An open prison which can house nearly 500 inmates has received a glowing report following a visit from inspectors.

In a report published today (February 10), Standford Hill in Eastchurch on Sheppey has been hailed an “impressive” and “very safe” environment where prisoners are less likely to reoffend.

The Category D prison, which is next to HMP Swaleside and HMP Elmley, has room for 464 men.

Unannounced inspections were held on October 8 to 9 and again on October 20 to 24.

Assessors looked at the four healthy prison tests – which are safety, respect, purposeful activity and preparation for release.

All categories were found to be either “good” or “reasonably good”.

The report, signed off by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor, said self harm and violence were rare and positive staff-prisoner relationships helped towards an incentivising culture.

It read: “Prisoners were inducted well into the jail and received help to settle in and make a good start.

“In our survey, most prisoners told us that their experiences at Standford Hill would make them less likely to reoffend.

“The meaningful regime meant the prison had a tangible sense of purpose, with education (some of which had been enhanced further by an additional partnership with a local college), work within the prison, and a very significant offer in terms of employment in the community available.”

The prison has also been credited for offering support to help prisoners maintain good family ties and has been described as “well-led, innovative and creative”.

But inspectors also identified five areas of concern, two of which have been deemed a priority and will need immediate attention.

Communal areas, including showers, toilets and food preparation areas, were not clean enough and called “disappointing”.

Assessors also said too many prisoners were allocated to wing work, such as cleaning and servery work, which were poorly supervised and meant they were unemployed.

Less urgent concerns were that inmates were not arriving on time to education or work and they faced long delays to be told if they could leave the prison for work or to visit family.

Inspectors have also called for the prison to do further checks on prisoners to ensure they are safe to leave the jail to go to work or visit family.

Standford Hill was last assessed in 2019.

The report said: “As an excellent inspection back then, it was pleasing to see, that despite the challenges of recent years, the governor and his team had maintained that level of performance as well as addressing nearly all the concerns and recommendations we raised five years ago.”