The latest inspection of HMYOI Werrington reinforces the urgent need to transform youth custody. While there have been some improvements in safety and relationships between children and staff, this does not replace the need for ambitious reform. Children are still spending an average of just four hours and 15 minutes out of their cells each day, education remains inadequate and classes are frequently cancelled. These longstanding, systemic failures cannot be resolved through incremental change.
Children deserve far more than marginal improvements to a fundamentally inadequate system. We know that better outcomes are possible through small, therapeutic settings close to home, where children can access high-quality education, build trusting relationships and receive the support they need to thrive.
The current youth custody reforms and forthcoming youth custody transformation plan offer an opportunity to set out a credible, long-term roadmap for change, moving away from large custodial institutions towards more effective, child-centred alternatives. This must be backed by clear accountability, sustained investment, and a time bound plan for delivering the right provision for every child.
The ambition must be to fundamentally transform youth custody, not simply make the existing system work a little better, so that every child has the opportunity to build a positive future.
Jess Mullen, CEO, Alliance for Youth Justice:
“The latest inspection of HMYOI Werrington shows why incremental improvements are not enough. Children are still spending too much time locked in their cells and missing out on the education and support they need.
The Government’s youth custody transformation plan must set out an ambitious, long-term vision to move away from large institutions towards small, therapeutic settings that put children’s needs and futures first. Children deserve fundamental change, not marginal improvements to a failing system.”