HMP Stoke Heath, Inspections

The prison was inspected in January 2023 by HMIP. In their report the inspectors said:

HM Prison Stoke Heath is a category C training and resettlement prison in rural Shropshire. Holding up to 782 adult men, it serves a wide catchment area, although many prisoners originate from the West Midlands. The prison is a large campus-style institution with a mix of accommodation types, some dating back to the early 1960s, but with other units built more recently. Interestingly, the prison also retains a small open resettlement facility outside of the prison wall. Although the unit can only hold up to 16 men, it has practical and symbolic value, meeting the specific resettlement needs of a small group of prisoners, while acting as an aspirational and incentivising encouragement to others.

Overall, we report on much that was positive, reflecting Stoke Heath’s continuing stability and capability. Against our four healthy prison tests, we assessed it to be both safe and reasonably respectful, although the daily regime, in common with many other similar prisons, was now poor, and there was much to do to restore the resettlement offer. This range of assessments encapsulated the key strategic challenges facing a training establishment which had yet to fully recover from the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. We identified a firm foundation for progress, but at the time of our inspection the prison was not delivering on its core mission: equipping prisoners to resettle successfully and sustainably into the community.

We found that barely half of prisoners were engaged in work or education and about a fifth were locked up during the working day. Many prisoners experienced as little as 90 minutes out of cell each day. There was, at least, some predictability to the regime, despite the limitations, and some good outcomes were observed in gym and library provision. Our colleagues in Ofsted identified a whole series of deficiencies – some admittedly caused by a lack of specialists and teachers – in the availability of work places and delivery of an education curriculum that met the needs of prisoners. Their overall assessment of the effectiveness of provision was ’inadequate’, the lowest possible assessment.

Work to support family links was limited, and the help given to prisoners to progress through their sentences was not good enough. Weaknesses in offender management were compounded by very limited key work and further inadequacies in public protection arrangements, including arrangements for release on temporary licence. Resettlement work was similarly weak.

Notwithstanding these criticisms, the prison remained settled and was much safer than when we last visited. The stability of the senior leadership team, with the Governor in post for several years, was a strength. Staff shortages were a challenge, but leaders were genuinely seeking to develop a strong, positive and innovative ethos within the jail. This was a firm foundation for progress. The next step was to get prisoners active.

Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
February 2023

 

The inspectors provided a note of their concerns which require attention

 

What needs to improve at HMP/YOI Stoke Heath

During this inspection we identified 11 key concerns, of which six should be treated as priorities. Priority concerns are those that are most important to improving outcomes for prisoners. They require immediate attention by leaders and managers.

Leaders should make sure that all concerns identified here are addressed and that progress is tracked through a plan which sets out how and when the concerns will be resolved. The plan should be provided to HMI Prisons.

Priority concerns

  1. There was very little keywork being delivered. In December 2022 only 5% of sessions had been delivered and entries in case notes showed little evidence of a focus on sentence plan targets.
  2. Prisoners, particularly the unemployed, had far too little time out of cell.
  3. Prisoners’ access to purposeful activity was poor as there were too few full-time places. Attendance and punctuality were not good enough and sessions were often cancelled.
  4. Leaders and managers had not implemented a curriculum that met the needs of all the prison population. There were too few education English and mathematics places and prisoners in work and workshops were not receiving the help they needed to improve their English and mathematics skills or study for relevant qualifications. An effective reading strategy had yet to be implemented.
  5. There were not enough places on accredited programmes to help prisoners address their offending behaviour.
  6. Decisions to grant release on temporary licence were not always sufficiently robust or in line with national procedures.

Key concerns

  1. Too many cells were small and cramped, particularly when two prisoners were sharing.
  2. Consultation with prisoners from protected groups was very limited and the analysis of data was insufficient to identify disproportionate outcomes.
  3. Prisoners waited far too long for dental treatment.
  4. There was not enough support to help prisoners maintain relationships with their families and friends.
  5. The application of public protection arrangements was weak

To read the full report go the Ministry of Justice web site or follow the links below:

Return to Stoke Heath

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