Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.
UK Local prison operated by HM Prison & Probation Service. Listed in the GOV.UK Find a prison directory.
Background
HM Prison Rye Hill is a Category C men's private prison, operated by G4S. Rye Hill has exclusively housed sex offenders since 2014. The prison is next to HMP Onley and Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre, south of Rugby, in the parish of Barby, Northamptonshire, England. However, the postal address of the prison is Willoughby, Warwickshire; therefore, most sources list the prison as in Willoughby, Warwickshire.
talking to staff and prisoners. He also used regular video messages to any complacency at the prison. Leaders had worked hard to address the few For example, although violence levels had been low, the team at Rye Hill continued to focus on safety. Prisoners who were considered to be high risk staff.
— UK IMB Annual Report (2024) —
Safety: 4.1 Reception and induction The prison has remained full during the reporting year, with around 14 admissions a month to replace released prisoners and prisoners who have moved within the prison estate, including those category B prisoners that needed to move establishments. As the expanded prison became available, 157 admissions took place in March. 4.2 Suicide and self-harm, deaths in custody [...]
Respect: 5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food The expansion of the prison has been an ongoing area of interest for prisoners, with Board members having several ad hoc conversations with prisoners on what this could mean for them. Whilst there continued to be unhappiness at the (perceived) potential for new arrivals being prioritised for the new accommodation or single cells, the reality of the allocation and [...]
Purposeful activity: Education attendance for the year was 79.8% and was significantly impacted by the education manager leaving during the autumn. This compares with over 80% from the previous year. The most common reasons for absence were for attendance at enrichment events, other work, healthcare and religious activities. The focus on maths and English courses continued. The following passes were noted: ● Maths [...]
Preparation for release: The offender management unit (OMU) has continued with a structure of ‘pods’ of prison offender managers (POMs) working together with probation officers to support a group of prisoners. Despite there being concerns from prisoners voiced to the IMB anecdotally, the IMB has not received applications (prisoners’ written representations to the IMB) relating to the changes. During the reporting period, [...]
Visiting
during our visit. example, there was exceptional support for visits, prisoners were heavily of hospital visits, particularly as every day officers were being sent out to help in
Mailing
director, who had been in post for just a few months, was building on the another nearby jail. We also found that although phone monitoring of risky
Practical info
excellent work of his predecessor in making this one of the best closed prisons any complacency at the prison. Leaders had worked hard to address the few and activity on the wing, so leaders introduced a more controlled regime that still meant men were unlocked for more than nine hours a day. Leaders made peer workers were having a very positive effect in many parts of the prison. For who worked hard were able to earn more money than in most closed prisons.
Known issues
For example, although violence levels had been low, the team at Rye Hill sure that segregation was used very sparingly with only two men on the unit
Higher risk than 0% of peer facilities in United Kingdom.
Capacity (beds)this: 660 · peers avg: 572 (+15%)
Reports
HMIP2 Sept 2024
It was a pleasure to join the inspection team at this East Midlands category B
training prison that held 662 prisoners convicted of sexual offences. The
director, who had been in post for just a few months, was building on the
excellent work of his predecessor in making this one of the best closed prisons
in the country. Every morning, he and his senior team walked round the jail
talking to staff and prisoners. He also used regular video messages to
communicate his priorities. What was particularly impressive was the lack of
any complacency at the prison. Leaders had worked hard to address the few
criticisms we made in our positive 2019 inspection, with a continuous focus on
improving standards.
For example, although violence levels had been low, the team at Rye Hill
continued to focus on safety. Prisoners who were considered to be high risk
were targeted for extra support even if they had not yet got into difficulties. The
result was one of the safest closed prisons in the country for both prisoners and
staff. In the past, some of the older prisoners had been frightened by the noise
and activity on the wing, so leaders introduced a more controlled regime that
still meant men were unlocked for more than nine hours a day. Leaders made
sure that segregation was used very sparingly with only two men on the unit
during our visit.
Relationships between prisoners and staff were a hallmark of Rye Hill, with
many men telling inspectors that that staff supported them and treated them
with respect. Prisoner-led initiatives were integral to the success of the jail and
peer workers were having a very positive effect in many parts of the prison. For
example, there was exceptional support for visits, prisoners were heavily
involved in the prison’s very active reading strategy and there was a lot of help
for new arrivals. The prison will need to continue to be careful that the
impressive level of trust given to prisoners does not lead to complacency,
particularly among the less experienced officers.
There was an impressive focus on getting prisoners into employment and those
who worked hard were able to earn more money than in most closed prisons.
Some prisoners were taken aback because they were not allowed to get away
with watching daytime television or hanging around on the wing.
It was disappointing to see that staffing shortfalls were leading to cancellations
of hospital visits, particularly as every day officers were being sent out to help in
another nearby jail. We also found that although phone monitoring of risky
prisoners was taking place, breeches of public protection rules were not being
addressed.
There was good support in place for the many prisoners facing long sentences
and a package had been developed that helped men to understand what to
expect at each stage of their sentences. The offender management unit was
offering good support and at certain times every week, prisoners were able to
drop in to discuss issues they wanted to raise about their progression.
