Declining standards in Young Offender Institutions
At Maitland Gaol
What Is a Young Offenders Institute?
Young offender institutions house children and young people who have committed a criminal offence. They play a vital role in helping to turn around the lives of these children and young people. They are meant to offer at least 15 hours of education a week.
A joint review by Ofsted and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP), published today, shows that educational opportunities for children in Young Offender Institutions have been steadily declining for the last decade.
What were the key findings?
Education Time Is Frequently Reduced
Leaders do not make sure that children spend enough time in education classes, and do not make sure that lessons are free from disruption
According to Young Offender Institutions rules, children in the Young Offender Institutions are meant to receive at least 15 hours of education per week. However, information provided by GOV.UK suggests that the educational provision for children in YOIs is equivalent to the provision for other children in full-time education.
For example:
- Children at Werrington are “offered 30 hours of education a week”
- Children at Feltham can access an education service that is “open 5 days a week”
The reality is that children often have access to far fewer hours of education. For example, at recent inspections, inspectors have found that many children receive only 10 to 13 hours of education per week.
If they are particularly vulnerable and cannot join mainstream classes, then this amount is likely to be much reduced.
The shortfalls in hours have often been caused by:
- A lack of staff in the education provision
- Staff shortages across Young Offender Institutions
- No available teacher
- No officer available to escort children to lessons
It is only in a small number of Young Offender Institutions that leaders and managers ensure children have a weekly timetable closer to typical full-time education hours.
Lessons are frequently interrupted
Lessons that are scheduled have too frequently been curtailed or interrupted. Leaders and managers have prioritised activities other than education.
For example, children miss part or all of lessons to:
- Attend reviews
- Visit the chapel
- Have allotted exercise time
Being significantly late for class has become the norm. Children are escorted to classes up to an hour and a half late and finish early because officers arrive to collect them before lessons are due to end.
This makes it difficult for teachers to plan curriculums effectively because they do not have control over:
- When lessons start
- When lessons finish
- Which children will attend
Young Offender Institutions are not focusing enough on educational needs
When allocating children to courses, Young Offender Institutions staff have not focused closely enough on the subjects that meet children’s educational needs
In Young Offender Institutions, staff usually meet at an ‘allocations board’ (or similar) to assign children to courses or work activities.
In Young Offender Institutions, staff usually meet at an “allocations board” to assign children to courses or work activities.
Allocations should be based on:
- Educational attainment
- Future career goals
- Study ambitions
- Interests
However, over the last decade, Young Offender Institutions leaders have increasingly used allocation processes to manage violence and conflict instead.
Children are often allocated based on:
- Which offenders they can mix with
- Individuals they must be kept apart from
- Wing locations
Rather than being used only in exceptional circumstances, “keep-aparts” and wing-based restrictions have become the standard approach.
Behaviour management strategies are failing
Current strategies for managing behaviour at Young Offender Institutions rely too heavily on:
- Keeping children apart
- Excluding children from classes
Teachers often lack sufficient training and support to deal appropriately with challenging behaviour.
Earlier inspections before 2017 found teachers had a stronger understanding of behaviour management and used tools such as:
- Reflection rooms
- Cool-down periods
Inspectors now report increasing levels of disruption in lessons.
Teachers face:
- Open defiance
- Racist and sexualised language
- Threats of violence
- Physical disruption in classrooms
In some cases, teachers are fearful of challenging behaviour because of safety concerns.
However, inspectors also found more positive behaviour where:
- Teachers received proper training
- Clear behavioural guidelines were in place
- Good behaviour was rewarded
- Youth workers supported children
Staffing shortages are impacting curriculums
The failure to recruit sufficient teaching staff has led to narrow and fragmented curriculums across Young Offender Institutions.
Because of staffing shortages:
- Planned courses are cancelled
- Vocational workshops are closed
- Mathematics and English are taught by non-specialists
- Higher-level study opportunities are limited
Children often express frustration that they cannot access the qualifications needed to improve their future opportunities.
They also become demotivated when courses are cancelled part-way through due to staff departures.
Leadership and collaboration concerns
Leaders and managers from Young Offender Institutions and education providers have not worked together effectively enough to prevent declining education standards.
Inspectors found that many Young Offender Institution leaders:
- Do not understand curriculum design well enough
- Cannot effectively challenge poor educational performance
- Have limited knowledge of children’s educational progress
Relationships between education providers and institutions are often strained.
In some cases, leaders fail to hold education providers accountable despite declining standards.
Attendance remains too low
Leaders do not have effective strategies to tackle longstanding attendance problems.
Over the last decade, children’s attendance at education has frequently been too low across Young Offender Institutions.
Inspectors found that leaders often:
- Identify attendance as a weakness
- Fail to create meaningful improvement plans
- Do not properly analyse the reasons for absence
There is also often:
- A lack of encouragement for poor attenders
- Limited incentives to improve attendance
- Inconsistent sanctions when children refuse to attend
Poor infrastructure is affecting education
There has been a lack of investment in infrastructure, particularly ICT equipment.
Inspectors found classrooms that were:
- Dirty
- Oppressive
- Covered in offensive graffiti
- Missing basic resources such as chairs and whiteboards
Some vocational workshops also lacked appropriate equipment.
Examples included:
- Barista courses without working coffee machines
- Catering courses using domestic cookers instead of industrial equipment
In many cases, children also lacked access to modern ICT equipment, limiting opportunities to develop contemporary digital skills.
What do Ofsted say?
Ofsted’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver said:
“I am deeply concerned by these findings. The children in these institutions are entitled to a high-quality education that supports them to turn their lives around. The system is failing them.
I am especially concerned that children are spending extended periods in isolation, further compromising their opportunity to become successful and productive citizens upon their release.”
HMIP’s Chief Inspector, Charlie Taylor said:
“Children in custody are among the most troubled and challenging in society, often with experience of being in care and having had very disrupted education in the community. Their time in custody ought to represent a golden opportunity to address that through consistent interventions and support, but we continue to report on very poor provision, particularly for those children separated from their peers in response to conflict. Education in our YOIs needs to be prioritised and its delivery transformed if we want to see less youth crime and more children going on to lead successful lives.”
How can JFH Crime help?
JFH Law can provide expert legal support for individuals and families dealing with issues involving Young Offender Institutions and youth justice matters.
If you need specialist advice in relation to any criminal investigation or prosecution, from the initial investigation through to court proceedings, please get in touch.
Image credit: “Young Offender No.2” by Phillie Casablanca is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a young offenders institute?
A Young Offender Institution (YOI) is a secure facility that houses children and young people who have committed criminal offences. YOIs are intended to provide education, rehabilitation and support during custody.
What happens in a young offenders institute?
Young people in YOIs typically attend education classes, vocational training and structured activities while serving their sentence.
How many young offenders institutes are there in the UK?
The number of Young Offender Institutions in the UK changes over time depending on government policy and operational requirements.
Do people in young offenders institutes get an education?
Yes. Young Offender Institutions are expected to provide education and training opportunities, although recent reports highlight concerns around reduced teaching hours and disrupted lessons.
How old is a young offenders institute resident?
Young Offender Institutions generally house children and young people aged between 15 and 21, depending on the institution and circumstances.
