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UK YOI prison operated by HM Prison & Probation Service. Listed in the GOV.UK Find a prison directory.
Background
His Majesty's Prison Aylesbury is a category C training prison situated in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located on the north side of the town centre, on Bierton Road and is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
Leaders had made recent adjustments to the pay policy for prisoners, to incentivise Leaders of the Prisoner Education Services (PES) provider, Milton Keynes College, further learning or work. PES leaders had implemented a limited range of additional spelling tests incorporating visual diagram techniques, which helped prisoners to were integral to tasks. For example, in woodwork, staff did not teach prisoners well support in lessons. For example, staff used different reading aids to support prisoners be congratulated.
— UK IMB Annual Report (2023) —
Safety: 4.1 Reception and induction A total of 312 prisoners arrived at Aylesbury over the reporting year. New prisoners arrive in small groups, or alone, often in an exchange with prisoners being transferred to other establishments. New prisoners are registered in the reception suite. Then they, and their property, are scanned with an X-ray-type scanner. Any prohibited items found are recorded as not to [...]
Respect: 5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food Accommodation Aylesbury can accommodate up to 402 prisoners. All are housed in small, singleoccupancy cells, only one of which is wheelchair accessible. Each cell has a single bed, storage, toilet and washbasin. There is a phone in each cell. Small changes were made to the wings during the reporting year, in line with the category C status of the prison. Some [...]
Purposeful activity: Milton Keynes College (MKC) provides education at Aylesbury. The education block is fit for purpose, tidy and spacious. This year, there were some welcome additions to the curriculum, reflecting the requirements of a category C population. New courses were more often focused on post- release employment, such as, for example, hospitality being offered at entry Level 3 and Level 1, customer service [...]
Preparation for release: The offender management unit (OMU) at Aylesbury has strong and committed management. However, it was stretched throughout the year, running with up to 50% vacancies at one point. This meant that the team forced to work reactively, and with little capacity to stand back and work more strategically. Prisoners rely on contact with their OMU officer to understand the details of their sentence and [...]
Visiting
Visits booked online via the GOV.UK Prison Visits Booking service. Photo ID required. Visit frequency varies by the inmate's IEP level.
Mailing
professional emails. Prisoners then applied what they had learned to their written with visual impairments, helping reduce fatigue during studies. However, support transition underpinned or were key contributory factors in almost all of our
Practical info
ambitions. Prisoners rightly reported that there was limited choice in both education them to attend education. They had, for instance, increased the rate of pay for prisoners taking up education. Leaders of the Prisoner Education Services (PES) provider, Milton Keynes College, were clear about the purpose of the education courses they provided for prisoners.
Known issues
HM Inspectorate of Prisons completed a full inspection of HMP Aylesbury in February 2026, an IRP inspection in August 2023, a full inspection in March 2023, and a full inspection in February 2020; reports are available on the HMIP website.
Charlotte Augusta Leopoldine Marsh (3 March 1887 â 21 April 1961), known as Charlie Marsh, was a militant British suffragette.
Source: Wikidata + Wikipedia.
Contact & address
HMP/YOI Aylesbury Bierton Road Aylesbury Bucks HP20 1EH See map Help us to improve this page. Give us your feedback in this 2-minute survey ., Bucks HP20 1EH
Higher risk than 0% of peer facilities in United Kingdom.
Capacity (beds)this: 440 · peers avg: 575 (23%)
Reports
HMIP2 Feb 2026
3
During induction, prisoners received suitable initial advice and guidance about the
ESW opportunities available in the prison. However, the ongoing careers advice and
guidance given to prisoners was not good enough. Information about employment
pathways was confusing and not well enough related to prisoners’ future career
ambitions. Prisoners rightly reported that there was limited choice in both education
and vocational training.
Leaders had made recent adjustments to the pay policy for prisoners, to incentivise
them to attend education. They had, for instance, increased the rate of pay for
attending mathematics and English training, which was now more than double the
rate for wing cleaners. This had started to have a positive impact on the proportion of
prisoners taking up education.
Leaders of the Prisoner Education Services (PES) provider, Milton Keynes College,
were clear about the purpose of the education courses they provided for prisoners.
They had designed a curriculum to primarily improve prisoners’ English and
mathematical skills and acquire qualifications that would support progression to
further learning or work. PES leaders had implemented a limited range of additional
education and vocational training courses, such as hospitality and catering, and
barbering, which provided prisoners with opportunities to learn job-related skills.
