Wetherby inspection report 2024
Summary
This complex young offender institution (YOI) in Yorkshire holds children with a range of needs, including those in the Keppel Unit, a national resource for the most vulnerable children; provision for a small number of girls; boys on short sentences or remand; and a small number of children who are embarking on very long or life sentences. Wetherby is one of three different types of institution that hold the seven currently imprisoned girls in England and Wales. Nationally there is not a coherent plan for caring for these girls and what was originally only temporary accommodation at Wetherby after the closure of Rainsbrook secure training centre (STC), has now become the destination for those who STCs and secure children’s homes will not, or cannot accommodate. The result has been pressure on staff who, while doing their best, have not had the training or do not possess the expertise to care for these girls, most of whom require specialist provision. As a result, we came across two incidents where a girl was using her clothes to make ligatures and had had her clothing removed by male officers. This is simply not acceptable.