Agenda item

Report to follow.

Discussion:

The Deputy Governor of HMP YOI Cookham Wood introduced the report which provided an update on the improvement journey.

Members then raised a number of comments and questions, which included:

Members were concerned about the level of failings identified, concerns raised were alarming and there was a lack of confidence that issues were being addressed at pace. The actions and improvements that had been made since the Ofsted inspection were not clear in the report. The officer reassured Members that issues were being addressed but reminded the Committee that the failings identified from the Ofsted inspection had occurred over a period of time. Addressing failings through the action plan in place as part of the improvement journey would take time. The improvement plan ensured that there was oversight and accountability at all levels and that senior management were being appropriately held to account.

Staff – in response to a question on what support was in place to address the wellbeing of staff and ensure their safety, the officer said that consultations had taken place with staff to capture their views on how to make them feel appropriately supported. A staff council had been developed as well as a 24hour staff line for them to raise any concerns and receive advice. There was also a reward and recognition scheme in place highlighting good areas of work.

It was further asked whether there was a good balance of gender and age of staff at Cookham Wood. The officer confirmed that the gender split was fairly even but there was some concern regarding the age of some staff who were only a few years older that some of the young people.

Leadership – it was queried why most of the leadership team were from adult secure estates and not from youth or education backgrounds. It was also asked how conducive separation of young people was to the regime. The officer said that at the time of the inspection, there were approximately 77 young boys on roll, with approximately 21 separated due to the risk to others.  Some of the young boys were entrenched in gang culture and staff spend a significant amount of time trying to build relationships and trust. The conflict resolution team worked tirelessly to manage issues between different gangs. In relation to the leadership of the estate, Members were reminded that there were three other Public Under 18 Young Offender Institutes across the country and it was difficult to recruit a leadership team from any of them. All the leadership team at Cookham Wood had over 15 years experience and there were similar issues experienced in adult estates. The staff at Cookham Wood were trauma informed trained, and young people had access to art therapy, family therapy as well as access to education specialist services.

The Assistant Director of Education and SEND added that they had been working with the leadership team who had visited outstanding pupil referral units for valuable learning and compare the curriculum offered in those institutions. Inclusion training had also been offered to the staff at Cookham Wood.

Report from Cookham Wood - the update report from HMYOI Cookham Wood contained data intended for local use as internal management information. The official statistics related to youth custody performance data are published on GOV.UK following validation and can be accessed at the following link: Youth justice statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (for the Youth Justice collection page, but Youth Custody Report and Safety in the Children’s and Young Persons Secure Estate publication)

Decision:

1. The Committee noted the report.

2. The Committee recommended that the Director of People consult with the Governor of Cookham Wood for a visit to be arranged for members to attend Cookham Wood.

3. The Committee recommended that a six monthly written briefing update be provided on progress on the improvement journey.

4. The Committee recommended that the Governor of Cookham Wood attend a committee meeting on an annual basis.