United Kingdom · South-West & South Central · Bicester OXON
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Capacity
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Current population
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Occupancy
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Year opened
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Operational
Figures from official sources · verified 7 Jul 2026 · methodology
Operator
HM Prison & Probation ServicePopulation held
male
Opened
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Region
South-West & South Central
Security level
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Death-row facility
No
Despite the efforts of leaders and staff, HMP Bullingdon, a men’s reception and last inspection in 2022. In several key areas, outcomes for prisoners had deteriorated, and many of the concerns we had previously raised remained The widespread availability of illicit drugs was driving violence, debt and bullying across the prison. Drones were the primary route of ingress, but physical drug testing positive rate stood at 43.2%, one of the highest among reception Violence had increased by 27% since the last inspection, and while the safety poor condition, and the regime offered little more than basic provision. Relationships between staff and prisoners were not good enough. — UK IMB Annual Report (2024) — Safety: 4.1 Reception and induction The high number of arrivals into reception, some 4243 prisoners, in the six months to June 2025, places significant pressure on reception and induction. Many prisoners have arrived at the prison late and in volume and this adds to the pressure on staff. The prison introduced a new induction policy during the reporting year, and this has had a positive effect in [...] Respect: 5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food Much of the prison shows signs of dilapidation, including the main accommodation blocks. There has been some work undertaken to address this with a rolling programme of wing refurbishments. This has been interrupted because of capacity pressures and the collapse into administration of a major construction supplier during the year. Prisoners continue to share [...] Purposeful activity: The vacancy for a head of education, skills and work (ESW) was not filled until July 2024. As the 2024-25 annual development plan (ADP) was already underway, few modifications were possible before the next financial year; these included a bespoke ‘Reading for your rights’ course offered to prisoners with low literacy levels, and entry level 2 functional skills (FS) classes (English and maths) [...] Preparation for release: Government initiatives on early release schemes have created significant work for the offender management unit (OMU) and the IMB has observed this increased workload and significant extra hours involved in implementing the scheme. Shortfall in the staffing levels within the OMU during the reporting year has limited contact with prisoners and the IMB has received applications relating to lack of [...]
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Format: Prisoner Name & Number, HMP Bullingdon, HMP Bullingdon PO Box 50 Bicester OXON OX25 1PZ See map Help us to improve this page. Give us your feedback in this 2-minute survey .. Use Send Money to a Prisoner (GOV.UK) for funds — cash not accepted.
resettlement prison in Oxfordshire, had not made sufficient progress since our poor condition, and the regime offered little more than basic provision. officers tried hard to support those in their care, there was too little key work regime, which meant that over half the population was locked up during the working day. Leaders had introduced mentoring and extended training for new Ofsted graded the overall effectiveness of education, skills and work as prisoners. Too many were unemployed, and those who did work often failed to released homeless, and while some promising initiatives had been introduced – such as the resettlement accommodation advisory board and the departure inspection findings in 2019.
The widespread availability of illicit drugs was driving violence, debt and bullying across the prison. Drones were the primary route of ingress, but physical drug testing positive rate stood at 43.2%, one of the highest among reception Violence had increased by 27% since the last inspection, and while the safety use of force had risen sharply, with some incidents lacking evidence of de- adjudication practices undermined accountability. The segregation unit was in and national leaders, particularly to tackle the threat of drones. We expect them subdued.
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
What the score is responding to:
This facility scores 30. The national average across 584 scored United Kingdom facilities is 4 — 26 points above national average.
Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.
