Ofsted’s chief inspector has issued an emergency “urgent notification” to the government after finding vulnerable young offenders at risk of harm at a G4S-run secure training centre.
The notification, signed by Sir Martyn Oliver yesterday and published today, is a process rarely used and is reserved for the most serious cases of failure and requires the justice secretary to respond within 28 days with a plan to improve.
Sir Martyn can only issue the notification with the agreement of His Majesty’s chief inspector of prisons and the Care Quality Commission’s chief inspector of hospitals and healthcare.
Oakhill Secure Training Centre (STC), based in Milton Keynes and run by private security company G4S, has been issued with its second urgent notification after Ofsted found “serious and systemic failures” and safeguarding “in disarray” during a full inspection earlier this month.
Ofsted inspectors found the STC, which boasts “a safe environment provided with support and experience of care” on its website, “is no longer child centred” with staff reporting “a culture of fear, mistrust and reprisal.”
In a letter to the justice secretary Shabana Mahmood, Sir Martyn said his inspectors uncovered “profoundly serious and systemic failures that mean children have been and remain at risk of harm.”
Serious allegations about staff at Oakhill were not properly reported, leaving staff continuing to work with young people despite serious allegations against them. “Children are then left without appropriate safeguards,” Sir Martyn said.
Oakhill’s director and a deputy director were suspended on July 20, the day before Ofsted’s inspection began. Another deputy director was recently sacked.
Young people were “inappropriately charged” out of their personal money for a “victims fund” which Sir Martyn said needed further investigation.
He also reported that 30 members of staff at Oakhill have been suspended since November 2024; 23 of those related to allegations around conduct with children.
Staff have not been trained on up-to-date physical restraint techniques and inspectors witnessed the use of inverted wrist holds which caused “unintentional pain” to detainees. While permitted, that technique wouldn’t be necessary if staff were trained on newer guidance, Sir Martyn said.
The chief inspector said the STC broke its own rules on the use of “separation”. This type of isolation is supposed to be limited to three hours, but inspectors found young people separated “for lengthy extended periods” running into “many days.”
“The rationale for continuing separation into many days is inappropriate, not always clearly documented and is contrary to the STC rules,” Sir Martyn said.
Additionally, young people with mental health concerns were not always given timely care and medicines are not always administered safely, the report said.
The report also exposed unsanitary living conditions for young people, a lack of protection from health risks such as food allergies.
It also slammed the Youth Custody Service, which is supposed to monitor G4S’s contract, for failing to identify and/or take sufficient action to help safeguard children.
Last STC standing
Oakhill STC houses up to 80 young offenders aged 12 to 18 years old.
It is the last remaining secure training centre in England. G4S lost the contracts to run Medway and Rainsbrook amid similarly alarming mismanagement claims. They were both subsequently shut down.
Oakhill has not been properly run for some time.
It was first subject to an urgent notification in 2021 after a damning ‘inadequate’ Ofsted inspection judgment found that children frequently experienced violence and use of force by “inexperienced staff”.
The government accepted all of the recommendations of a subsequent review into safeguarding at Oakhill later that year as part of the required action plan that follows an urgent notification.
Inspections in May 2022 and October 2023 found the STC to be ‘requires improvement’ but by October 2024 it was again ‘inadequate’.
G4S’s contract to run Oakhill expires in 2029, FE Week understands.
Oliver’s letter said: “It [Oakhill] continues to present weaknesses that were identified at previous inspections. Given the recent leadership and staff suspensions, we are unable to assess it as having the capacity to improve.”
Mahmood now has 28 days to respond with an action plan for improvement at the centre.
A spokesperson for Oakhill STC said: “The safety and welfare of children at Oakhill STC is our highest priority, and we take the Ofsted inspection findings extremely seriously.
“We are working collaboratively with the youth custody service and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service to develop a robust action plan to address the concerns raised.”
Your thoughts