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were held at the time of this inspection. We judged outcomes for children to be not sufficiently good for safety, reasonably good for care, not sufficiently good significant weaknesses remained, particularly in safety and education. Levels of violence were high, and many incidents involved weapons. Although leaders violence continued to undermine the safety of children and staff.
Visiting
time of our visit the establishment housed 149 children, catering to a This review visit followed up on the concerns we raised at our last What we found during this review visit been announced by ministers during the week of our visit, which would The daily routine for children had changed on the week of our visit, At this IRP visit, we followed up six concerns from our most recent based on their latest inspection or progress monitoring visit to the
Mailing
help national leaders in developing a longer-term strategy for the very
Practical info
for purposeful activity, and good for resettlement. significant weaknesses remained, particularly in safety and education. Levels of which aimed to significantly improve the impoverished regime that too There was still much work to do, particularly for those children interactions with children, and the delivery of education needed much the gym and refurbished library were good, children still spent too much time around seven hours unlocked per day, separated children could spend up to time out of cell had not improved since our last inspection and was nowhere There had been some improvements in the provision of education, but English behaviour were, apart from in education, not being used enough to improve Work had been done to improve the accommodation on the Keppel and Napier
Known issues
violence were high, and many incidents involved weapons. Although leaders had improved the recording and investigation of incidents, the prevalence of violence continued to undermine the safety of children and staff. experiencing verbal abuse from staff. Leaders had invested in cultural change been appointed.
HMYOI Wetherby is an establishment in Yorkshire that can hold up to 288 boys
between the ages of 15 and 18. However, a combination of recent reductions in
the number of children in custody across England and Wales and the higher
demand for places in the south east and north west meant that just 97 children
were held at the time of this inspection. We judged outcomes for children to be
not sufficiently good for safety, reasonably good for care, not sufficiently good
for purposeful activity, and good for resettlement.
While there had been progress in some areas since our last inspection in 2023,
significant weaknesses remained, particularly in safety and education. Levels of
violence were high, and many incidents involved weapons. Although leaders
had improved the recording and investigation of incidents, the prevalence of
violence continued to undermine the safety of children and staff.
Relationships between staff and children were inconsistent. In our survey, only
49% of children said they felt cared for, and more than half reported
experiencing verbal abuse from staff. Leaders had invested in cultural change
and introduced team leaders to improve visibility and support, but these efforts
had not yet delivered the level of trust and engagement required to sustain a
safe and respectful environment.
1.1
Wetherby is the largest young offender institution (YOI) in the country,
located in Yorkshire, holding children aged between 15 and 18. At the
time of our visit the establishment housed 149 children, catering to a
diverse range of needs. This included provision for children convicted
and on remand; serving as a national resource for the most vulnerable
children in prison; providing the highest levels of security due to some
children’s risks; and remaining an option for girls in custody.
1.2
This review visit followed up on the concerns we raised at our last
inspection of HMYOI Wetherby in 2023.
What we found at our last inspection
1.3
At our previous inspections of HMYOI Wetherby in 2021 and 2023 we
made the following judgements about outcomes for children.
Figure 1: HMYOI Wetherby healthy establishment outcomes in 2021 and 2023.
1.4
At our last inspection in 2023, we found a decline in children’s safety
outcomes, raising concerns about the care of some extremely
vulnerable girls; the poor treatment of separated children; and the use
of force, particularly during strip searches. Children still spent too much
time locked in their cells, and daily routines were nowhere near the
levels we reported on before the pandemic with evening association
and dining out rare. The teaching of English and maths remained poor,
with too few children having access to high-quality teaching.
What we found during this review visit
1.5
Progress at the prison had been slow but a new governor had now
been appointed. Rising rates of violence, disorder, and self-harm at the
prison since our inspection had presented further challenges to
leaders, highlighting the volatile nature of these institutions. The new
Report of an independent review of progress at HMYOI Wetherby
governor had strengthened oversight, and in the months since arriving,
had made marked improvements with respect to the concerns raised at
the last inspection and other areas where governance had weakened.
