concerns:

What needs to improve at HMYOI Cookham Wood

During this inspection we identified six priority concerns. Priority concerns are those that are most important to improving outcomes for children. They require immediate attention by leaders and managers.

Leaders should make sure that all concerns identified here are addressed and that progress is tracked through a plan which sets out how and when the concerns will be resolved. The plan should be provided to HMI Prisons.

Priority concerns

  1. Despite well-resourced local and national leadership teams, oversight of much of safety, living conditions and purposeful activity was poor. Staff did not have confidence in the leadership team and their morale was very low.
  2. Evidence of the acceptance of low standards was widespread. Many staff were not wearing the right uniform, living units were dirty, important equipment was broken and graffiti remained a problem.
  3. There was a complete breakdown of behaviour management. This had led to an escalation in poor behaviour to the point where there was widespread weapon making and nearly a quarter of children reporting that they felt unsafe. Staff told us they were reluctant to search thoroughly or challenge threatening or intimidating behaviour because they were not always supported by colleagues or managers.
  4. Solitary confinement of children had become normalised at the establishment. Over a quarter of the population was completely separated from the main population. Most were locked in their cells for 23.5 hours a day with no meaningful human interaction.
  5. Children were unable to access sufficient education. The range of education on offer was also insufficient and children had too few learning tasks to complete in their cells.
  6. When children could attend, the quality of education was inadequate.
  7. There were not enough teachers or prison officers to enable leaders to deliver the vocational curriculum.
  8. Managers did not allocate children to vocational subjects based on their needs or aspirations. Instead, children were allocated on the basis of which children could mix together. As a result, too many children were disengaged and lacked motivation to participate meaningfully in learning.

Return to Cookham Wood

To read the full reports follow the links below:

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