HMP Channings Wood

From a former MoD site to a split-site training prison

In shortChannings Wood opened in 1974 on a former Ministry of Defence site in rural south Devon and is a category C adult male training and resettlement prison.

• Opened1974Former Ministry of Defence base near Newton Abbot
• Living blocks8One is prefabricated modular ‘rapid deployment’ cells
• HMPPS groupingCategory C Trainer/Resettlement

According to the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), the site is bounded by a high fence with several public footpaths around the perimeter, and all buildings are single or two storey.

Besides the permanent living blocks it has workshops, a kitchen, a segregation unit, a health centre, a gym and sports hall, and a multi-faith place of worship and chapel.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) describes the prison’s task as a category C adult male training and resettlement prison, in its last full inspection report from July 2022. The IMB repeated it in its report for September 2024 to August 2025, published in February 2026.

Two populations on one site

In shortChannings Wood runs a split-site regime for ‘Mains’ and vulnerable prisoners, now about 50:50, and its numbers have grown beyond the 2022 figures.

The IMB explains that the prison runs a split-site regime for the two groups. After the closure of HMP Dartmoor, the report says the ratio between the two groups is about 50:50, with internal fences separating them and controlling movement.

The IMB also says the proportion of older prisoners is rising, especially since the transfer of men from Dartmoor.

What inspectors found in July 2022

In shortHMIP found outcomes reasonably good for safety, respect and release planning and not sufficiently good for purposeful activity; this is now an older report.

HMIP carried out an unannounced inspection on 11 and 18 to 22 July 2022 and published its report on 21 October 2022. Having judged all four healthy prison tests not sufficiently good at earlier inspections, it found outcomes reasonably good for safety, respect and rehabilitation and release planning, and not sufficiently good for purposeful activity.

The Chief Inspector wrote that the governor had an ‘impressive and ambitious vision’ and that violence had declined, fewer drugs were getting in, and officers were generally caring and supportive.

Expansion and what the IMB reported in 2025

In shortAn expansion adding 524 places is under way, while the IMB reported falling self-harm but seven deaths in custody and staffing setbacks.

• Planned extra places524A 67% increase in capacity; completion planned by the end of 2027
• Self-harm incidents-18%
• Deaths in custody7Linked by the Board to the ageing population
• In purposeful activity66%At the end of the year, against a target of 61%

The IMB says an expansion project began in the third quarter of 2024, with a new kitchen and a larger segregation unit as well.

The Board reports that works within the existing site have caused disruption, and that critical repairs such as leaking roofs in the segregation unit and living block 6 would not be fixed until the expansion is complete.

• Safety: fewer assaults overall, but more assaults on staff.
• Staffing: performance had improved significantly after the staffing increase that followed the Dartmoor closure, including a large rise in key worker sessions.
• Setback: detached duty to other prisons and sickness absence had since caused a step backwards, including a temporary cut in mandatory drug testing.

Working at Channings Wood

In shortChannings Wood is a public-sector prison on the standard Band 3 scale and the national pay zone, with no dedicated recruitment page that we could find.

• Band 3 to 5 officers (FTE), 30 June 2026225Against a target of 209
• HMPPS performance rating 2025/263 of 42025/26 rating; overall score 66.8%; published 30 July 2026

Channings Wood is a public-sector prison, so officers are employed by HMPPS on the Band 3 scale and apply through the national prison and probation jobs service.

It is in the national pay zone and was not on the HMPPS Band 3 market supplement list we checked on 3 October 2026, so the standard figures on our pay and prison officer pay bands pages apply.

We found no dedicated HMPPS recruitment page for this prison.

• GOV.UK gives the nearest station as Newton Abbot, around four miles from the prison.
• Health care was provided by Practice Plus Group and education by Weston College, according to HMIP’s 2022 report.
• The IMB’s 2025 report refers to a new education provider and expresses concern that budget cuts could affect delivery.
• For comparisons with other south-west prisons, see our prison officer jobs by region guide.