HMYOI Werrington

History and role in the youth estate

In shortWerrington is a juvenile prison for children and young people aged 15 to 18, managed within the HMPPS Youth Custody Service.

• MoJ bulletin, 24 August 202690 / 118Held against operational capacity

GOV.UK describes it as a young offender institution (YOI) in Staffordshire for children and young people aged 15 to 18. HMIP inspects young offender institutions more frequently than adult prisons because of the level of risk managed and the vulnerabilities of the children held.

HMIP also records that, despite a policy change and substantial Youth Custody Service efforts to move most 18-year-olds to the adult estate, Werrington continued to hold a substantial number of young adults.

Who is held and how the site is organised

In shortWerrington held 81 boys aged 15 to 18 at inspection, many on remand or care-experienced.

• Held (2025)81 boys78 at the establishment's own count; HMIP's task is to hold sentenced and remanded children aged 15 to 18
• New childrenAbout 138 a yearAround 12 a month
• Black and minority ethnic69%
• On remand35%
• Will turn 18 in custody64%On their current sentence; 25% had experienced local authority care and 48% had been excluded from mainstream education

Doulton unit

A and B wings with 96 single-occupancy rooms.

Denby unit

The care and separation unit (eight rooms) and C2 (22 cells split between induction and normal living).

• Classes from basic literacy and numeracy to core curriculum subjects (HMPPS careers page)
• Vocational training in creative design, music and radio, catering and barista training, painting and decorating, tiling, plastering and barbering
• Experience on the wings and in the kitchen, gym and laundry

What inspectors found (report published 28 July 2025)

In shortHMIP judged safety and care not sufficiently good, purposeful activity poor and resettlement reasonably good, with leadership more stable.

• Safety and careNot sufficiently good
• Purposeful activityPoorThe third consecutive inspection where Ofsted gave its lowest grade of inadequate
• ResettlementReasonably good
• Children feeling cared for by staff34%
• Boys not getting 15-hour weekly education85%

The Chief Inspector's summary said leadership was more stable and the governor had worked well to address previous staffing shortages, but that many staff needed more support to develop skills and knowledge and lacked time to build relationships. Safeguarding procedures had clearly improved, and leadership of the chaplaincy was called exceptional.

Staffing, retention and the youth justice worker role

In shortFront-line staff are youth justice workers, and chronic staffing shortfalls were being tackled through mentoring and better retention.

• Pay£34,928 to £39,334Careers page: grade 3, 37-hour contract, may increase to 39 or 41 hours until the level 4 qualification is complete
• Comparable-grade staff (FTE)138 / 170Against target, HMPPS workforce statistics at 30 June 2026

HMIP said the governor, in post since the 2023 inspection, had worked to address chronic staffing shortfalls through investment in new colleague mentors, a focus on reducing high sickness levels and substantially improved retention rates. Leaders now had an opportunity to develop the skills of the staffing group.

Inspectors found many staff enthusiastic and wanting to improve outcomes, but short of the time and skills to build relationships, particularly in education classrooms and on outreach.

Working at Werrington and getting there

In shortWerrington is on the national pay zone with no market supplement as at 3 October 2026, and applications run through the youth justice worker vacancy page.

• Market supplementNoneNot on the HMPPS tables as at 3 October 2026

Because this is a children's establishment, the role differs from adult prison officer work, and the application route runs through the HMPPS youth justice worker vacancy page rather than the prison officer one.

Our guide to becoming a prison officer covers shared parts of the process such as checks and assessment, but check the youth justice worker advert for its own requirements.