Revealed: The prisons keeping children locked in their cells for hours on end

Children in prisons in England are typically being kept in their cells for about 20 hours a day and receiving less than 15 hours of education per week, figures obtained by the Howard League for Penal Reform reveal today (Monday 7 April).

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics show that the three prisons in England that hold children – Werrington, Wetherby and Feltham – have 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 2024 and February 2025, were given in response to parliamentary questions and Freedom of Information Act requests from the Howard League.

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.

Information on the government’s website says that children at Werrington are offered 30 hours of education a week, children at Wetherby are offered 15 hours of ‘core education’ and six hours of vocational courses, and Feltham’s education service is open ‘five days a week’.

But the monthly averages recorded in each prison indicate that the hours of education actually delivered fail to meet the standards expected.

The Howard League’s analysis comes six weeks after the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza called for urgent reforms to the youth justice system to ensure that education plays a central role.

Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.), Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “Children need fresh air, exercise, education and contact with others if they are to grow up to lead healthy lives. But this isn’t happening in the three prisons holding children in England, and the figures we have collected underline the need for the government to act.

“Unlike adult prisons, prisons that hold children are not overcrowded and are relatively well resourced. Regimes ought to be much better, but time and again we find that they are not, with children locked up for hours on end in their cells and routinely without even the minimum amount of education that they are entitled to receive.

“Many of the children trapped in this failing system should not be in custody at all, and certainly not in prisons like these.”

For each month from January 2024 to February 2025, the MoJ gave figures showing the average number of hours that children spent out of their cells on weekdays and weekends in four prisons: Werrington, in Staffordshire; Wetherby, in West Yorkshire; Feltham, in west London; and Parc, in south Wales.

The Howard League also asked for a month-by-month breakdown of the average number of hours of education provided to children in each prison.

There was not a single month when Werrington prison got children out of their cells for more than five hours per day on weekdays. The most time out of cell on average was recorded in August 2024 (four hours and 44 minutes) and the least was in February 2025 (three hours and 23 minutes). At weekends, monthly averages ranged from three hours and 36 minutes in May 2024 to two hours and eight minutes in August 2024.

Education delivery in Werrington was highest in July 2024 (14.7 hours per week on average) and lowest in February 2025 (7.8 hours) and at no time reached a monthly average above the 15 hours mandated by law for children of statutory school age.

Time out of cell on weekdays for children in Wetherby prison was at its highest in February 2024 (six hours and 25 minutes per day on average) and lowest in December 2024 (three hours and 56 minutes). At weekends, monthly averages ranged from four hours and 46 minutes in July 2024 to two hours and 19 minutes in January 2025.

During the 14-month period from January 2024 to February 2025, Wetherby prison rarely delivered more than 10 hours of education per week on average, let alone the mandated 15 hours.

Education delivery in Feltham prison was particularly poor in the late summer months, with children receiving only 1.5 hours on average in August 2024 and 2.4 hours on average in September 2024. From July 2024 onwards, the number of hours delivered per week on average never reached double figures.

On weekdays in January 2024, children in Feltham were allowed out of their cells for five hours and five minutes on average – and this was the most time out of cell that the prison would record all year. It dipped lowest in August 2024, with averages of two hours and 54 minutes on weekdays and two hours and 24 minutes at weekends.

Meanwhile, figures for Parc prison show that it typically provided about double the hours of education given in the English jails – and consistently above the 15 hours per week that must be delivered to children of statutory school age.

Children in Parc also received more time out of their cell – between seven and nine hours on average on weekdays, and between five and eight hours on average at weekends.

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 February 2025, the Children’s Commissioner for England called for a rehaul of the youth justice system, with a greater emphasis on rehabilitation over punishment, putting education at its core. The Commissioner’s report, The educational journeys of children in secure settings, can be found here.
3. HM Inspectorate of Prisons and Ofsted have also raised concerns about reduced time out of cell and declining access to education in prisons holding children. The watchdogs’ thematic review, published in October 2024, can be found here.
4. Monthly averages, provided in response to parliamentary questions and 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 2024 to February 2025

*Data not available at time that FOI response was received

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Noor Khan
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