HMP Holme House had changed a great deal in three years and was now a considerably safer prison, according to the prison inspectorate’s report published in June 2023.
When inspectors visited in early 2020, they judged outcomes not sufficiently good across all four of their healthy prison tests. At the 2023 inspection, which ended in March, only one area stayed at that level.
Holme House is a large category C training and resettlement prison for men. It held 1,160 prisoners at the time, against an operational capacity of 1,179.
Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said the greatest improvements were in how staff treated prisoners with respect. He credited a governor and managers whose style was visible, committed and driven by a desire to improve life for prisoners and staff.
How the prison was graded
HM Inspectorate of Prisons assesses each prison against four healthy prison tests. At Holme House these were safety, respect, purposeful activity, and rehabilitation and release planning. Purposeful activity covers education, work and time out of cell.
Inspectors rated respect as good, up from not sufficiently good in 2020. Safety and rehabilitation and release planning both rose to reasonably good.
Purposeful activity stayed not sufficiently good, the same grade as at the previous inspection.
Inspectors raised seven key concerns, two of them priorities that need immediate attention. They also recorded 11 examples of notable positive practice that other prisons may learn from.
If the quality of leadership at Holme House can be maintained, working hard to foster a shared, participative and rehabilitative culture, the prospects for further improvement must be good.
Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
Safer, more respectful and more inclusive
Violent incidents had fallen. Leaders had also launched new initiatives after a recent rise in violence among young adults. One was a military-style course using physical and mental activities to support well-being.
Inspectors found that new arrivals received more support. The incentives scheme, adjudications and use of segregation had all improved.
Security was proportionate, and men could move around for work without undue delay. Managers had used the prison’s drone at a parkrun event to deter people throwing illegal items over the wall. They chose this over cancelling the event.
Self-harm, however, had risen. The report said leaders could make better use of data to understand the causes.
Behind the good relationships, inspectors found better key work than they usually see. The prison also made good use of prisoners in peer support roles and consulted them widely. Prisoners attended key safety and diversity meetings and could influence change.
Health care benefited from first-rate joint working between teams and organisations. Inspectors singled out an exceptionally high standard of social care and strong mental health support.
Efforts to brighten the site impressed inspectors. Coloured Perspex, murals and pictures of local beauty spots transformed dull concrete walkways. Animals on the therapeutic wing and a prisoner working as a busker during main movements added to a sense of community.
Food, overcrowding and too little activity
Food was the main subject of complaints to inspectors, and the report called the dissatisfaction justified. Too many men did not get the meal they had ordered. Some portions were small and some food was undercooked.
Over a third of prisoners shared a cell designed for one. Some cells were very cramped indeed.
Prisoners valued a predictable regime with more time unlocked than at many similar prisons. Yet men still spent too little time in constructive activity. Attendance at education, skills and work was too low, despite recent improvements.
The education curriculum lacked depth and breadth, and too few men gained qualifications. There were too few full-time jobs in prison industries. Vulnerable prisoners had too little access to accredited vocational training.
Leaders had started to promote reading. Inspectors also found some good help to prepare men for work after release.
Release planning and the outlook
Work to reduce reoffending had improved and was now well coordinated. Contact between prisoners and their offender managers was better than in 2020 but still inconsistent.
A lack of staff had greatly cut the number of accredited offending behaviour programmes. As a result, too many men left without treatment to address their offending, including some convicted of sexual offences. The specialist unit for people on the national offender personality disorder pathway impressed inspectors.
Family days, including events for new fathers and LGBT prisoners, helped men keep in touch with relatives. Each house block had private video call rooms.
Staff morale and retention were better than in many prisons. In fact, the prison had to send some officers to support jails with severe shortages, which left it short of staff itself.
The Chief Inspector of Prisons said that if the quality of leadership held, “the prospects for further improvement must be good”.
About this story
This story is based on HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ report on HMP Holme House, published on 26 June 2023, following an inspection that ended in March 2023. All figures and judgements are the inspectorate’s. Read the full inspection report · See the prison’s profile in our directory.
