Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre branded inadequate by inspectors

Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre has been downgraded to inadequate by inspectors, the lowest possible rating.

A new report from Ofsted, HMI Prisons and the CQC lays bare the extent of failings at the secure training centre (STC) near Rugby, currently run by MTC.

Inspectors found poor practice was placing children and staff at risk of harm, as well as failing to give vulnerable children – some as young as 14 – adequate care and support.

Children and staff told inspectors of their concerns that a child or adult would be harmed or die as a result of poor practice and management in the centre. The report describes a ‘volatile culture’ where children carry weapons ‘just in case’.

While children felt cared for by most staff, many said they lived in an environment where they felt anxious and unsafe. Children told inspectors “Of course we are not safe. That’s just how it is” and “Somebody is going to die in here soon.” This was echoed by staff, who said they feared for their own safety as well as children’s.

Inadequate staffing levels placed staff in ‘an impossible position’ and unable to care for children safely, with staff resorting to leaving children unsupervised and locking them in their rooms in order to take a break.