Some children too scared to leave cells - report

About a fifth of children at Werrington told inspectors they felt unsafe

Some children at a young offenders institute in Staffordshire say they are too scared to leave their cells, according to an inspectors' report.

HMYOI Werrington was also criticised for, on occasions, not unlocking the children's cells for several days in a row and for not giving them enough access to education.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons made unannounced visits to the site near Stoke-on-Trent from 15 April to 2 May.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice, which runs the site, said they were committed to tackling the issues outlined in the report.

"Education is fundamental to reducing reoffending," they said.

"We have already taken action to embed daily welfare checks and ensure there is more time for youth justice workers to support young offenders with meaningful activities."

Inspectors reported offenders spending too long locked up and said staff failed to manage behaviour well enough.

HMYOI Werrington houses 81 boys aged between 15 and 18, their report said.

According to inspectors, a survey of the children revealed that only about a third of them felt cared for by staff.

They said about a fifth of children reported feeling unsafe there.

Inspectors said the curriculum at HMYOI Werrington was not challenging enough and did not help children prepare for life outside.

However, they did report that the latest inspection had found a more stable leadership than in previous years, with the governor being in post since the previous visit, and improvements had been made to address previous staffing shortages.

It was last inspected in 2023, when it was found to be "an unstable establishment in need of substantial support".

It was also described in a 2022 report as having higher levels of violence than any other in England and Wales.

'Completely unacceptable'

HM chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor said: "Despite clear improvement in safeguarding procedures and some concerted efforts to reduce conflict and violence, the key challenges of weak relationships between staff and children and ineffective behaviour management remained."

He added there was a culture of control and separation and that the average time out of cell was just three and a half hours per day.

"This would be poor in any prison but is completely unacceptable in one holding children," Mr Taylor said.

Staff time was largely taken up with managing the separation of those who had to be kept apart for safety reasons, the report found.

It noted, however, that the governor and her team were aware of shortcomings and had enacted an improvement plan to address them the month before the inspection.