Unlike in public sector prisons, at Rye Hill applicants for prison officer roles
were given face-to-face interviews, and with a longer training programme and
better mentoring, retention rates were good and the many inexperienced staff at
the prison felt well supported and confident in their roles.
Towards the end of 2024 the new accommodation will mean the arrival of 458
more prisoners and the prison will become a category C trainer. This will
inevitably be a challenging time for Rye Hill, but I am confident that, with such a
strong leadership and staff team, the jail will take these changes in its stride.
There is much that staff and prisoners can be proud of at this progressive and
innovative jail. We hear a lot about rehabilitative culture during our inspections,
but at Rye Hill this is integral to the operation of the institution. There was a
sense of hope among prisoners as they worked their way through their
5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food The expansion of the prison has been an ongoing area of interest for prisoners, with Board members having several ad hoc conversations with prisoners on what this could mean for them. Whilst there continued to be unhappiness at the (perceived) potential for new arrivals being prioritised for the new accommodation or single cells, the reality of the allocation and the transition to the one new wing that was opened in January 2025 appears to be going well. There has been delay in the completion of the works, and at the end of the reporting period, just one of the four wings is in use. Issues with the facilities are being responded to and the prison continues to work with the construction company to get these remedied. Of the 58 applications received for the reporting period, just one of these was related to food and one more was specifically about clothing, and both were resolved. The prison offers transgender prisoners specific clothing items that support them to maintain their gender identity. 5.2 Segregation Prisoners are segregated in the care and separation unit, or CSU. Over the course of the reporting year, 108 orders to segregate were reported to the IMB, although a small number were for the same prisoners and one in particular who struggled to integrate into normal regime, despite a number of attempts by prison staff to support him to do so. Until the start of the expansion and the transfer in of new prisoners, there were on average [...]
4.1 Reception and induction The prison has remained full during the reporting year, with around 14 admissions a month to replace released prisoners and prisoners who have moved within the prison estate, including those category B prisoners that needed to move establishments. As the expanded prison became available, 157 admissions took place in March. 4.2 Suicide and self-harm, deaths in custody There were five deaths in custody in the reporting year. All were apparently from natural causes. Minor recommendations were made to the Head of Healthcare, but these were not related to the deaths. One was a sudden death. In all other cases, the process of compiling the paperwork for early release on compassionate grounds had begun. One application was rejected but the other three were not finalised prior to death. It remains a concern that in three of the four cases, the paperwork hadn’t been submitted before death and it would appear that the requirement of a doctor to specify that death would occur within a three month window needs some consideration. A total of 169 assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) plans, used to support prisoners who are at risk of self-harm and suicide, were opened during the year, which is a decrease from the previous year’s total of 205 (which was considerably higher than the 129 for 2022-2023). There were 235 incidences of self-harm during the reporting period, which is a decrease from the previous reporting period of 343 (and still lower than [...]
Education attendance for the year was 79.8% and was significantly impacted by the education manager leaving during the autumn. This compares with over 80% from the previous year. The most common reasons for absence were for attendance at enrichment events, other work, healthcare and religious activities. The focus on maths and English courses continued. The following passes were noted: ● Maths entry level passes = 22 ● Maths level 1 and 2 passes = 61 ● English entry level passes = 26 ● English level 1 and 2 passes = 137 The overall achievement rate is 86%. The reading initiative has continued, with over 50 individuals improving their reading support level during the year. In addition to formal education, enrichment opportunities at HMP Rye Hill continue to be varied and engaging. These included a neurodiversity day, TEDx talks events, festival of arts and literature, British values day, employability event, university guest seminars, Black History Month and a mental health awareness event. The Board hoped to have seen an increase in the education offered to prisoners following the expansion of the prison, but the opening of the expansion was delayed, and this will now be a focus of our monitoring for the 2025-26 year. Employment levels have remained high, with all prisoners who can work being allocated a job. The long-term sickness (absences of seven days or more) average was six prisoners per week. The highest number being 12 and the lowest week was three. The long-term [...]
The offender management unit (OMU) has continued with a structure of ‘pods’ of prison offender managers (POMs) working together with probation officers to support a group of prisoners. Despite there being concerns from prisoners voiced to the IMB anecdotally, the IMB has not received applications (prisoners’ written representations to the IMB) relating to the changes. During the reporting period, all category B prisoners have either been recategorised to category C, released or moved to an alternative category B prison. This means that at the end of the reporting year, all 840 prisoners were category C. This has been a remarkable achievement by the prison, with very few prisoners remaining at Category B and being transferred to another establishment. The same offender behaviour programmes were offered as the previous year. There 16 were 170 programme participants, with 159 completing their programme during the year. Social visits and social video calls have continued to be available. Family days have continued as in previous years. The numbers of prisoners receiving one of these visits has remained consistent throughout the year at about 40%. There were 67 direct releases from April 2024 to the end of March 2025. This was a 17% increase on the previous year. During November 2024 the IMB at Rye Hill completed a thematic review on the ‘making sense of a long sentence’ process that was launched in 2023. Our conclusion found that: ● The process has achieved good visibility, and [...]
