Report claims there's a failure to create positive relationships at young offender institutions
Prison inspectors visited Werrington as part of the investigation
There has been a failure for staff and children at young offender institutions (YOIs) to create positive relationships needed to de-escalate violence and engage with education and healthcare, a review has warned.
Prison inspectors who visited YOIs Parc, Werrington and Wetherby as part of the investigation found inmates and officers wanted the same thing, to have consistent staff on units and enough time to get to know each other properly.
But the review instead found children locked up in their cells for most of the day, with little time for staff to build relationships with those in their care.
An annual survey for 2024-2025 also showed less than half of children in YOIs felt cared for by staff and one in three reported there was no member of staff they could turn to if they had a problem.
Interviews with offenders in YOIs also revealed many did not trust staff to deal with issues such as bullying and violence because of unreliable responses to everyday requests.
"staff rely on meaningful, trusting relationships"
Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor said: "This is concerning because staff rely on meaningful, trusting relationships to encourage children to engage with education, healthcare or offending behaviour programmes, as well as to defuse conflict and violence.
"In 2018 my predecessor reported that children who had good relationships with staff were likely to be motivated to engage with behaviour management schemes.
"Seven years on, behaviour management is an increasing challenge but chronic inconsistency and a failure to embed the framework for integrated care are corroding the relationships needed for this progress."
The review also found frontline staff did not receive regular support from line managers to allow them to develop their skills.
At Parc, things were considered better but otherwise little of life at YOIs was found to be reliable or consistent.
The report also said schemes intended to build positive relationships were not implemented well, and plans to improve care for children in custody introduced in 2016 have made little impact.
The findings come as the Government announced plans to allow prison officers to use synthetic pepper spray in YOIs from this summer to combat rising violence.
"profoundly harmful"
Responding to the report, Andrea Coomber KC, chief executive of charity the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "The Youth Custody Service's failure to properly implement its own framework for integrated care is of great concern, and it underlines why the Government's plan to roll out Pava spray into prisons in England holding children is a terrible step in the wrong direction."
Campbell Robb, chief executive of Nacro, said the report is more evidence that the environment in YOIs is "profoundly harmful" for children, many of whom are already vulnerable, and should prompt the Government to take urgent action.
He said: "This is a growing crisis, the proportion of children saying they felt unsafe in custody has doubled in the past year. This must change.
"We urge them (the Government) to ensure that children should only be held in custody as an absolute last resort and to ensure a safe, rehabilitative environment in all YOIs to give young people the best possible chance to change."
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "Our priority remains supporting the long-term rehabilitation of children to cut crime, which is why we're improving the support available to those in the youth estate and strengthening their relationships with staff.
"Custody remains a last resort for children, used only in the most serious cases."