HMP Erlestoke

Reports

• HMIP22 Apr 2025

  1.1 HMP Erlestoke, in rural Wiltshire, was built on the former grounds of Erlestoke manor house and became a young prisoners centre in 1970. Converted to a category C adult male prison in 1988, it is now a training and resettlement prison for around 500 men, mostly serving long or indeterminate sentences. The prison hosts a two-unit ‘progression regime’ designed to support prisoners to progress with their sentence. 1.2 This review visit followed up on the concerns we raised at our last inspection of HMP Erlestoke in 2024. What we found at our last inspection 1.3 At our previous inspections of HMP Erlestoke, in 2021 and 2024, we made the following judgements about outcomes for prisoners. Figure 1: HMP Erlestoke healthy prison outcomes in 2021 and 2024 Note: rehabilitation and release planning became ‘preparation for release’ in October 2023. 1.4 At the 2024 inspection, it was disappointing to find many prisoners bored and frustrated, and that drug taking was rife. Violence was a serious concern, and oversight of the high levels of use of force was not good enough. Levels of self-harm at the prison were high and governance of health care services was weak. The key worker scheme (see Glossary) was ineffective and did not support sentence progression. We also found that not enough was being done to address negative perceptions of treatment among prisoners from ethnic minority groups. 1.5 At the time, I said that Erlestoke was a prison that has enormous potential, with prisoners who are keen to progress with their sentences, Report of an independent review of progress at HMP Erlestoke and I was impressed with the energy that the new governor had brought. With the right support from the Prison Service, I felt that there was reason to be cautiously optimistic. What we found during this review visit 1.6 During this review visit, we found some encouraging evidence of progress. Levels of violence were now lower than in similar prisons, and there had been some good work to address antisocial behaviour by young adults. The use of force and unfurnished accommodation had decreased and was now being properly scrutinised. Action had also been taken to strengthen governance of health care services, and oversight of medicines was more robust. 1.7 However, illicit drugs remained far too easily available, and the random drug testing positive rate was the same as at the time of the inspection (32%). While self-harm had reduced, there was still no action plan to address this properly and prevent future self-inflicted deaths. The quality of assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) case management support for prisoners at risk of suicide or self-harm was far from good enough. There had also been insufficient progress in improving the condition of first night cells and the regime on the induction unit. 1.8 More positively, however, the proportion of key work sessions taking place had increased significantly and there was a credible plan to improve their quality. There had also been steps to address negative perceptions of treatment among prisoners from ethnic minority backgrounds. 1.9 As I observed at the inspection, the lack of a purposeful regime was likely to be a key contributory cause for many of the prison’s difficulties. Although Ofsted judged generally reasonable progress in the development of more purposeful activity during this visit, plans to offer a wider range of vocational training were still in the early stages. There was also not yet enough support for those who needed help with reading. 1.10 The challenge remains for staff and leaders (see Glossary) to build on these early signs of progress and counter the malaise that has blighted this prison for too long. Erlestoke is currently required by the Prison Service to fulfil a variety of functions; more clarity about the prison’s purpose would be helpful. Leaders now need to focus on realising the

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• HMIP10 Jun 2024

  Erlestoke, in rural Wiltshire, is a category C prison for men serving sentences of over 10 years that held 503 prisoners at the time of this inspection. At our last inspection in 2021, we were concerned enough by our findings to come back to the jail for a review in 2022. On our return, we found that the prison, with additional funding from the prison service, was beginning to make some progress. I am therefore disappointed to report that momentum has been lost and the improvements have not been sustained. Erlestoke is supposed to be a national resource that represents a progressive move for prisoners coming from other jails but, on this inspection, many prisoners had limited work and training opportunities and drug-taking was rife. Sixty per cent of prisoners we surveyed told us it was easy to get hold of drugs. Prisoners at Erlestoke did not have enough to do. Twenty-three per cent were unemployed and in our checks during the working day we found that 31% were locked in their cells. Those who were not in education, training or work were only unlocked for three hours a day and only got outside into the extensive and beautifully maintained grounds for half an hour. Workshops that should have been full, such as bricklaying and textiles, were closed and those doing mundane tasks in the ‘bulk hardware’ workshop were underemployed with not enough work coming though. In education, particularly English and maths, there were long waiting lists but even so attendance was often poor and sessions were frequently disrupted by other calls on prisoners. The curriculum was not suitable for the population and the teaching of reading was unacceptable, with an overreliance on the many Shannon Trust mentors rather than a strategy for the whole prison. Many prisoners I spoke to told me they were bored, and this was very likely to be the reason why drugs were such a problem. With a long perimeter abutting woodland and fields, the prison had worked hard with the police and other agencies to reduce the supply. The drug treatment unit was doing some very good work in supporting prisoners with addiction problems, but there was not yet streamlined progression to incentivised substance-free living (ISFL), which was largely being used as an enhanced unit. The lack of a trained prescriber in the drugs team meant that men on opiate substitution therapy were not being adequately supervised to reduce or, in some cases, increase their medication. With high levels of drug use, it was not surprising that violence was a serious concern, and although there had recently been a reduction in the rate of assaults by prisoners on their peers, the number of serious assaults remained high. The governance and oversight of use of force was not good enough; officers did not routinely turn on body-worn cameras, paperwork was poor, and we saw footage of some incidents that were not well managed. Levels of self-harm at the jail were too high and the prison had not done enough to understand the causes or support these men. Again, the lack of a purposeful regime was likely to be a contributing cause. The new governor, who had been in post since January 2024, had a good understanding of the many challenges facing the jail. She had worked to energise her leadership team and increase the competence, capability and resilience of prison officers. Staff members were positive about her leadership, and we found better relationships with prisoners than at our last inspection. Leaders had also worked hard to improve retention of staff. Many of the 17% who had left in the last year had departed within six months of starting, suggesting that the prison service was failing to filter out unsuitable candidates. This was a disappointing inspection with many of our concerns virtually the same as last time. Erlestoke is a jail that has enormous potential with many frustrated prisoners who are keen to progress with their sentences. We were

