HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke invoked the urgent notification process at HMYOI Feltham A in July 2019. He told the Justice Secretary that the young offender institution had suffered a sudden collapse in standards.
Mr Clarke set out his concerns in a letter dated 22 July 2019 to David Gauke, then Justice Secretary. It followed an announced inspection between 4 and 19 July 2019. He wrote that in the six months since the previous inspection there had been “what can only be described as a collapse in performance and outcomes for the children being held in Feltham A”.
The decision applied only to Feltham A, which holds children. It did not cover Feltham B, which holds young adults.
Why inspectors returned early
An urgent notification is a formal letter in which the Chief Inspector of Prisons tells the Justice Secretary about urgent and significant concerns at a prison. The Justice Secretary must respond publicly within 28 days, setting out how the government will address them.
Inspectors had last visited in January 2019. After that, Mr Clarke received deeply concerning information from several sources. Rather than wait for the inspection due in December 2019, he decided to return as soon as practicable.
Feltham A had a troubled record. In January 2017 inspectors rated safety and purposeful activity poor. By January 2018 safety had improved by two grades, but Mr Clarke warned that progress could prove fragile. In January 2019 inspectors found a marked decline, after the establishment had gone five months without a governor.
By July 2019, outcomes had declined in each of the four tests: safety, care, purposeful activity and resettlement. Three now sat at the lowest grade, poor. Mr Clarke wrote: “The speed of this decline has been extraordinary.”
We found that in the six months since the last inspection there had been what can only be described as a collapse in performance and outcomes for the children being held in Feltham A.
Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
Violence, self-harm and force
In the survey, 40% of children said they had felt unsafe at some point. Around two-thirds said staff had victimised them. Violent incidents had risen by 45% in six months, even as the number of children fell. Assaults on staff had risen by around 150% since January.
Self-harm had tripled since the previous inspection. Recorded incidents in the preceding six months rose from 17 in January 2017 to 242 in July 2019. That made self-harm 14 times higher than in January 2017. Inspectors linked much of the rise to frustration with a poor and unpredictable regime. Only 25% of children said staff normally answered their cell bell within five minutes.
Seventy-four per cent of children said staff had restrained them. There had been more than 700 incidents of force in six months. Specialist staff had not reviewed nearly 300 of them, and more than 900 use of force reports were outstanding. That delayed child protection investigations.
Managers had separated more than 80 children over six months, and the longest separation lasted 89 days. Most separated children spent more than 22 hours a day in their cells without meaningful contact.
Care, education and release
Relationships between staff and children had become poor. Fewer than one in five children felt cared for by staff. Only 45% said there was a member of staff they could turn to. Inspectors saw some staff swearing at or in front of children. Children averaged just 4.2 hours a day out of their cells on weekdays in June.
Children are entitled to 27 hours of education and three hours of physical education a week. By June, children at Feltham A received just eight hours and 18 minutes. Attendance had fallen from 64% to 37%. Managers had planned 796.5 hours of outreach teaching on the wings over four weeks, but delivered only 250. Ofsted judged the education provision inadequate in all areas.
Children missed or arrived late for more than half of GP and dentist appointments. Some received antibiotics or epilepsy medication up to six hours late.
Many children left without stable housing, education, training or work in place. In six months, only one child had gone on to attend an education, training or employment placement after release. Visits were regularly cancelled.
Staff under pressure and later reports
Mr Clarke said he did not underestimate the challenges facing leaders and staff. Many staff seemed anxious and frustrated, and had often faced serious violence. They wanted to do their best for the children but could not. The buildings were also deteriorating and needed significant investment.
Inspectors have reported on Feltham A again since. A scrutiny visit followed in March 2021 and a full inspection in June 2022. Later reports include independent reviews of progress in November 2022, November 2024 and July 2026, and full inspections in July 2024 and August 2025.
About this story
This story is based on the Urgent Notification on HMYOI Feltham A that HM Inspectorate of Prisons published on 24 July 2019. It covers an earlier report: the prison’s profile has the latest findings. All figures and judgements are the inspectorate’s. Read the Urgent Notification · See the prison’s profile in our directory.