In a few subjects, such as catering and hospitality, and business, training was of a
high standard. Teachers designed activities to enthuse and motivate prisoners.
Prisoners studying barbering quickly translated the theory they had learned about
hairstyling techniques into practice on training heads. In English, teachers used short
spelling tests incorporating visual diagram techniques, which helped prisoners to
sequence and structure sentences effectively into paragraphs.
Teachers generally helped prisoners develop their English and mathematical skills
well in vocational subjects. For example, in hospitality and catering, teachers
demonstrated how to write menus and cooking instructions. In business, teachers
showed prisoners how to develop convincing business plans and compose
professional emails. Prisoners then applied what they had learned to their written
work. However, in industries and work, trainers made too little use of opportunities to
reinforce prisoners’ English and mathematical skills, even when these opportunities
were integral to tasks. For example, in woodwork, staff did not teach prisoners well
enough how to calculate and measure angles.
The few prisoners who studied distance learning programmes received good-quality,
ongoing support from their learning coordinator. Prisoners studied a wide range of
subjects that met their individual interests, including A levels and bachelor’s degrees.
They worked well together in small study groups, or on their own in their cells.
Prisoners had sufficient access to study materials, and a few had access to laptops
to use for their learning. The virtual campus had been replaced with an online
learning package that was in the process of being phased in.
4
Mostly, prisoners with an identified learning need received appropriate and helpful
support in lessons. For example, staff used different reading aids to support prisoners
with visual impairments, helping reduce fatigue during studies. However, support
arrangements were often not implemented swiftly enough, and in a few instances
prisoners waited months without the required support. This delayed learning for those
prisoners.
The proportion of prisoners who started a course and achieved their qualification had
declined over the previous two years. In the most recent reporting year, around three-
quarters of prisoners who started a qualification went on to achieve it. Many prisoners
passed functional skills qualifications in English and mathematics. However, too few
progressed from entry-level English to the nex
Library With the appointment of a new head librarian, the library has seen a gradual renaissance over this reporting year. There was a: • 30% increase in the number of individual users • 28% increase in the number of books loaned • 29% increase in the number of DVDS loaned. The increased use was facilitated by a change in timetable, more flexible access, and a better induction, as mentioned in section 4.1. Consistent efforts are made by library staff to reach individuals with special needs and prisoners in segregation. The library became better integrated across the prison, evidently supporting elements of the strategy such as the introduction of the academy wing and the access to wider opportunities for creativity amongst prisoners. Initiatives have been revived and expanded and a new partnership established. Perhaps the most significant improvement is the consistency and energy with which these initiatives have been delivered. Storybook Dads/Grandads/Uncles Extra time has been allocated to this scheme and support is regularly given to individuals who require assistance with their reading so there are no barriers to participation. The activity is meaningful and important, and the final product is high quality. Feedback from participants is often moving and always extremely positive. Reading Ahead Entrants read and reviewed six books of their choice. There were celebratory events. All entrants had chosen to read and review a mental health book, the library’s most popular [...]
4.1 Reception and induction 425 prisoners arrived at Aylesbury during the reporting year. On arrival, new prisoners are screened in reception and by healthcare. They spend time with a peer support volunteer before being passed over to induction staff and moved to G wing. Initially there is an amnesty period where any prohibited/illicit items can be declared. Following that, if unauthorised items are discovered, prisoners will be placed on report and subject to the adjudications policy (a disciplinary hearing when a prisoner is alleged to have broken prison rules). If items are found to be secreted after a full body scan, prisoners will be moved to the segregation unit until they are clear. Prisoners do not have to wait too long to move to the induction unit, where they are provided with support and information. Issues sometimes arise when prisoners arrive late and are moved through to the induction wing without any of their own property. Property will reach the prisoner the next day. In the meantime, emergency packs for the first night are available. Only one complaint reached us this year about the absence of such a pack for a newly arrived prisoner. During this reporting year, most prisoner transfers were organised through a team in HMPPS due to population capacity issues. Transfers were usually carried out by Serco and their buses, except for one-to-one transfers which were by taxi or vehicle provided by the receiving establishment. During the reporting period, IMB [...]
