The prison was given a full inspection in September 2024, the full report can be read on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website, just follow the links below. In their latest report the inspectors said:
HMP Kirklevington Grange is a small category D resettlement prison for adult and young adult men near Yarm, North Yorkshire, run by HM Prison and Probation Service, holding 205 prisoners against an operational capacity of 207. Inspectors rated safety, respect, purposeful activity and preparation for release all Good, unchanged, meaning the prison has held Good across all four healthy prison tests for at least three consecutive inspections. Described as a thriving and innovative prison under an experienced governor, focused on employment and resettlement.
Ninety-seven per cent of prisoners said they were treated well on reception and 92% felt safe on their first night, with only 8% saying they had ever felt unsafe, against an 18% comparator. Ninety per cent could identify a member of staff to turn to with a problem, 96% had a personal officer, and 72% rated the food as good, all well above comparator averages. There were no absconds in the previous 12 months, and release on temporary licence failure rates were lower than the open-estate average across nearly 15,000 instances. Around half of leavers were in employment at six weeks post-release, rising to 60% at six months.
Inspectors nonetheless raised three priority concerns: prisoners were routinely strip-searched on entry to the transition cells and isolated there without the normal safeguards that apply to segregation; some parts of the prison were run down, with cramped older wings, poorly maintained communal showers and toilets, and shabby self-cook facilities; and there were shortcomings in the management of release on temporary licence risk, with standard boards not consistently thorough and community spot checks not always completed. First-night cell cleanliness had also fallen sharply since the last inspection, and the drug test positive rate, while still low at 6.3%, had risen.
Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
December 2024
To read the full reports, go to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website or follow the links below:
| Inspection report (PDF), Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Kirklevington Grange by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (2–12 September 2024, published 2 December 2024) | Easy read summary of the 2024 inspection report |
| Action plan, HM Prison and Probation Service action plan in response to the 2024 inspection of HMP Kirklevington Grange | |