Boys locked up for up to 22 hours a day at HMP/YOI Feltham

The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for Feltham today (3 February 2026) publishes its annual report for the year September 2024 to August 2025. HMP Feltham covers two distinct establishments, one that acts as a young offenders’ institution (YOI) for boys under the age of 18 and one that is for adult males. The report identifies a continuing concern regarding the time boys were locked in their cells, and significant concern around the lack of purposeful activity in the adult establishment.

The IMB notes that:

• There were periods when boys at the YOI were locked in their rooms for up to 22 hours a day, with this being a particular issue at weekends.
• The education provision in the YOI continued to be insufficient and boys were still not receiving the target 15 hours of education a week.
• The education provision and training provision for adults remained unfit for purpose; many men remained without suitable training or employment.
• Support and guidance for sentence plans ahead of release have been severely impacted by staff shortages.

However, it is also pleased to report that relationships between staff and prisoners were observed to be fair and respectful. And the introduction of two incentivised substance free living units for adults was a welcome improvement.

IMB Feltham Chair, Maura Parsons, said:

“Our latest annual report highlights many of the same issues reported in previous years, with no significant improvements having been made. Opportunities for rehabilitation for both children and adults are severely hampered when they are locked up for significant periods of time, with limited access to purposeful activity.”