Stoke Heath inspection report 2026

Summary

Stoke Heath is a category C men’s prison in Shropshire that held 741 men at the time of this inspection. Relationships were a strength in a prison that benefitted from an experienced staff team, with many officers having worked in the jail for more than ten years. This provided a level of stability and continuity that was appreciated by prisoners. The governor, who had been in post for a year, had begun to address some deep cultural issues in a jail that needed to reorientate back to its function as a training prison. She was aiming to get more prisoners into purposeful activity, but attendance was poor, with too many men choosing to remain on their wing rather than attend activity. Staff shortages meant that although the regime was reliably delivered, most men were only in part-time activity and too many continued to spend long periods of time locked up.

Inspection ratings