Hundreds of homemade weapons were found at a young offender institution “rife” with violence, according to a damning report.
Cookham Wood facility in Rochester, Kent, was put into emergency measures after prison inspectors uncovered “appalling” conditions during an April visit.
Metal objects and kettles were among items used to make weapons, with 228 found in the six months before the inspection, many more than similar in institutions.
Some staff were “frightened” and appeared to have “given up”, while senior bosses “stayed out of sight in their offices”, according to details published today.
The report reveals boys were kept in solitary confinement for “days on end” at the time of the visit – with two isolated for more than 100 days; the tactic used as a way to manage conflict.
Dirty living units and broken equipment were also found at Cookham Wood, home to 77 boys.
After the inspection, Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor called for urgent changes and the Ministry of Justice said “decisive action” had now been taken.
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“These findings would be deeply troubling in any prison, but given that Cookham Wood holds children, they were completely unacceptable,” said Mr Taylor.
“As a result, I had no choice but to write to the secretary of state immediately after the inspection and invoke the urgent notification process.”
The Prison Reform Trust called the findings “shocking” and said it showed a “failure of leadership at the highest levels of the youth justice system”.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “This is a deeply concerning report and we are already taking decisive action to address the serious issues it raises.
“The new governor at HMYOI Cookham Wood, appointed shortly before the inspection, is being supported by a boost in staff numbers and a new taskforce to drive down violence.
“This is helping to deliver progress – with incidents of violence falling, fewer young people being kept apart and more getting the hours of education they need to turn their back on crime.”
