HMP & YOI Eastwood Park

A women’s prison with a wide catchment

In shortEastwood Park is a women’s resettlement prison in Gloucestershire that is the local prison for 77 courts and draws women from across Wales, the south and the Midlands.

GOV.UK describes it as a prison and young offender institution (YOI) in Wotton-under-Edge, for women aged 18 and over, and HMIP records its task as a women’s resettlement prison.

The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) describes it as a closed local prison for women, midway between Gloucester and Bristol, by the village of Falfield. HMPPS counts it in its Women’s Estate group, and our dataset lists the HMPPS functional group as ‘Female’.

• The local prison for 77 courts.
• Draws women from south Wales, the south, the south west and the Midlands, with around a third coming from Wales.

Units and who is held

In shortEastwood Park held 360 women at HMIP’s 2025 inspection, with capacity trimmed since and a semi-open unit closed after fire-safety concerns.

• Held at HMIP 2025 inspection360Against an operational capacity of 415
• New arrivals1,493In the previous 12 months
• On remand or serving under two years59%
• From Wales33%

The IMB’s report for 1 November 2024 to 31 October 2025 notes that the operational capacity was reduced from 430 to 415 in January 2025 so that 15 double cells could become single cells. The semi-open residential unit closed on 31 October 2025 after fire-safety concerns, removing a further 20 places.

At the end of October 2025 there were 351 women, of whom 230 were sentenced and 121 on remand or unsentenced. HMPPS’s monthly figures for 24 August 2026 show 330 women against an operational capacity of 371.

• An incentivised substance-free living unit.
• Four general population units.
• A semi-open unit.
• An induction and detoxification unit.
• A mother and baby unit.
• The Nexus personality disorder unit.
• The Cherry Blossom unit for women with complex mental health needs.

What inspectors found in 2025

In shortHMIP found safety improved but still not sufficiently good, with some of the highest self-harm, violence and use of force in the women’s estate and much better standards of care than in 2022.

• SafetyNot sufficiently goodAn improvement on October 2022
• RespectReasonably good
• Purposeful activityNot sufficiently good
• Preparation for releaseReasonably good

HMIP inspected between 17 June and 3 July 2025 and published its report on 22 September 2025.

The Chief Inspector said rates of self-harm, violence and use of force were still some of the highest in the women’s estate, and that assaults on staff were the highest of any women’s prison, often during restraints to prevent self-harm. He also said standards of care were much better than in 2022.

HMIP identified 11 concerns, five of them priorities.

Staffing, leadership and the IMB’s view

In shortHMIP is direct that the prison needs more officers; the IMB said the governor and senior team generally kept the population safe.

• Band 3 to 5 officers (FTE), 30 June 2026146Full-time-equivalent Band 3 to 5 officers against a target of 175

HMIP’s report is unusually direct about staffing. It says leaders had worked hard to improve recruitment and retention, and that there was a greater focus on staff well-being (including clinical supervision for those on the Cherry Blossom unit).

A review had concluded the prison needed more officers, but the timescale was unclear. Few officers received regular supervision, inspectors added.

The governor had successfully argued for the prison to be regraded as a ‘complex prison’, which HMIP hoped would mean fewer managers leaving for better-paid jobs elsewhere.

• The IMB report confirms the May 2025 reclassification as a complex prison, with senior posts re-banded and recruitment of the wider senior team expected to finish by early 2026.
• In the Board’s view, despite the complex profiles of many prisoners, the governor and senior team continued generally to keep the population safe.
• It records an overall fall in self-harm over the year, and a fall in use of force after one individual’s transfer.

Working at Eastwood Park

In shortEastwood Park is in the national pay zone, so standard Band 3 figures apply, and HMPPS recruits through the justice jobs portal.

• HMPPS performance rating 2025/263 of 42025/26 rating; overall score 60.7%; published 30 July 2026
• Journey from Bristol, Gloucester or Stroud~40 minutesBy good road links, with free on-site parking

Eastwood Park 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. Working in a women’s prison has its own demands, including the mental health needs HMIP describes.

If you are weighing your options, see how to become a prison officer and the prison officer jobs by region guide.

• HMPPS’s recruitment page describes a women’s resettlement prison in rural Gloucestershire near Falfield with a trauma-informed approach and offending behaviour programmes.
• Education and vocational training covers industrial cleaning, cookery and health and beauty.
• It lists a free gym, training and career progression; applications go through the justice jobs portal.
• GOV.UK adds that the nearest station is Bristol Temple Meads, with a bus to Falfield except on Sundays.