1.6
During our review, there were no girls at Wetherby. Although they had
been at the prison until recently, it was encouraging that they hadn’t
been placed in recent months. However, Wetherby was still considered
a potential placement of last resort, making it challenging for leaders to
plan effectively. An independent review of the placement of girls had
been announced by ministers during the week of our visit, which would
help national leaders in developing a longer-term strategy for the very
small number of girls in custody.
1.7
The daily routine for children had changed on the week of our visit,
which aimed to significantly improve the impoverished regime that too
many children had been experiencing for too long. Oversight of strip
searching had been strengthened, and the much-needed refurbishment
of residential units was underway.
1.8
There was still much work to do, particularly for those children
separated on normal residential units who often would not leave their
cell for days. More needed to be done to deliver regular and meaningful
interactions with children, and the delivery of education needed much
more focus from leaders to ensure that it met children’s needs.
1.9
Overall, while progress had been slow, the new governor and deputy
had taken real action since arriving, and as a result, change was taking
place at a much quicker pace. We were optimistic about their ability to
drive further improvements at Wetherby.
Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
November 2024
Report of an independent review of progress at HMYOI Wetherby
Section 2 Key findings
2.1
At this IRP visit, we followed up six concerns from our most recent
inspection in December 2023 and Ofsted followed up two themes
based on their latest inspection or progress monitoring visit to the
establishment, whichever was most recent.
2.2
HMI Prisons judged that there was good progress in no concerns,
This complex young offender institution (YOI) in Yorkshire holds children with a
range of needs, including those in the Keppel Unit, a national resource for the
most vulnerable children; provision for a small number of girls; boys on short
sentences or remand; and a small number of children who are embarking on
very long or life sentences.
Wetherby is one of three different types of institution that hold the seven
currently imprisoned girls in England and Wales. Nationally there is not a
coherent plan for caring for these girls and what was originally only temporary
accommodation at Wetherby after the closure of Rainsbrook secure training
centre (STC), has now become the destination for those who STCs and secure
children’s homes will not, or cannot accommodate. The result has been
pressure on staff who, while doing their best, have not had the training or do not
possess the expertise to care for these girls, most of whom require specialist
provision. As a result, we came across two incidents where a girl was using her
clothes to make ligatures and had had her clothing removed by male officers.
This is simply not acceptable.
The care for these and for other vulnerable and challenging children was also
not good enough. While there was some good provision in the Keppel and
Napier units and the segregation unit was better run, some children were being
separated on the wing for too long before they were reintegrated. Although
some boys chose to self-isolate because they wanted to avoid conflict before
moving to the adult estate, some were spending long periods of time away from
their peers and receiving little time out of their cells.
There had been laudable efforts by leaders to reduce keep-apart lists and
integrate children into larger groups. Although there had been some effective
conflict resolution by trained officers, too often they were cross-deployed to
other duties. Leaders told us that formal schemes to promote relationships with
children through frequent structured contact for every child was barely
functioning because there was often a shortage of frontline officers. Given the
size of the leadership team, with 24 senior managers and 67 other managers,
this was scarcely credible when the jail held just 165 children. In our last report
we criticised the size of leadership team that meant lines of responsibility and
accountability were opaque, so it was disappointing this had not been rectified.
While there was an impressive breadth in enrichment activities and access to
the gym and refurbished library were good, children still spent too much time
locked in their cells. Although those on the enhanced Drake unit received
around seven hours unlocked per day, separated children could spend up to
23.5 hours a day behind their doors. Overall, it was disappointing to see that
time out of cell had not improved since our last inspection and was nowhere
near the levels we reported on before the pandemic with evening association
and dining out now rare.
There had been some improvements in the provision of education, but English
and maths provision remained poor, with too few children having access to high
quality teaching. While there was a rudimentary reading strategy in place, the
teaching and encouraging of reading was not good enough with the most need
receiving the least support.
The atmosphere in the jail was generally good and most of the children we
spoke to described good relationships with staff. Levels of violence had
remained too high and the extensive number of meetings which were due to
address it were not well coordinated. The use of incentives to motivate good
behaviour were, apart from in education, not being used enough to improve
behaviour.
Work had been done to improve the accommodation on the Keppel and Napier
units, in-cell showers had been fitted in most cells and the exercise yards
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