Concerns raised about treatment of children in Oakhill secure training centre

The Howard League for Penal Reform has responded to a joint inspection report on Oakhill secure training centre, published today (Thursday 5 December).

Inspectors from Ofsted, HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the Care Quality Commission visited the G4S-run centre in Milton Keynes, which can hold children as young as 12, in October 2024. Seventy children – 68 boys and two girls – were living there at the time.

The five-day inspection found that children were receiving inconsistent and “at times unsafe” primary and mental healthcare. A small number of children had significant injuries, for which it was unclear that they had received the appropriate treatment. Children were not receiving immunisations and vaccinations, and health staff were not aware of the children who needed these.

Living areas were too small for the number of children being cared for. The report calls on the Youth Custody Service (YCS) to review the number of children the centre can look after appropriately.

Education standards in Oakhill had declined, with the quality of teaching having “deteriorated”. While violence and use of force had reduced, separation was a major concern and a small number of children had been kept away from others for significant periods, sometimes for many days. Some children were being locked in their bedrooms inappropriately after refusing to attend education; the inspection report calls for this practice to end immediately.

The Howard League has also raised concerns about the segregation of children in Oakhill. In October, the charity had to resort to legal correspondence with the YCS to compel Oakhill to review its separation policy, and in the meantime suspend practices which allowed for children and young people to be locked in their room for more than three hours in a 24-hour period, contrary to Rule 36 of the Secure Training Centre Rules 1998.

Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.), Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “Every child needs fresh air, education and contact with other people to thrive. But Oakhill is failing to provide that healthy environment, with education deteriorating, basic health needs going unmet, and some children being locked up for hours in their bedrooms.

“Coming only three years after Oakhill was made the subject of an urgent notification, the disturbing issues uncovered in this report require immediate attention. They reinforce our view that only smaller, more intensive settings such as secure children’s homes can meet the needs of children in custody, who often have been failed repeatedly by adults and statutory services.”

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. In May 2022, the Howard League raised problems in Oakhill in evidence to the Public Accounts Committee’s inquiry into secure training centres and secure schools. The charity’s submission can be read at: https://howardleague.org/submission-to-the-public-accounts-committee-inquiry-on-secure-training-centres-and-secure-schools/
3. The inspection report for Oakhill secure training centre is available on the Ofsted website at: https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/11/1027077

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