HMP Dovegate

History and role

In shortDovegate is a privately run category B training prison with a remand function and a therapeutic community, so national HMPPS officer pay does not apply.

It holds adult men over 21 on a range of sentences, including trial, remand, awaiting sentence and convicted prisoners on short and long terms. GOV.UK describes it as a privately run male prison; HMIP named the operator as Serco at the time of its inspection.

Who is held and how the site is organised

In shortDovegate held 1,139 men against an operational capacity of 1,160, split between a large main site and a 200-bed therapeutic community.

• Population at inspection1,139Operational capacity 1,160
• MoJ bulletin, 24 Aug 20261,145Against the same operational capacity of 1,160
• Sentenced70%A quarter of them indeterminate; 20% remanded and 11% foreign national
• MovementAbout 220 a month inAbout 76 releases into the community each month

Inspectors described the therapeutic community as a thriving and innovative provision, supporting prisoners with complex needs and behaviour, including impressive work with prisoners who had learning difficulties.

• Three main residential units housing about 960 prisoners (84% of the population on the main site)
• A 200-bed therapeutic community (TC), holding 16% of the population
• An 11-bed inpatient facility and an 18-bed segregation unit
• A 'restart dog' project: dogs trained, and fostered by staff, to become assistance dogs for people with autism, anxiety or PTSD

What inspectors found (report published 8 January 2024)

In shortHMIP scored safety, respect and release preparation reasonably good and purposeful activity poor, its lowest score.

• SafetyReasonably good
• RespectReasonably good
• Release preparationReasonably good
• Purposeful activityPoorThe lowest score

HMIP's unannounced inspection, with the Chief Inspector's summary dated November 2023, found violence lower than in comparable prisons, though assaults by prisoners on peers had recently increased.

The Chief Inspector wrote that Dovegate was performing better than most prisons with big remand populations and longer-term prisoners, but needed to reorient fully towards education, training and work, because many jobs on the wings left prisoners underemployed.

Staff, culture and leadership

In shortInspectors found a reasonably positive culture and well-supported staff, but frequent absences and director turnover limited the regime.

• Prisoners with a key worker95%Of those surveyed
• Directors in ten yearsSeventhThe director who took over in January 2023

Dovegate was fully staffed with prison custody officers, but a large number were absent, still in training or deployed to other Serco sites, so the prison could not run a full regime every day. Many staff were recent recruits.

• Ongoing training and support were good, with induction that included meetings with prisoner peer workers
• Staff still needed more guidance on challenging low-level poor behaviour such as vaping and improper dress
• Prisoners were mainly content, most staff were engaged, friendly and approachable, and officers 'knew their prisoners well' despite sometimes low staffing
• The report links the leadership instability to slower progress; the Chief Inspector said the director's focus on staff welfare had paid off, with officers describing a renewed sense of purpose

Working at Dovegate

In shortJobs at Dovegate are with Serco, not HMPPS, and the advertised pay is not comparable to the HMPPS Band 3 range.

• Starting salary£28,187Serco advert, undated when opened on 3 October 2026
• After 12 months£29,271
• After three years£33,337About £37,800 including overtime
• Initial training10 weeksEnding in a Diploma in Custodial Care

Serco's careers site lists a Prison Officer role at HMP Dovegate (ST14 8XR) as permanent, full-time, with an average 40-hour week on rotating shifts. Check the live advert for current terms.

The HMPPS Band 3 range is set nationally and quoted at £34,928 to £39,334 for 37 to 41 hours at public prisons; our pay guides cover HMPPS pay only.