HMI Prisons

If you have information about the prison, please email: hmiprisons.enquiries@hmiprisons.gov.uk

Our researchers are conducting a survey at Parc YOI at the start of an inspection. If you have information about the establishment, please email: hmiprisons.enquiries@hmiprisons.gov.uk

Points to note:
- Still too much violence, despite improvement.
- Drugs widely available.
- Too few prisoners allocated to education, skills and work.
- Insufficiently regular contact between prisoners and prisoner offender managers.
- Strong group of leaders having impact.

Bar chart illustrating the healthy prison scores for HMP/YOI Isis when it was inspected in 2022 and 2025. It shows that outcomes for Safety had remained not sufficiently good, outcomes for Respect had remained good, and outcomes for both Purposeful Activity and Preparation for Release had improved from poor to not sufficiently good.

HMP/YOI Isis: Many challenges, but determined leaders driving improvement

Read the inspection report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk?post_type=hm...

And the press notice: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk?post_type=ne...

See the healthy prison scores:

Points to note:
- Determined leaders and more stable staff group
- Self-harm remained too high
- New arrivals required better support
- Use of force oversight inadequate
- Education and work attendance too low, despite improvement
- Strong release planning.

Bar chart illustrating the healthy prison outcome scores for HMP Exeter when it was inspected in 2022 and 2025. All four scores had improved; safety and purposeful activity from poor to not sufficiently good, respect from not sufficiently good to reasonably good, and preparation for release from reasonably good to good.

HMP Exeter: Leaders and staff making difference, but challenges persisted

Read the inspection report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk?post_type=hm...

And the press notice: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk?post_type=ne...

See the healthy prison scores:

Progress in maintaining family ties Our thematic found that maintaining family ties was a top priority for women. Although there was some inconsistency in delivery, there was encouraging progress. Bronzefield, Send and Eastwood Park each had an on-site social worker to help women navigate crucial family contact issues.

Training to promote good staff-prisoner relationships New officers working in women’s prisons had specific training, and the rollout of ‘Behind the Behaviour’ training was helping staff to better understand how life experiences can shape behaviour. At Low Newton, 81% of surveyed women said staff treated them with respect.

An important move away from restrictive measures The use of anti-rip clothing across the women’s estate declined dramatically from 493 instances in 2024 to 88 in 2025. At Eastwood Park, the use of force to place women in anti-rip clothing fell from 63 times in 2024 to twice, on one woman, in 2025. An important move away from restrictive measures

International Women’s Day 2026 #IWD2026 This year the theme of International Women’s Day is Give To Gain, which is all about collective improvement. Our ‘Time to Care’ report last year highlighted the need for more collaborative support in women’s prisons. Since then, we’ve found some encouraging progress.

Sunday 8 March is International Women's Day.

This year's theme is collective improvement. We've seen the impact that collaborative support can have in women's jails.

Find out more below and here: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/news/time-to...

Positive reading initiatives Altcourse, 2025: Prisoners were rewarded for good work in education with tokens that they could use to buy books from vending machines. Foston Hall, 2025: The Great Foston Reading Challenge encouraged women at all levels to read several books and complete puzzles. On completing the challenge, they received a certificate, prize and positive case note on their prison record. Lincoln, 2025: On release, prisoners who received reading support were given a resources pack. This included details of local libraries to encourage them to keep reading.

The importance of reading In our survey, 45% of prisoners said they had a reading need. These prisoners were more likely to report feeling unsafe and to have been segregated or restrained. Low-level reading skills also limit a prisoner’s ability to navigate life after release. Filling out forms to open a bank account, or apply for jobs, is difficult or even impossible. This increases the likelihood of unemployment and is a missed opportunity to help reduce the risk of reoffending.

World Book Day 2026

Today is #WorldBookDay. Our recent thematic 'Reading for rehabilitation' highlights the importance of reading in prisons.

Find out more in the slides below and in the report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

Are you a strong leader with great communication skills? Do you want to make a difference to the conditions and treatment of those in detention?

Then why not apply to be the Team Leader of one of our inspection teams.

Find out more and apply: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/current-vaca...

