HMP/YOI Hatfield rated good on every test for second inspection running

HMP/YOI Hatfield, an open prison in South Yorkshire, achieved the top grade on all four of the prisons inspectorate’s tests for the second inspection in a row. The inspectorate’s report, published in October 2024, described a very safe prison built on good relationships and real job opportunities.

Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, called the result an impressive achievement for a men’s prison. He said Hatfield had maintained, and arguably surpassed, the standards found at the previous inspection.

Employment sat at the heart of that success. A third of the men worked outside the prison each day on temporary release. Figures in the report showed 92% of prisoners had secured work six months after release during 2023-24.

Good across the board

The inspectorate grades every prison against four healthy prison tests: safety, respect, purposeful activity and preparation for release. Purposeful activity covers education, work and time out of cell. The four possible grades are good, reasonably good, not sufficiently good and poor.

Hatfield scored good on all four. Good is the highest grade available. The previous full inspection took place in August 2019, with a report published in January 2020. That report also rated every test as good.

Fieldwork for the latest inspection ended on 25 July 2024. The prison held 353 men against an operational capacity of 358, the number it can safely hold. It is a category D, or open, prison for adult and young adult men.

Hatfield operates across two sites three miles apart. New arrivals spend around three months at The Lakes, which holds up to 112 men, while staff assess their risk. They then move to the main site, which holds 246, where they can apply for paid work in the community. Hatfield separated from HMP Moorland in 2014 and took over The Lakes site in 2015.

In this report we describe the excellent culture we saw at this prison, the optimism among the prisoner population and the genuine team ethos. This does not happen by accident.

Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons

Safety and a strong culture

Inspectors found hardly any violence or self-harm. The report credited good relationships, respect and a meaningful daily regime. Leaders set and enforced clear rules, which created a safe and stable environment. They also responded to individual men who struggled in open conditions.

Exit surveys asked men how safe they had felt during their stay. Leaders fed the answers into monthly security meetings, an approach inspectors listed as notable positive practice.

Mr Taylor described an excellent culture, optimism among prisoners and a genuine team ethos. “This does not happen by accident,” he wrote. Staff surveys showed high morale. Inspectors said the governor’s drive, energy and compassion had inspired the senior team.

In the inspectorate’s survey, 78% of prisoners said their time at Hatfield had made them less likely to reoffend.

Jobs, reading and a new wing

Leaders had built partnerships with local and national businesses that offered real jobs. Many of those employers kept men on after release. Some prisoners gained workplace training and qualified as health and safety specialists with their employer. An employment hub gave practical help with resettlement and job hunting.

Some 74% of prisoners used release on temporary licence, which lets men leave the prison for work, training or family visits. A weekly surgery helped higher-risk men understand that process.

Inspectors also praised a very energetic reading strategy. Reading stations sat across the site and books were freely available. A scheme called raising readers let fathers send books to their children and read together by phone or during visits.

Accommodation had improved since the last inspection. The new D wing, with in-cell telephones and individual shower rooms, offered some of the best accommodation in the prison estate, the report said. Men working in the community received priority for rooms there.

Public protection work was robust. In 2023-24, 70% of prisoners left with sustainable accommodation. Equality work had also improved since the previous inspection. Inspectors recorded eight examples of notable positive practice in total.

Two remaining concerns

The inspectorate raised no priority concerns but listed two key concerns. Communal toilets and showers were stained and grubby. A refurbishment programme had started on the main site, but funding had not yet covered A and C wings or the poor conditions at The Lakes. Inspectors also said leaders should spend more time at The Lakes.

The second concern related to education and workshops. Prisoners there did not learn enough about fundamental British values or the risks of radicalisation and extremism.

Leaders had acted on the previous inspection. Of 15 recommendations made in 2019, the prison had achieved 12. Mr Taylor said everyone at Hatfield understood that its purpose was to resettle prisoners. He wrote: “He and his team should be congratulated for what they were achieving.”