The prison was subjected to an inspection in October 2023, and in his report the inspector said:
Highpoint is a large category C training and resettlement prison in rural Suffolk, holding just under 1,300 adult men. It is located at an old RAF station on two separate, adjacent sites, bisected by a main road. Many of the old RAF buildings remain, although newer accommodation blocks have been added since the prison opened in the late 1970s.
When we last inspected in 2019, we found a safe and respectful institution that provided a reasonable regime, but which needed to do more to support prisoners as they progressed through their sentence toward release. At this inspection, our findings were similar, despite the challenges of recent years. Outcomes in our healthy prison test of safety remained reasonably good, and they were good for respect. However, the regime and provision of education, training and work had deteriorated, and we judged purposeful activity to be poor, while outcomes in preparation for release had remained not sufficiently good.
Highpoint is a challenging prison to manage. The large, rural campus is difficult to supervise, and most of its prisoners have been convicted of offences connected to drugs or violence and are held a long way from home. Despite this, we found a competent, well-led establishment that was orderly and safe. Much of this was predicated on stable and settled leadership that was both visible and approachable. It was clear that leaders had prioritised the maintenance of standards and getting the basics right, and that this had had a positive influence on staff, most of whom appeared capable and committed, despite some inexperience. Staff-prisoner relationships were a strength and there were good consultation arrangements with prisoners. Despite the aging infrastructure of the prison, it was well maintained. There was a commitment to promoting positive behaviour and making use of the benefits of the extensive estate to help prisoners willing to engage to make progress. Many prisoners, having established a measure of trust, were able to live in near semi-open conditions. Collective rewards, such as for the maintenance of standards on the units and in cells, were appreciated and fostered a sense of community and collective obligation.
Drug supply and demand remained a problem, and the prison had identified a link to incidents of violence and coercion. It needed to develop a more coherent and robust approach to tackling this problem. A considerable number of men were self-isolating out of fear for their safety and needed more support.
Our biggest concern, however, was that the prison was not fulfilling its core purpose. Prisoners spent much more time out of cell than at comparable jails, but not enough were attending purposeful activity or receiving adequate education or training. Our colleagues in Ofsted judged the overall effectiveness of provision as inadequate, their lowest assessment. Work to support resettlement, including offender management, key work and public protection arrangements, was also not good enough, despite the population posing a significant risk of harm.
Overall, this was a reasonably good inspection. The fundamentals of leadership, competence and vision were evident, and leaders had established a strong platform from which to improve outcomes for prisoners, particularly in terms of the regime. We identify several priorities in our report which we hope will assist that process.
Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
November 2023
The inspectors also provided a brief list of their major findings
What needs to improve at HMP Highpoint
During this inspection, we identified nine key concerns, of which five 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
- Highpoint was designated a training and resettlement prison but fell short of its stated aim and purpose. Too few purposeful activities were available, and there was not enough support given to prisoners to help them get employment on release. There was, similarly, not enough offending behaviour work, and the delivery of resettlement services was poorly coordinated.
- Drugs and other illicit items were easily available in the prison. The evidence indicated that this problem was linked to violence, debt and bullying, but that steps taken to address risks were neither comprehensive nor well-coordinated.
- The quantity and quality of key work were not good enough. Prisoners had too little support and, for example, over the last six months, only a third of sessions had been delivered. Records also suggested a lack of focus on sentence progression.
- Leaders had not implemented a reading strategy to improve literacy.
- Too much teaching in English and mathematics was of poor quality and too few prisoners achieved external accreditations.
Key concerns
- A significant number of prisoners were self-isolating in their cell because they felt unsafe but received little support or encouragement to reintegrate.
- Support for foreign national prisoners was too limited. Professional telephone interpreting services were rarely used and there was no access to free independent legal advice. Reasons for denying prisoners a move to an open prison were not always defensible.
- Prisoners did not receive effective careers information, advice and guidance throughout their sentence.
- The application of some public protection measures was weak. Communications monitoring was not used effectively, child contact restrictions were not enforced consistently and not all MAPPA management levels were confirmed within eight months of release.
The full reports can be read at the Ministry of Justice web site, just follow the links below:
- Inspection report (1 MB), Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Highpoint by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (16-27 October 2023)
- HMP Highpoint (PDF, 867.34 kB), Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Highpoint (26 October – 6 November 2015)
- HMP Highpoint, Announced inspection of HMP Highpoint (10-14 September 2012)
- HMP Highpoint, Unannounced short follow-up inspection of HMP Highpoint (4–7 October 2010)