If you have information about the prison, please email: hmiprisons.enquiries@hmiprisons.gov.uk

Our researchers are conducting a survey at HMP Woodhill at the start of an inspection. If you have information about the establishment, please email: hmiprisons.enquiries@hmiprisons.gov.uk

Ongoing concerns - Women sent to prison due to the lack of spaces in mental health hospitals, and delays in transfers once sectioned under the Mental Health Act - Last‑minute cancellation of release accommodation - Supply of illicit drugs and inadequate gate security - Not enough time out of cell - Lack of technology to help women get things done

Progress since 'Time to care': - Improved staff-prisoner relationships - Good progress in reducing restrictive practices - More being done to keep families connected - Better use of peer support - Focus on creating decent environments and building communities

This week we published a blog about progress in women's jails since our 'Time to care' thematic. We also raised ongoing concerns.

Read the blog: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/news/time-to...

Listen to the podcast: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/news/time-to...

Find out more ⬇️

More positive* news from @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social today on the women's estate, with real progress being made on some of the worst elements of last year's thematic.

(* yes, it's not all great and there's still lots to be done but it's progress and there's not been too much of that recently.)

The Prison Inspectors, Time to care: one year on.

Following positive findings at Low Newton, today we publish a blog and podcast about progress in women's jails since our 'Time to care' thematic.

Read the blog: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/news/time-to...

Listen to the podcast: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/news/time-to...

Points to note:
- Strong, trusting staff-prisoner relationships
- Governor vital in embedding supportive culture
- Broad curriculum and variety of employment
- Mental health provision skilled and well-resourced
- Leaders taking steps to reduce drugs and make sure force was a last resort.

A bar graph showing HMP Low Newton healthy prison outcomes in 2021 and 2025, with safety and respect remaining good, purposeful activity increasing to reasonably good from not sufficiently good and preparation for release improving from reasonably good to good.

HMP & YOI Low Newton: women benefit from strong, supportive culture and sustained improvement.

Read the report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

And the press release: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/news/women-a...

See the healthy prison scores:

Text which reads "Inspectors found a well‑run prison where strong, trusting relationships between staff and women were central to its success. Women praised the compassion, patience and consistency shown by staff, and many reported improvements in their well‑being and confidence since arriving at the jail."

Most @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social reports make for depressing reading so worth noting today's positive one on Low Newton.

'Good' for education and nice to see that women are "motivated by teachers’ warm encouragement and positive feedback".

hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

Photo of a prison visits hall with the HMI Prisons email address overlaid on top.

Our researchers are conducting a survey at HMP & YOI Stoke Heath at the start of an inspection. If you have information about the establishment, please email: hmiprisons.enquiries@hmiprisons.gov.uk

Points to note:
- Improvements in health care particularly noteworthy.
- Quality of teaching better, and more effective allocation to activities.
- More robust support for those at risk of self-harm.
- Too much violence.
- More action to tackle drugs problem required.

Social media postcard for the publication of HMIP’s independent review of progress at HMP Thameside, featuring a photograph of a wing landing at the prison, an HMIP logo and the dates of the inspection.

HMP Thameside: Leaders driving progress, but significant problems persisted

Read our inspection report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk?post_type=hm...

And the press notice: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk?post_type=ne...

Points to note:
- Drugs easily available.
- High rate of prisoner-on-prisoner violence.
- Work and education attendance not good enough.
- Prisoners needed more help to progress.
- Men could contribute to daily life.
- Good work with those serving indeterminate sentences.

Bar chart illustrating the healthy prison scores for HMP Coldingley when it was inspected in 2022 and 2025. It shows that outcomes for Safety declined from being reasonably good to not sufficiently good. All other scores remained the same across the two inspections; Respect and Preparation for Release as reasonably good, Purposeful Activity as not sufficiently good.

HMP Coldingley: Engaged leaders, but variety of problems to address

Read the inspection report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk?post_type=hm...

And the press notice: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk?post_type=ne...

See the healthy prison scores:

Photo of a prison visits hall with the HMI Prisons email address overlaid on top.

Our researchers are conducting a survey at HMP Long Lartin at the start of an inspection. If you have information about the establishment, please email: hmiprisons.enquiries@hmiprisons.gov.uk

Points to note:
- Staffing problems hampered progress in key areas
- Prisoners locked up for long periods, unable to attend education or work
- Reduced ingress of illicit drugs
- Lack of sentence progression
- Weaknesses in public protection.

Report on an independent review of progress at HMP Parc by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, 5-7 January 2026.

HMP Parc: decline in drug use, but significant regime restrictions

Read the report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

And press release: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/news/reports...

Points to note:
- Underinvestment and complexity of procurement had left facilities in poor condition.
- Needs of some detainees not well met.
- Despite problems, staff managed detainees with considerable skill.
- Health care provision and safeguarding awareness improved.