As the lead inspectorate, Ofsted works alongside the Care
Quality Commission and HM Inspectorate of Prisons to
inspect England’s 3 STCs.
Following consultation,
the following changes to the way STCs are inspected
will take effect from 1 April 2019:
- When an STC is judged to be
inadequate, Ofsted and its partner inspectorates will
respond more robustly. An urgent review meeting will be
held with the Ministry of Justice to determine the most
appropriate action, and inspectors will routinely return to
check on the centre’s progress within 8 weeks of the
initial inspection.
- The notice period that STCs are given before
inspection will be reduced to 4 days. This is 1 day fewer
than proposed in the consultation, and effectively 2 days
fewer than under the existing arrangements.
- A ‘point-in-time’ survey of the views of children at
an STC will be used to
inform the timing of an inspection and key lines of
inquiry. It is hoped the survey will empower children to
speak more openly and honestly.
- A revised and simplified judgement structure will help
tell a clearer story about what life is like for the
children living at the STC.
Yvette Stanley, Ofsted’s National Director for Social Care
said:
Children living in secure training centres need to feel
safe and well looked after. Although there have been some
improvements in conditions at STCs, overall, our
findings in recent years have reflected the serious
concerns held nationally about the experiences of those
living at the centres. These changes will see inspectors
focus more on the difference that the centres make to
children’s lives, and less on processes and procedures.
Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector or Prisons, said:
This is a robust multi inspectorate framework that
include a strengthened response to inadequate judgements.
The new framework has the experience of children at the
centre of all judgements and provides the foundation for
developing a comprehensive inspection regime as
children’s custody is reformed and new models of
detention developed.
Ursula Gallagher, Deputy Chief Inspector of General
Practice and lead for care in secure settings said:
Secure training centres are home to vulnerable children
and young people who often have a very complicated set of
needs.
Knowing that the healthcare services available to them,
which CQCinspects, will be
looked at in the wider context of their experience and
better represented in the overall judgement will give a
clearer view of what does and does not work well in these
settings. Knowing this, we as regulators can help drive
improvements in the system and better outcomes for
patients.
Notes to editors
Read the new joint inspection
framework: secure training centres for guidance
about how secure training centres are inspected.
We have also published a report on the
responses to the consultation on the new joint inspection
framework for secure training centres.
There are 3 secure training centres in England: Medway,
Rainsbrook and Oakhill.
No STC has been rated
‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ since 2015. The new framework is
anticipated to result in a more consistent approach to
inspection of secure settings for children and bring it
more in line with how Ofsted inspects secure children’s
homes. There are 14 secure children’s homes in England, and
10 (71.4%) have been rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.
