The Mount inspection report 2025
Report for The Mount Prison
Summary
The governor had brought greater stability to this large Hertfordshire category C prison by improving the recruitment, retention and capability of his staff. As a result, staff-prisoner relations were good, and inspectors observed many effective officers supporting and managing prisoners serving sentences from just a few months to life imprisonment. The regime had also improved considerably and was now closer to what we would expect in this category of jail, with well-supervised prisoners moving freely to and from activities. Unfortunately, the quality of education was poor, with a failure to assess the needs of prisoners and deliver a curriculum that was suitable for the population. This meant that while there were vacancies in other activities, there were not enough places in English and maths, nor was there provision for the many men who were only spending a few months at the jail. Leaders were not aware that the quality of teaching was not good enough and they struggled to provide accurate attendance figures.