5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food Accommodation Aylesbury can accommodate up to 402 prisoners. They are housed in small, single- occupancy cells, only one of which is accessible for a wheelchair. Cells have a single bed, toilet, washbasin, storage and a phone. During the reporting year, wings were in reasonable working condition and the prison maintains a ‘clean and decent’ environment policy. Ten prisoners per wing are employed for cleaning and maintaining interior of the wings and this seems sufficient to keep wings clean and tidy. The buildings are maintained by Gov Facility Services Limited (GFSL), an adequate but reportedly slow and expensive ‘in-house’ maintenance service for the tasks within their remit. The prison has benefitted from the addition of a further maintenance team. This was new initiative within the reporting year. The team is staff led and employs prisoners with suitable skills; it tackles small routine maintenance and decorating across the establishment. Inside temperatures are inconsistent; the age of the infrastructure making some cells hard to heat, especially in the segregation unit. As with previous year, prisoners complain of being too hot or cold at different points. Complete wing refurbishment would be required to resolve building temperature issues. In the new strategy, the prison committed to establishing all wings as areas of purpose and best practice. F wing is now established as an incentivised substance free living (ISFL) wing. G wing has [...]
Offender management unit The OMU at HMP Aylesbury benefitted from strong and committed leadership in the year, and staffing numbers improved, with only one vacancy for most of the year. Presence on the wings visibly increased. Prisoners rely on contact with their OMU worker to understand the details of their sentence and their route to progression. Prisoners almost always know who their offender manager is and they value support from them. Equally. they are quick to 32 complain when they feel their questions are not answered fully or when the information they need is slow in coming. OMU on wing surgeries were introduced in year. These surgeries allowed more prisoners to access their OMU workers in a less formal way. As with last year, prisoners raised concerns with IMB team members when they felt they were missing essential contact with the OMU as pivotal events, such parole board hearings, or recategorisation, drew closer. The IMB received a significant number of applications in this area. Often, when investigated, it is not the absence of OMU support at the heart of a prisoner’s anxiety, but in a few cases, mixed messages from OMU staff had caused problems. Reviewing this type of application requires the IMB to ask detailed questions of OMU staff and this was not always welcomed. However, the head of the OMU remained constructively responsive at all times. Early on this year, some newly arrived prisoners did not learn the name of their offender manager during their [...]
1.1
Aylesbury is an institution dating from the mid-19th century and it has
had many different roles since this time. This was a positive
independent review of progress and the governor and his team should
be congratulated. We followed up 10 concerns and found that progress
was reasonable or better in nine areas and insufficient in just one. Most
prisoners inspectors spoke to were positive about the jail and
appreciated the progress that had been made.
1.2
Prior to our last inspection in October 2022, Aylesbury had been re-
rolled as a category C training prison holding up to 402 men. At that
inspection, we found that this transition had not gone well; there were
chronic staff shortages and category C prisoners had been moved to
the site before the services to meet their needs were in place. In
particular, time out of cell was very poor, there was not enough activity
to occupy the population and health care was completely reliant on
temporary staff.
1.3
At our previous inspections of HMP/YOI Aylesbury in 2019 and 2022,
we made the following judgements about outcomes for prisoners.
Figure 1: HMP/YOI Aylesbury healthy prison outcomes in 2019 and 2022
Good
Reasonably
good
Not sufficiently
good
Poor
We inspected Aylesbury at a time of transition. An institution dating from the
mid-19th century and formerly part of the high security estate, the prison had a
longstanding function to hold up to 402 long-term and high-risk young adult
prisoners. On 1 October, just months before our arrival, and in response to
national population pressures, the prison had been re-designated a category C
training establishment. We were told that this decision had been quite sudden
and had involved only minimal planning and consultation. Prisoners had been
arriving from other establishments since October, with category C prisoners
now comprising about three-quarters of those held; the remaining 23% were a
residual group of young adults who had yet to move on. Issues relating to this
transition underpinned or were key contributory factors in almost all of our
findings at this inspection.
