This report by the National Audit Office (NAO) looks at secure training centres and schools for children, which are intended to improve the life chances of children in custody. The NAO report shows that the opening of the first secure school has been delayed by approximately three years.
In England and Wales, children aged between 10 and 17 can be held criminally responsible for their actions. In February 2022, there were 414 children in custody. Once children are sentenced to custody, the Youth Custody Service (YCS) determines where to place them in the secure custodial estate based on each child’s individual needs, the youth offending team’s placement recommendation, and the accommodation available.
Reports in recent years indicate a deterioration in the standard of provision for children in YOIs and STCs. As at April 2022, two STCs – Medway and Rainsbrook – have closed, and the third, Oakhill, is under an improvement plan following problems identified in a critical inspection.
In 2016, the government recommended that the Ministry of Justice create secure schools. These schools would be a new form of custodial establishment that provide enhanced educational and rehabilitation services to children in a therapeutic environment. In December 2016, the Ministry accepted the report’s recommendation and set out its intention to create two new secure schools. Work is under way to create one secure school, but it has not opened yet.
Key Points:
- The 2016 government-commissioned Review of the Youth Justice System in England and Wales recommended that the Ministry of Justice should address longstanding concerns about the welfare of children in custody by opening secure schools. The Ministry accepted this recommendation and committed to delivering two secure schools.
- It is expected that the number of children in custody to more than double by September 2024, after a long-term decline. The forecast is based on the collective impact of recruiting 23,000 additional police officers, reversing COVID-19 court backlogs, and tougher sentencing following the passing of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Reform Bill.
- Certain groups of children are increasingly over-represented in custody.In the year ending March 2021, on average 53% of children in custody were from ethnic minority groups, compared to 32% in the year ending March 2011. The proportion of black children in custody increased from 18% to 29% during the same period.
- The small number of girls in custody are more likely to have experienced sexual and physical victimisation, and relationship difficulties.
- Inspectors have persistently raised concerns over the welfare, safety, and outcomes for children in England’s three STCs, rating them as ‘requiring improvement to be good’ or ‘inadequate’ in every year since 2017.
- STC failures have resulted in children being moved to areas of the youth custodial estate that had previously been judged as less suitable for their needs.
- The first secure school was originally due to open at the Medway STC site in autumn 2020 but has been delayed until November 2023. Progress has been slower than hoped because of assumptions made about timescales at the start of the project, changes HMPPS needed to make to meet Ofsted’s advice on the standards for secure children’s homes (SCH) registration, and the time it took to establish the basis on which a charity could run a secure school.
- The cost estimate for converting the Medway STC site to a secure school rose from £4.9 million to £36.5 million, due mainly to significant design revisions after due diligence. Due to wider financial constraints, HMPPS has not started work on the second secure school.
- The Ministry and HMPPS recognise that significant work is required to improve the youth custodial estate if it is to meet the increased demand for places and children’s needs.