Cookham Wood inspection report 2023

Summary

HMYOI Cookham Wood is a young offender facility in Kent capable of holding 120 boys between the ages of 15 and 17, although some 18-year-olds are currently being retained due to population pressures in the adult estate. An institution dating from the 1970s, the accommodation blocks have been largely rebuilt in recent years, with new wings opened in 2014. At the time of this inspection the institution was only two-thirds full, with the 77 boys ranging from those on remand to some serving long, indeterminate sentences, including life. It follows that these boys are among the most vulnerable and challenging currently subject to the criminal justice system in England. The findings of this inspection were extremely concerning, with evidence indicating outcomes for young people were poor in our tests of safety and purposeful activity, and not sufficiently good in care and resettlement. They were the latest in a pattern of deterioration dating back to 2016.

Inspection ratings