New figures reveal continued failure of prisons holding children

The continued failure of prisons holding children is laid bare today (Monday 2 March) as figures reveal that boys are typically being kept in their cells for about 20 hours a day and getting much less than 15 hours of education per week.

Ministry of Justice data seen by the Howard League for Penal Reform show that, throughout 2025, the three prisons in England that hold children – Feltham, Werrington and Wetherby – failed routinely to deliver enough purposeful activity during the week, with children spending even longer in their cells at weekends.

The figures, which show monthly averages for time out of cell and education provision in each prison between January and December 2025, were given in response to Freedom of Information Act requests from the Howard League. They indicate that conditions in custody have barely improved since the charity uncovered data showing a similar picture in 2024.

Feltham prison, in west London, kept children in their cells the longest in 2025, with average time out of cell on weekdays peaking in September, at a mere four hours and 21 minutes, and dropping below four hours in the winter months. Average time out of cell at weekends was never higher than the three hours and 43 minutes that the prison recorded in December.

Children in Werrington prison, in Staffordshire, got out of their cells for five hours and one minute on average on weekdays in November, but the numbers were even lower for the rest of the year. Average time out of cell at weekends was less than three hours per day for most of the year.

Average time out of cell on weekdays in Wetherby prison, in West Yorkshire, rose over the course of the year, from four hours and three minutes in January to five hours and 40 minutes in December. However, children continued to spend longer in their cells at weekends, with most monthly averages coming in under the four-hour mark.

It is a legal requirement that prisons must deliver at least 15 hours of education per week to children of statutory school age – but this is the bare minimum and the government expects prisons to provide more. The monthly figures show that Feltham, Werrington and Wetherby failed to reach this standard in 2025.

Education provision in Feltham reached its highest point in February, when 7.1 hours were delivered per week on average, and dropped significantly afterwards. Provision in Werrington ranged from 13.4 hours per week on average to 7.6. In Wetherby, monthly averages were between 11.3 and 6.4.

The situation was better in Parc prison, in south Wales, where children got out of their cells for eight hours and 49 minutes on weekdays and seven hours and 30 minutes per day at weekends in January. But the numbers dropped over the course of the year, falling to seven hours and 27 minutes at weekdays and six hours and five minutes at weekends in December.

Children in Parc received more than 20 hours of education per week on average in February, but provision fell to below 15 hours per week in September. Data since the start of 2024 show an overall trend of declining standards in both time out of cell and time in education for children held there.

Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.), Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “Children in custody are being failed again and again by a toxic criminal justice system. Last year, we revealed that prisons in England were not getting children out of their cells, nor providing them with the education they ought to receive. Today, fresh data show that their miserable performance has continued.

“The government has announced that it is embarking on the most significant overhaul of youth justice in a generation. But it has conspicuously failed to commit to closing prisons holding children. No meaningful reform of youth justice can succeed without getting children out of these failing prisons and ensuring that they receive the care and support they need to move on from crime and lead healthy lives.”

Notes to editors

1. The Howard League for Penal Reform is the oldest penal reform charity in the world. It is a national charity working for less crime, safer communities and fewer people in prison.
2. Monthly averages, provided in response to Freedom of Information Act requests from the Howard League, can be found in the table below. The education data relates to classroom education only and not education in Enhanced Support Unit (ESU) or Outreach education settings.

Average number of hours of education delivered per week, in each month from January to December 2025.

3. Time out of cell and education data for the period from January 2024 to February 2025 were revealed by the Howard League in April 2025: https://howardleague.org/news/revealed-the-prisons-keeping-children-locked-in-their-cells-for-hours-on-end/

Contact

Noor Khan
Press and Public Affairs Officer
Tel: +44 (0)20 7241 7873
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