HMP & YOI Stoke Heath

History and role

In shortStoke Heath is a publicly run category C training and resettlement prison, built in 1964, serving the West Midlands and North West.

• MoJ bulletin, 24 August 2026713 / 754Prisoners against operational capacity
• HMIP at inspection741 / 782Held against capacity

GOV.UK describes it as a men's prison and young offender institution (YOI) in the village of Stoke Heath, Shropshire. It is publicly run within the HMPPS West Midlands group, with health care provided by Shropshire Community NHS Trust and the Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, and education by Novus.

Who is held and how the prison is organised

In shortStoke Heath held 741 men, with higher turnover, shorter stays and more men from out of the area than before.

• Held (2026)741 men
• New prisonersAbout 1,335 a yearAround 111 a month; an average of 77 released each month
• Substance misuse support318About 100 a month referred for mental health assessment
• Black and minority ethnic30%6% were foreign nationals

There is also a segregation unit. Inspectors described well-tended, litter-free grounds.

Wings A to E

General population.

F wing

Designated drug treatment unit.

G wing

Induction and prisoners on longer sentences.

I wing

Progression and incentivised substance-free living unit.

Clive House

A self-contained open unit outside the main prison for up to eight category D prisoners; five men were there at the inspection, working in the local community and keeping family contact through overnight visits.

What inspectors found (report published 1 June 2026)

In shortHMIP judged safety not sufficiently good, respect reasonably good, purposeful activity poor and release preparation reasonably good.

• SafetyNot sufficiently goodDown from good in 2023
• RespectReasonably good
• Purposeful activityPoor
• Release preparationReasonably goodAn improvement
• Random drug tests positiveNearly 30%

HMIP's unannounced inspection on 23 February to 5 March 2026 noted fewer assaults than at comparable prisons, but high self-harm, some prisoners self-isolating for their own safety and weak gate security.

There were 12 key concerns, six of them priorities, spanning drug availability, self-harm, access to activities, full-time education places, the reading strategy and curriculum breadth.

Ofsted rated overall effectiveness of education, skills and work as inadequate, with leadership and management inadequate and the other three areas requires improvement. Attendance was too low because the regime scheduled clashes between activities and association.

An experienced staff team and its pressures

In shortRelationships were a strength thanks to an unusually experienced team, but resourcing pressures left most men in only part-time activity.

• Staff with under two years' serviceUnder 8%Many officers had worked there for more than ten years
• Prisoners saying staff respect them65%Similar to other category C prisons
• Band 3 to 5 officers (FTE)192 / 198Against target, HMPPS workforce statistics at 30 June 2026

The governor had been in post for a year following instability in which there had been four governors and four deputy governors, and brought determination, realism and moral authority to a difficult first year, in the inspectors' words.

Working at Stoke Heath and getting there

In shortStoke Heath is on the national pay zone with no market supplement as at 3 October 2026, and its remote location makes shift-time transport worth considering.

• Starting range£34,928 to £39,334HMPPS Band 3; 37 hours with 39 or 41 optional
• Market supplementNoneNot on the HMPPS tables as at 3 October 2026

See pay and pay bands. We did not find a Stoke Heath recruitment page, so apply through the national jobs search; our guide explains the process.