Recommendation 16

HM Government Acknowledged

Our National Framework is intentionally flexible enough to accommodate the different circumstances and situations of different establishments. It sets out that delivery will vary on this basis, taking into account the needs of children and the specific statutory obligations around education. Following publication of the National Framework for Prison Regimes and Services on 2 June, the YCS has co-developed HMPPS wide Exceptional Delivery Models (EDMs), as well as created a suite of ‘YCS-specific’ EDMs (Education and P.E, Advocacy, the Custody Support Plan, Interventions and Resettlement). These documents have facilitated the building of child focused regimes that are safe for both children and staff. Within the Youth Secure Estate, the delivery of education remains a particular priority as we seek to mirror the position taken for vulnerable children in the community where it is possible to do so. It is our aim to continue to provide face-to-face classroom-based education, as well as tailored interventions that meet the needs of the very complex cohort in our care. Within the context of the National Framework, YCS establishments have been offering as full regimes as possible and have been continually developing the approach to delivery. We have formed ‘family groups’ of young people, which expand and retract in size based on a variety of factors that impact the risk of infection spread (i.e. positive Covid-19 tests amongst the staff). We have recently opened the option of mixing certain family groups together in order to further expand delivery of key activities such as education and interventions and are taking as flexible an approach as is safely possible to ensure children are getting the support and intervention they are assessed as needing. The suite of Covid-19 controls that YCS has in place are further contributing to the safe running of regimes, and the introduction of face mask use amongst our staff for situations of heightened infection transmission risk (e.g. corridors) is both helping to ensure regime delivery is as open as possible, and that staff can remain at work following positive Covid-19 tests at establishments. A key enabler for effective regime delivery is bringing levels of infection under control, and we have been working hard to embed effective social distancing and health measures and to deploy test and trace for staff in order to achieve this. We are also seeking to access vaccinations for staff at the earliest opportunity. YCS have also been able to take a bespoke approach to social visits, maintaining face-to-face visits throughout the pandemic, including at times when HMPPS adult establishments had to take the hard decision to pause them. YCS has ensured that social visits to children are always considered under compassionate grounds and has worked hard to safely continue them following rigorous risk assessments and the implementation of Covid-19 controls. YCS’ regime delivery has continued to evolve as lessons are learned and Covid-19 controls are adapted. Delivery through the second lockdown has been significantly improved to delivery during the first, despite the numbers of infected staff and children having been higher, but risks must be continually assessed to ensure that the expansion of delivery does not come at the cost of the health of our staff or the children in our care. YCS has commissioned CoRE Research on the learning from our experience of Covid 19, and workshops with senior leaders are scheduled for January to agree how to implement this learning in to future regimes. A range of workshops have also taken place with Education Providers with the same purpose. Rt Hon Robert Buckland MP