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• NPM-uk-imb-purposeful-activity1 Jan 2024

  7.1.1 The Ofsted report which formed part of HMIP’s Inspection8 (page 47 of the report) found the overall effectiveness of the education, skills and work provision to be inadequate. The quality of education was also found to be inadequate. The Ofsted report stated that not enough spaces were available in education, skills or work. The Board concurs with these findings, but notes that efforts are beginning to bear fruit and there are fewer prisoners not in education or employment at the end of this reporting year than last year. 7.1.2 The Ofsted report also found that ‘leaders did not make sure that the spaces available were fully used and allocated to prisoners based on their needs and aspirations’. The prison has devoted significant effort during the reporting year to change the way that educational and employment opportunities are allocated. On arrival, prisoners are being consulted at induction on the employment pathway that they are interested in pursuing. Prisoners who are neurodivergent are now identified at induction and the neurodiversity manager contributes to the allocations process so that the needs of this cohort are taken into account. Progress is also being made in consulting with the existing prison population to record their selected pathways. New management and administrative processes have been required to record and draw on this information in order to inform and improve the allocation process, and these are still bedding in. 7.1.3 A roll-on roll-off [...]

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• NPM-uk-imb-safety1 Jan 2024

  4.1 Reception and induction 4.1.1 Reception was particularly busy this year with 584 new arrivals to the prison and 316 releases. The facilities are fit for purpose although limited in space, which can be a challenge when several prisoners arrive at once. 4.1.2 An induction survey of 20 prisoners was carried out by the Board in March 2025 (see annex B). All prisoners surveyed were positive about their experience in reception. They felt they had been treated well by staff and searches had been carried out respectfully. Healthcare had seen the majority of prisoners at the earliest opportunity. However, half the prisoners surveyed raised issues about delays in obtaining medication on arrival which proved very challenging for those concerned. 4.1.3 The induction programme went through several changes in the year. It has yet to settle and offer clear guidance to newly arrived prisoners. Face to face interaction with staff in the first few days is limited to an initial meeting with a prison officer on arrival and a group session led by the neurodiversity manager with input from careers advice/guidance staff. Much of the information is provided in digital form with communications being sent via emails to prisoners’ laptops. 4.1.4 The first night cells continue to be poorly maintained despite being highlighted in HMIP’s inspection in June 2024 and the Board’s last annual report. While some minor improvements have been noted, 85% of prisoners surveyed said the cells were dirty. [...]

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• NPM-uk-imb-respect1 Jan 2024

  5.1 Accommodation, clothing and food 5.1.1 The prison estate still has many ageing, and in some cases, poor quality wings, with major investment required to upgrade some of the standard of accommodation. With the two new wings, Avebury and Kennet, now fully functional, the total prison capacity is 512. The three planned small secure house blocks are currently on hold. 5.1.2 Considerable internal decoration has been carried out to enhance some of the wings, improving the prison environment. However, the induction cells in Silbury B still need to be updated and maintained to a much higher and consistent standard of cleanliness. 5.1.3 The maintenance contractors, Gov Facility Services Limited (GFSL) have shown improvement under new management, with the backlog of works outstanding being reduced from 483 down to 135. A lack of labour hampers further progress. The Board has noted GFSL are beneficially working more closely with prison management. 5.1.4 Cleanliness of both the estate and wings has improved. More cleaners have been employed within the wings, although the Board continued to hear concerns about insufficient or inappropriate equipment and materials available to carry out the task. Externally, greater efforts have been made with the regular removal of litter from the grounds. 5.1.5 In-cell phones, together with laptops, continue to be greatly appreciated by the prison population, and this technology has enhanced their lives. Prisoners can order their own menus and are [...]

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• HMIP24 May 2022

  1.1 HMP Erlestoke, built on the former grounds of Erlestoke manor house, became a young prisoners centre in 1970 and was converted to a category C adult male prison in 1988. Since 2018, it has been an adult category C training prison, with many serving long and/or indeterminate sentences. 1.2 At our previous inspections of HMP Erlestoke in 2017 and 2021, we made the following judgements about outcomes for prisoners. Figure 1: HMP Erlestoke healthy prison outcomes in 2017 and 2021 Good Reasonably good Not sufficiently good Poor

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• HMIP16 Aug 2021

  HMP Erlestoke is a category C training and resettlement prison near Devizes in Wiltshire. Holding just over 440 adult men the prison fulfils an important function with most prisoners serving long sentences of over four years and nearly two- thirds assessed as high or very high risk of harm to others. About a third of the population were serving indeterminate sentences - including 80 prisoners serving life - and the prison also held young adults. Part of the establishment’s remit was to provide a national resource for offending behaviour programmes. The prison itself was a campus-style establishment with different accommodation types set in the grounds of a former country house. The prison held a challenging but generally stable population but had many advantages, not least its clarity of purpose and a group of prisoners who knew they would need to engage fully with their sentence objectives and the regime of the prison if they were to progress. In this context, our findings at Erlestoke were disappointing. When we last inspected in 2017, we assessed outcomes for prisoners as not sufficiently good against our healthy prison tests of safety,

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• HMIP18 Aug 2020

  Scrutiny inspection of HMP Erlestoke (2020-08-18)

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