Cookham Wood YOI failed to improve and purposeful activity fell to poor, inspectors found

Outcomes for boys at HMYOI Cookham Wood had not improved since 2019 and had worsened in one area, inspectors found. HM Inspectorate of Prisons published its report on the Kent young offender institution in November 2021.

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor wrote that for an institution serving children, “this inability to address failings was completely unacceptable”.

Inspectors visited between 9 and 13 August 2021. The institution could hold up to 188 boys aged 15 to 18. Because the number of children in custody fell during the COVID-19 pandemic, it held just 87 boys at the time.

How inspectors graded Cookham Wood

The inspectorate judges establishments holding children against four healthy prison tests: safety, care, purposeful activity and resettlement. Purposeful activity covers education, work and time out of cell. Each test receives one of four grades: good, reasonably good, not sufficiently good or poor.

At the previous full inspection in 2019, inspectors rated all four tests not sufficiently good. This time, safety, care and resettlement stayed not sufficiently good. Purposeful activity fell to poor.

The Chief Inspector of Prisons acknowledged that pandemic restrictions had not helped. Even so, he found it hard to understand why the institution had not been more ambitious, for example by mirroring approaches used for children in the community or at other YOIs.

In parts of the prison, more than half of children were locked in cell during the school day. They typically spent as little as four hours a day out of cell, and just two hours at weekends.

For an institution providing services to children this inability to address failings was completely unacceptable.

Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons

Violence and keeping children apart

Violence had increased since 2019 and was very high, and some incidents were serious. Staff set low standards on the living units. They did not adequately challenge anti-social behaviour, endemic graffiti or high noise levels by day and night.

Inspectors found an over-reliance on keeping children apart in small groups to manage conflict. Combined with poor activities and little time unlocked, this created an uninspiring living environment. The Chief Inspector of Prisons said leaders needed to move beyond this reactive and limiting approach.

There were some improvements. Children’s perceptions of safety had improved, although 18% of survey respondents said they had felt unsafe at some point. Use of force had fallen, oversight of it was good and staff used body-worn cameras well. Self-harm incidents had reduced and were low.

New escort arrangements meant fewer children arrived late at night, and they no longer travelled with adults. Staff managed child protection and safeguarding referrals well.

However, the quality of case management for children at risk of suicide or self-harm had deteriorated, and oversight was poor. The prison had closed its segregation unit, which inspectors welcomed. Yet oversight of separation was lacking. In one case, over a nine-day separation, a child did not leave his cell for four days and spent just 30 minutes out on two other days.

Low standards and care

Inspectors described low morale among staff, low standards, low expectations and a lack of energy and creativity. More children than before said most staff treated them with respect. But staff too often failed to engage with children during exercise or association, and no system gave each child regular contact with a named officer.

The accommodation was modern, yet communal areas and cells were grubby and untidy. The report called the extensive and offensive graffiti emblematic of the generally poor standards. Children ate most meals alone in their cells. Managers had introduced in-cell laptops for shop orders, applications and food choices.

Work on equality and diversity remained weak, and investigations into discrimination complaints were poor or did not happen. The chaplaincy offered good pastoral support. Primary health care was well led and dental provision was good. However, an integrated care framework for children’s mental health was not operating effectively despite substantial investment.

The population was diverse. The report recorded that 79% of children came from black and minority ethnic backgrounds and 50% were on remand. Some 75% had been excluded from mainstream education before custody.

A new governor and six further senior managers had arrived since 2019. The governor’s business plan prioritised reducing violence, creating communities and investing in staff. Inspectors judged these priorities reasonable but said it was too early to see progress. They called for close scrutiny and support from HM Prison and Probation Service.

Since this report

Inspectors have reported on Cookham Wood several times since. These include independent reviews of progress published in June 2022 and May 2024, an Urgent Notification in April 2023 and a full inspection published in July 2023. Cookham Wood stopped holding children in 2024 and now holds adult men.