Irp inspection of HMP Bullingdon (2026-04-13)
Despite the efforts of leaders and staff, HMP Bullingdon, a men’s reception and resettlement prison in Oxfordshire, had not made sufficient progress since our last inspection in 2022. In several key areas, outcomes for prisoners had deteriorated, and many of the concerns we had previously raised remained unaddressed. The widespread availability of illicit drugs was driving violence, debt and bullying across the prison. Drones were the primary route of ingress, but physical security measures had failed to keep pace with the evolving threat and the prison service had not done enough to help tackle the problem. The mandatory drug testing positive rate stood at 43.2%, one of the highest among reception prisons, and inspectors frequently smelt cannabis on the wings. Violence had increased by 27% since the last inspection, and while the safety team had taken steps to understand the causes – ranging from gang activity to boredom – this had not translated into effective behaviour management. The use of force had risen sharply, with some incidents lacking evidence of de- escalation and proportionality. Although governance arrangements were in place, delays in reviewing body-worn camera footage and inconsistent adjudication practices undermined accountability. The segregation unit was in poor condition, and the regime offered little more than basic provision. Relationships between staff and prisoners were not good enough. While some officers tried hard to support those in their care, there was too little key work and many interactions were transactional. This was not helped by the limited regime, which meant that over half the population was locked up during the working day. Leaders had introduced mentoring and extended training for new officers, but staffing shortfalls continued to affect all areas of the prison. Ofsted graded the overall effectiveness of education, skills and work as inadequate. Attendance was low, and the curriculum did not meet the needs of the population, particularly the large number of unsentenced and short-stay prisoners. Too many were unemployed, and those who did work often failed to develop meaningful skills or gain qualifications. Support for reading was patchy, and not enough was being done to motivate prisoners or raise expectations about what they could achieve. Many prisoners had little contact with their offender managers, and sentence planning was often delayed or superficial. Public protection arrangements were weak, with gaps in risk identification and monitoring. Too many prisoners were released homeless, and while some promising initiatives had been introduced – such as the resettlement accommodation advisory board and the departure lounge – these were not yet delivering consistent outcomes. Bullingdon is a prison with potential but significant and persistent challenges have undermined its ability to deliver safe, respectful and rehabilitative outcomes for prisoners. It requires urgent and sustained attention from local and national leaders, particularly to tackle the threat of drones. We expect them to develop a clear and measurable plan to address the concerns raised in this report. Charlie Taylor HM Chief Inspector of Prisons September 2025
4.1 Reception and induction The high number of arrivals into reception, some 4243 prisoners, in the six months to June 2025, places significant pressure on reception and induction. Many prisoners have arrived at the prison late and in volume and this adds to the pressure on staff. The prison introduced a new induction policy during the reporting year, and this has had a positive effect in managing new prisoners through reception, induction and on to the main wings. The Board has monitored a number of prisoners who have been through the revised process from reception to the induction wing and on to the main wings and the outcomes have been satisfactory. 4.2 Suicide and self-harm, deaths in custody Recorded levels of self-harm have reduced compared with the previous year, although the Board has noticed a rise in the three months to June 2025. A total of 753 incidents of self-harm were recorded in the reporting year. Most self-harm is caused by cutting; this has reduced since the introduction of electric razors and the withdrawal and prohibition of wet razors. The main reasons given for self-harming are wing moves and various issues with staff. Not all self-harm is observed and recorded, as incidents may take place unobserved when men are locked in their cells. It remains the Boardall availabledrone proof ` windows installed. The use of illegal drones appears to be becoming more sophisticated. The prison uses intelligence-led activities to detect illicit items using cell [...]
Government initiatives on early release schemes have created significant work for the offender management unit (OMU) and the IMB has observed this increased workload and significant extra hours involved in implementing the scheme. Shortfall in the staffing levels within the OMU during the reporting year has limited contact with prisoners and the IMB has received applications relating to lack of contact from prison offender managers (POMs) and therefore have not had release dates confirmed. The introduction of the Launchpad laptop programme has streamlined the visit scheduling process for prisoners. The Board has observed family visits in the visit hall and generally have been seen to work efficiently. The family liaison team has held a number of family days in the prison sports hall with fun activities for children. Celebration days for prisoners acquiring qualifications are also appreciated by their families. The Prison Advice and Care Trust (PACT) are actively involved supporting family members during visits and at release and mentoring prison leavers in the community. 22 The prison has introduced a ‘departure lounge’, situated just outside the prison; this provides a friendly and well organised environment for prisoners on their release day and has assisted 650 prison leavers. The departure lounge offers practical support, such as access to community health services, and acts as a hub for resettlement organisations mostly from the third sector. There are facilities for [...]
5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food Much of the prison shows signs of dilapidation, including the main accommodation blocks. There has been some work undertaken to address this with a rolling programme of wing refurbishments. This has been interrupted because of capacity pressures and the collapse into administration of a major construction supplier during the year. Prisoners continue to share cells designed for single occupancy. This is of significant concern to the Board: as at the 30 June 2025, 392 prisoners were sharing cells designed for one person. Some cells lack effective privacy screens for toilet facilities. The Board has observed some cells with extremely dirty toilet areas and badly stained flooring. See annex B for photographs of dilapidated cells and facilities. Responses to the prisoner survey in June 2025: The Board has also noted some cells occupied by two prisoners with only a small table and a single chair, consequently, as there is insufficient room for additional furniture, prisoners often have to eat meals sitting on their beds. The creation of to repair furniture in cells has been welcome. Some shower blocks on non-refurbished wings, for example E wing, are in very poor condition, with mould growing and flaking paint. The prison has few cells on the main wings which can accommodate wheelchair users. On most wings, there is no lift available to move between floors. There have been some issues with the provision of food during the reporting year. A flood [...]