The Inspectorate has been consistently critical of Aylesbury prison over many
years. This inspection was no different. Outcomes for prisoners remained
insufficient in three of our four healthy prison tests, and for the provision of
Milton Keynes College (MKC) provides education at Aylesbury. The education block is fit for purpose, tidy and spacious. This year, there were some welcome additions to the curriculum, reflecting the requirements of a category C population. New courses were more often focused on post- release employment, such as, for example, hospitality being offered at entry Level 3 and Level 1, customer service offered at Levels 1 and 2 and employability offered at Level 1. Prisoners are screened for learning difficulties early after arrival. The additional learning engagement specialist on the MKC staff in the prison was a positive change for prisoners needing support to return to learning. The specialist also contributed to some ACCT and CSIP reviews, as appropriate, which is welcome evidence of good cross-departmental coordination. The MKC management team has been stable through the year, helping to maintain focus on changes needed. There has also been a stronger focus on MKC’s delivery of the contract. However, despite this, there were some lost opportunities for improved consistency across the prison. The most evident of these was the development of a literacy strategy, which depended on cross-prison efforts if it were to make a difference. This sank, with no evidence of any coordinated effort across wings or workshops and no changes in the library offer. It was not helped by the unrelated stalling of the Shannon Trust literacy support around the same time. Below is the data showing [...]
4.1 Reception and induction A total of 312 prisoners arrived at Aylesbury over the reporting year. New prisoners arrive in small groups, or alone, often in an exchange with prisoners being transferred to other establishments. New prisoners are registered in the reception suite. Then they, and their property, are scanned with an X-ray-type scanner. Any prohibited items found are recorded as not to be issued, and are stored. If illicit items are found, the prisoner is placed on report and the items destroyed after adjudication (a disciplinary hearing when a prisoner is alleged to have broken prison rules). Healthcare and induction staff then meet each prisoner to discuss health and wellbeing and provide assurance regarding any concerns. A summary of the induction interview is circulated to departments that deliver elements of induction, with a reminder to induct promptly. IMB members find these summaries helpful but cannot be sure of receiving them. Arrangements are in place to allow prisoners a phone call whilst in reception. After this, prisoners are moved to reception cells on G wing, where they stay for the first few nights, before being moved to other wings in the prison. Induction continues on G wing. New arrivals receive a welcome pack and a net bag with prison-issue provisions, including bedding, a plate and cutlery. The ‘induction welcome’ rep on the wing offers further help as needed. When a large numbers of prisoners arrive in a short time, full induction is not [...]
The offender management unit (OMU) at Aylesbury has strong and committed management. However, it was stretched throughout the year, running with up to 50% vacancies at one point. This meant that the team forced to work reactively, and with little capacity to stand back and work more strategically. Prisoners rely on contact with their OMU officer to understand the details of their sentence and their route to progression. Prisoners almost always knew who their offender manager was. They valued the contact they had with them and the support they felt they got from them. But the contact did not always satisfy prisoner expectations. Prisoners often expressed to IMB team members that they were missing essential contact with OMU as pivotal events, such parole board hearings or recategorisation, drew closer. In the reporting year, we dealt with three or four applications (prisoners’ written representations to the Board), which revealed late interventions by the OMU team. That said, for the main part, they delivered a good service to prisoners. From a staff perspective, prisoners nearing release were the priority. Sometimes, questions raised with the IMB, in verbal or written applications, which referenced the OMU, were not directly OMU responsibility and might have been dealt with by a key worker or more experienced wing staff. The programmes team works with prisoners who have to meet certain goals in their sentence plan. Examples of programmes on offer are Kaizen (general [...]
5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food Accommodation Aylesbury can accommodate up to 402 prisoners. All are housed in small, singleoccupancy cells, only one of which is wheelchair accessible. Each cell has a single bed, storage, toilet and washbasin. There is a phone in each cell. Small changes were made to the wings during the reporting year, in line with the category C status of the prison. Some snack-making equipment was added to wing kitchens, as well as items of exercise kit. F wing was converted to an incentivised substance free living (ISFL) block this year. The wing was painted throughout and the addition of cooking facilities and exercise kit was slightly more generous than on the other wings. The prison maintains a ‘clean and decent’ environment policy. Ten prisoners per wing are employed in this strategy, which appears sufficient to ensure the wings are kept clean and tidy. The buildings are maintained by Gov Facilities Services Ltd (GFSL). The service appears adequate but reportedly slow and very expensive for those tasks within their control. Prisoners have repeatedly reported to the Board that cells are unbearably hot when the heating system is switched on and extremely cold when it is switched off for the season. Extra blankets are available during the cold period, although there were not always enough to go round when laundry was moved off-site. GFSL noted that temperature issues cannot be resolved as a localised problem, as complete wing refurbishments would be [...]
Charlotte Marsh1887–1961 · social worker