HMP & YOI Feltham is in fact two separate establishments on one site in west London, each inspected separately by HM Inspectorate of Prisons: Feltham A, holding children and young people under 18, and Feltham B, holding young adults. The full reports can be read on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website, just follow the links below. In their latest reports the inspectors said:
Feltham A was given an Independent Review of Progress in July 2026, following a full inspection in May/June 2025 that had rated safety Poor, care Reasonably Good, purposeful activity Poor and resettlement Reasonably Good, all unchanged from the previous inspection. The review, carried out shortly after the death of a child in custody in April 2026 that remains subject to ongoing investigation, found a staffing crisis meant fewer than two-thirds of frontline posts were regularly covered, leading to extended lockdowns, that the behaviour management scheme remained weak, and that use of force stayed the highest of any young offender institution. Healthcare appointments were frequently missed or cancelled, and most children were still released without accommodation, education or training arranged. Inspectors described “cautious optimism” about the leadership team but said the operational failures they identified had to be addressed urgently.
Feltham B was given a full inspection in September 2025. Inspectors rated safety Not Sufficiently Good, respect Reasonably Good, purposeful activity Poor and preparation for release Not Sufficiently Good, all unchanged from the previous inspection, at a prison holding 451 young adults against an in-use certified normal capacity of 478. Assaults had fallen sharply, from 1,132 to 621 per 1,000 prisoners a year, and most new arrivals said they had been treated well on arrival, but the positive drug test rate of 38% was the highest of any category C prison, use of the PAVA incapacitant spray was the highest nationally, and of 12 concerns raised at the previous inspection only 3 had been fully resolved.
Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
July 2026
To read the full reports, go to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website or follow the links below:
- Independent Review of Progress report, Feltham A, HM Inspectorate of Prisons review of progress at HMYOI Feltham A (26–28 May 2026, published 6 July 2026)
- Inspection report, Feltham A (PDF), Report on an unannounced inspection of HMYOI Feltham A by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (20 May–5 June 2025, published 26 August 2025)
- Inspection report, Feltham B (PDF), Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP & YOI Feltham B by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (1–11 September 2025, published 1 December 2025)
- Action plan, Feltham B, HM Prison and Probation Service action plan in response to the 2025 inspection of Feltham B