The vacancy for a head of education, skills and work (ESW) was not filled until July 2024. As the 2024-25 annual development plan (ADP) was already underway, few modifications were possible before the next financial year; these included a bespoke ‘Reading for your rights’ course offered to prisoners with low literacy levels, and entry level 2 functional skills (FS) classes (English and maths) were provided successfully for vulnerable prisoners (VP) in the E wing classroom. The environment of the main locations, the ‘Bullingdon College’ and the ‘Bullingdon Beacon’, has been made more welcoming. The monthly bulletin presents enrolment opportunities and feedback in an attractive format in print and via Launchpad; this has generally improved communication with prisoners. The prison aims to deliver FS in classrooms on the main wings; a pilot entry level maths course is provided on B wing for A and B wing prisoners. The review for the 2025-26 ADP was constrained by reduced resources (9% cut for prison education framework (PEF), 5% for dynamic purchasing (DPS) provision); some courses had to be discontinued. The curriculum has been broadened with more creative activities including music. [See 7.2 below for vocational courses] ‘Way2Learn’ independent learning courses are a significant source of purposeful in- cell activity, with 1000 participants in 2024-25 and good completion rates. The library continues to provide a good service but further ways of improving attendance are being [...]
HM Prison Bullingdon, a 30-year-old facility located near Bicester in Oxfordshire, currently operates as a reception prison, holding just under 1,000 adult men. Serving courts in the Thames Valley and other parts of central southern England, the prison has a large number of unconvicted or relatively short stay prisoners: 60 or more new prisoners arrive each week and nearly three-quarters of the population are there for less than six months. As with many prisons across England and Wales, Bullingdon has grappled with the difficulties of a much reduced and inexperienced staff group. Despite these challenges, at this inspection we found a prison that remained reasonably safe and respectful, which was consistent with our previous inspection findings in 2019. Outcomes in rehabilitation and release planning remained unchanged and were still not sufficiently good, and we judged the provision of purposeful activity to have deteriorated, to the extent that outcomes for prisoners in this area were now poor. With the operational challenge faced with such a transitory population it was reassuring to see that prisoners were received well by the prison and given a reasonable level of support and assessment after their arrival, although there was limited extension of these assessments to prepare them to make good use of their time in the prison. In our report we describe the institution as settled but subdued. There was some useful work to reduce violence, support those at risk of self-harm and ensure reasonable governance over interventions such use of force and use of segregation. Safety outcome measures were generally unremarkable, evidencing some encouraging trends, but fairly typical of similar and comparable prisons. There was, however, considerable lock down. Most prisoners were allowed out of their cell for as little as an hour a day, normally first thing in the morning. While we saw some mitigations, our random roll check found 58% of prisoners locked up during the main part of the working day. In general, the regime experienced even by those who had some employment was just not good enough. Our colleagues in Ofsted judged the overall effectiveness of education, skills and work to be ‘inadequate’, their lowest assessment. As an institution, the prison was showing its age, with many facilities in need of investment and refurbishment. Outside areas were similarly uninspiring and far too many prisoners experienced overcrowded conditions. To the credit of leaders, work had begun to improve prisoner consultation and the deployment of peer support. There was renewed energy and investment to better support the promotion of equality, and outcomes in the provision of health care were good overall. Staff-prisoner relationships, however, were mixed. Interactions were impeded by the limited regime, but we also observed a staff group with low expectations of, and not enough interest in, the prisoners in their charge. At the heart of this, and many other problems faced by the prison, was a chronic shortage of staff. The prison was short of frontline staff on the wings and specialist staff in almost every department, including rehabilitative specialists, the chaplaincy, and the providers of regime activity. Leaders told us of initiatives to improve recruitment and retention among staff and work was being done to support staff well-being in an attempt to stem a high number of resignations. This work was undermined, however, by the lack of visible leadership and role modelling in frontline areas of the prison. In the main, leaders held an honest assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the prison and were grappling with the twin challenges of a high intensity operation and a dearth of resources. Some of their priorities needed to be more focused and measurable, but we also saw some very good initiatives
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World Prisons. (2026). HMP Bullingdon. Retrieved July 21, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-bullingdon
"HMP Bullingdon." World Prisons. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-bullingdon.
@misc{worldprisons-hmp-bullingdon,
author = {{World Prisons}},
title = {HMP Bullingdon},
year = {2026},
url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-bullingdon},
urldate = {2026-07-21}
}