Inspectors to HMYOI Feltham A, a young offender institution (YOI)
in north-west London, found an establishment recovering from a
worrying decline. In 2019 the Chief Inspector had invoked the
Urgent Notification (UN) process due to the chaos and violence in
Feltham, and it was pleasing to see a safer, happier, and more
productive environment at this visit.
Strong leadership was behind the transformation. Charlie Taylor,
Chief Inspector of Prisons, said: “Much credit must go to the
excellent work of the governor, who remained in post after the UN
and had created a strong team around her with a renewed sense of
purpose and vision.”
Outcomes had improved for the 75 children at Feltham in all
healthy prison areas: safety and respect moved from ‘poor’ to
‘reasonably good’, and resettlement had improved from not
sufficiently good to reasonably good. In purposeful activity,
more work was required, but inspectors still saw improvement from
the last inspection.
The ‘Alpine’ unit was a particular success. It provided 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 could mix together and time out
of cell was maximised. Weekly enhanced support meetings included
children and their families.
Feltham operated a successful incentives scheme which motivated
children to behave well. 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.
An impressive 96% of children attended education, but there was
much left to be done to improve the quality. Inspectors found
encouraging plans to make improvements with good identification
of strengths and weaknesses, but it was too early to know if
these would have an impact on learning. Vocational training was
not widely available, although the proportion of children being
taught GCSE maths and English had increased. Teachers did not
focus enough on individual children’s aspirations, and careers
advice was lacking.
The prison will face a new challenge with the recent change in
governor. Mr Taylor said: “Even when things are going well,
because of the nature of the children it serves, Feltham is a
fragile place and close attention and support from the Youth
Custody Service (YCS) will be essential to make sure that the
transition from one leader to the next is a success.”
Notes to editors
- A copy of the full report,
published on 14 June 2022, can be found on the HM Inspectorate of
Prisons website at: www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/inspections/
- HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an
independent inspectorate, inspecting places of detention to
report on conditions and treatment and promote positive outcomes
for those detained and the public.
- The original Feltham was built in
1854 as an industrial school and was taken over in 1910 by the
Prison Commissioners as their second Borstal institution. The
existing building opened as a remand centre in March 1988.
- Feltham A manages children on
remand and those who have been convicted by the courts.
- At the time of this inspection, the
establishment held 75 children.
- Inspectors identified eight
examples of notable positive practice.
- This inspection took place between
21 February and 4 March 2022.
