Prison
Cat YOI
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Werrington
IMB Annual Report 2020 · Published 27 November 2020
HMP/YOI Werrington's IMB report for 2019-2020 highlights a year of significant operational changes, including the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the young people's regime. The Board commended strong leadership and improvements in child-focused care, equality, and in-cell communication, along with effective healthcare provision and a 100% post-release accommodation rate. Key concerns remain around rising assaults, persistent challenges in education, delays in transferring 18-year-olds, and the need for investment in converting old buildings into secure schools.
Positive Findings
The Board commended the new Governing Governor's leadership, particularly in child-focused care, equality and diversity, and improvements to non-associate reduction and daily separation meetings. Positive developments include the implementation of the WADE Unit and Secure Stairs for improved multi-disciplinary working, new in-room telephones, physical environment upgrades, and the Restart Dog project. Healthcare provision by Care UK and Inclusion is strong, demonstrating effective team effort and responsiveness during the pandemic, including the micro elimination of Hepatitis C. The education attendance rate was high, and vocational training shows promise with new catering qualifications and the innovative dog training scheme. Post-release accommodation achieved a 100% success rate.
Key Concerns
Safety
Repeated
staff may not feel as safe due to a rise in assaults on them throughout the year; many of these incidents were not serious and could have been managed by more effective training. Violence between young people is still a concern.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Classroom teaching, especially of maths and English, continues to be a challenge: young people’s educational attainment prior to conviction was low...young people’s engagement with the work is often poor but general behaviour is usually acceptable...some classes being returned to the wing for a variety of reasons associated with behaviour...new arrivals at the prison often cannot get their first (or even second) choice of classes...teachers’ lack of confidence...officers’ safety checks did not take place, especially in the more remote teaching locations; at least two rooms used for education have no CCTV, leaving staff vulnerable.
Resettlement/Release
Delays in transitions are often due to the young adult estate not accepting the young person, often because of his challenging behaviour.
Estate/Conditions
Can the minister guarantee that investment will be available to convert inadequate old buildings such as those at HMP/YOI Werrington into effective secure schools?
Resettlement/Release
The Board would like to see a far greater range of opportunities to prepare for life after custody. Young people cannot bank their savings on discharge because banks will not offer an account without a permanent address. Regular family days are only allocated to young people on the enhanced level of the incentives scheme. There is little support for young people who are fathers themselves.
Complaints/Property
The property disclaimer form, signed by the young person, is given too soon before the child is calm enough to understand its implications at a later date. Lost property continues to be an issue but at a low level.
Resettlement/Release
A small number of authorities can be very slow to respond with two evidenced cases of a young person not in receipt of financial assistance for more than 18 weeks.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staff morale may be impacted by a rise in assaults, with many incidents potentially manageable by more effective training. The Board noted the positive impact of governors and officers wearing similar polo shirts, enhancing senior staff approachability. However, the Board's ability to monitor use of force incidents was hampered by the suspension of MMPR meetings during the pandemic. Board membership also declined from ten to six members, placing additional pressure on the remaining members and highlighting ongoing struggles to attract a diverse membership.
Healthcare
Care UK continues to provide overall healthcare under strong leadership, offering effective and timely services with good staff-young person engagement and discharge planning. The team responded well to the pandemic, maintaining service delivery with the exception of dentistry, and achieving micro elimination of hepatitis C. Mental healthcare, including learning disability and clinical psychology services, is provided by Inclusion (Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust), operating 7 days a week with increased psychiatrist visits and an expanded team funded by Secure Stairs prior to the reporting period. Young people on the mental health caseload received weekly phone calls during the pandemic.
Regime & Daily Life
The Covid-19 pandemic significantly altered the regime, initially subjecting young people to up to 22.5 hours in their rooms without association, formal education, gym, or visits. Staff adapted by providing education packs, in-room phones for mental health support, increased phone credit, and daily welfare checks. By the end of the reporting period, the regime had largely returned to normal. Prior to the pandemic, young people typically spent up to seven hours a day out of their rooms. The Board noted that unpredictability and frequent regime changes negatively impacted young people, particularly when explanations from staff were lacking.
Applications to the IMB
Prisoners can apply to their IMB about any aspect of their treatment. This table shows application counts by category.
| Category | Current | Previous | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions | 2 | 5 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 0 | 2 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, IEP, sanctions | 3 | 9 | |
| Equality | 0 | 2 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 0 | 6 | |
| Food and kitchens | 0 | 2 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 0 | 1 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 0 | 7 | |
| Miscellaneous, including complaints system | 1 | 0 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 0 | 0 | |
| Property within this establishment | 0 | 5 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 1 | 3 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 1 | 0 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 0 | 7 | |
| Transfers | 0 | 0 |
Recommendations (4)
Other: 2
Governor / Director: 2
Recommendation 1
Can the minister guarantee that investment will be available to convert inadequate old buildings such as those at HMP/YOI Werrington into effective secure schools?
Other
(other)
Estate
Recommendation 2
Why is there a delay in the transfer of 18 year olds and how can this be improved?
Other
(other)
Resettlement
Recommendation 3
Are there any positive changes for young people have been identified during the pandemic that can be implemented in the long term?
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 4
What changes can be made to improve the young people’s life skills for discharge?
Governor / Director
Resettlement