Children in solitary confinement without exercise or education

Children in youth offender institutions are being locked in solitary confinement without access to education and only a few minutes exercise a day.

In the worst case scenarios, some do not even leave their cell.

The findings come in a damning review by the chief inspector of prisons into progress made on the treatment of children separated from their peers in YOIs in England and Wales after a highly critical report four years ago. 

The 2020 report by the chief inspector of prisons found “widespread” use of solitary confinement, with children spending more than 22 hours a day locked in cells with “no meaningful human contact or oversight”.

In a foreword to the follow up report, chief inspector Charlie Taylor writes: “It is depressing to find that four years later almost all of these failings continue.”

Nearly 500 children – ten per cent of the YOI population – were separated from peers in 2023/04, either because they posed a risk to others or elected to stay in their cell, usually from fear of violence.

The government says this should only happen "when all other alternatives have been exhausted" and to prevent harm to a child or others.

Taylor described the experience of the “majority” of separated children in custody as “bleak”.

“We found that many children continued to be subject to solitary confinement and unable to access the basics, including exercise. 

“Leaders were unable to provide most separated children with adequate access to education and other interventions, which in some cases were limited to just a few minutes a day. 

“In the worst cases, on some days, children did not leave their cell.”

The review found 179 instances of children separated for between three weeks and 100 days during the period.

There were 21 instances where children were separated for more than 100 days.

In one YOI, Cookham Wood, separated children had on average fewer than three minutes education a day.

Little progress was found on ten recommendations in the 2020 report, entitled Separation of children in young offender institutions.

Taylor said: “The model of separation and the experiences of children who are separated had not meaningfully changed since our thematic inspection in 2020, and many continued to be separated for long periods of time. 

“Many children were subjected to harmful routines that met the definition of solitary confinement and some of this confinement was prolonged in nature.”

He added safeguarding checks for separated children were “cursory” and “too often had little impact on the daily experience of the child involved”.

Carolyne Willow, director of children’s rights charity Article 39, said the findings “should embarrass the government into action”. 

She added: “The scale and longevity of serious child protection failure suggests we do not know how to look after children in our country, or that we do not care enough about children to put things right. Neither of these propositions should be palatable to government ministers inheriting this chaos.”

Decade of declining education standards

This week also saw publication of a joint review of education within YOIs published by Ofsted and the prisions inspectorate highlighting a decade of "steadily declining" standards in England.

It cited "severe staff shortages" as the main reason for poor quality education, making it difficult to build relationships and an over-reliance on "complicated regimes" that kept large numbers of children separated from each other.

The report described a "vicious cycle" where "children are isolated, disheartened and frustrated, then develop poor behaviours that lead to further restrictions being imposed".

Chief inspector of Ofsted Sir Martyn Oliver warned "the system is failing" young people. He said: "I am especially concerned that children are spending extended periods in isolation, further compromising their opportunity to become successful and productive citizens upon their release."

Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor added: "Children in custody are among the most troubled and challenging in society, often with experience of being in care and having had very disrupted education in the community. 

"Their time in custody ought to represent a golden opportunity to address that through consistent interventions and support, but we continue to report on very poor provision, particularly for those children separated from their peers in response to conflict."

Government response

The government says it's working to tackle violence and improve access to "purposeful activity" in YOIs, including ensuring every child is assessed for educational, psychological, resettlement, health and behaviour support needs.

Youth justice minister Nic Dakin said: ““This government has inherited a criminal justice system in crisis, and these damning reports highlight the unacceptable strain that has been placed on the youth estate for too many years.

"We are determined to tackle these challenges head on – giving staff the support they need to reduce violence, increase access to education and help these children turn their lives around. This includes working towards a clear strategy for youth custody reform and stepping up efforts to stop more young people from getting caught up in crime in the first place.”