Secure schools to ‘prepare youth offenders for world outside prison’

Education in a ‘safe house’ should be used to lead children away from trouble with the law, a review recommends.

Child behavioural expert Charlie Taylor believes youth justice would be more effective and better able to rehabilitate young offenders if their sentences are served in secure schools rather than detention centres.

The report, commissioned by the Ministry of Justice last year, said at the moment establishments seem to be teaching children to survive prison rather than preparing them for life on the outside.

Mr Taylor proposes giving local areas greater say in the way young people are managed through devolving responsibility, control and money from central government and also re-designing the youth estate to cater for a smaller, but more challenging, group of children in custody.

The review calls for smaller custodial establishments – created as secure schools – and located in the regions they serve.

These establishments would be inspected under the education framework and held to the same standards as other alternative provision schools, while ensuring proper scrutiny of the safeguarding, security and rehabilitation services.

“Rather than seeking to import education into youth prisons, we should create schools for young offenders in which we overlay the necessary security arrangements,” it said.

Discussions surrounding the feasibility of the creation of such schools are underway with both the Department for Education and the Welsh Government.

The report found that since 2006/07 the number of children in custody has declined by 64 per cent (down to 1,048 in 2014/15) and is now at its lowest recorded level.

However, almost two thirds of those in custody reoffend within a year of release.

Mr Taylor said youth justice must be reformed to give children the support and education they need to become successful adults.

“Education is important for all children, but for those involved in offending it is vital. We need a resolute focus on giving children in trouble with the law the skills, qualifications and aptitudes to lead successful, law-abiding lives,” he said.

Young offenders institutes promise 30 hours of education a week; but because of staff shortages and rising levels of violence, children are currently receiving only 17 hours.

The culture of aspiration and discipline which is evident in the best alternative provision schools – education arranged by local authorities for pupils who, because of exclusion or illness, would not otherwise receive suitable education – has rarely been encountered in youth custody, he added.

Justice Secretary Michael Gove said there must be clear consequences when an individual – whether a child or an adult – breaks the law. However, the consequences must present individuals with the support and the opportunities they require to be fully rehabilitated and to contribute positively to society.

“Education must be at the heart of this approach and the emerging findings and proposals set out in this interim report seek to do just that,” Mr Gove added.

The remainder of the youth review will examine the way young offenders are dealt with in court and the sentences available, how to prevent offending and how to reintegrate children into the community following custody.

A final report is expected to be produced in July.

Other notable points from the review:

•Mr Taylor set out an ambition for children to spend as short a period of time in police detention as is necessary to complete essential processes;

•He outlined concern over the length of time many children spend in police detention while advocate and appropriate adults services are sought; and

•The report will consider what more can be done, including steps to introduce flexibility in how the police respond to incidents of criminalisation of children in care homes for conduct which would never result in a similar response if it happened in a school or family setting.