A PRISON in South Gloucestershire has been praised in a recent report, leaving inspectors “impressed” after a review.

HMP Ashfield in Pucklechurch, which is managed and operated by Serco on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, has been described by the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) as “a well-run prison which houses prisoners safely and securely but also with dignity, humanity and respect.”

The all-male prison holds up to 400 convicted prisoners serving sentences for sexual offences.

The annual report published by the IMB for July 2015 to July 2016 added that the prison had a “calm and positive atmosphere” with prisoners generally reporting feeling safe and that incidents of physical violence is rare.

It was also highlighted that the board was “impressed by the overall standards of dedication and professionalism shown by both Serco and the contracted staff at all levels.

They added: “It is a caring and compassionate environment in which staff are non-judgemental and treat prisoners as human beings.”

Concerns had been expressed in last year’s report about the suitability of the education and training programme and the difficulties Ashfield had encountered in being allocated sufficient prisoners who could engage with its sex offender treatment programmes, but these have largely been resolved.

Chair of the Board, Caroline Thompson, said that “a mark of Ashfield’s success is that many prisoners comment to external researchers and to board members ourselves that it is the best prison they have lived in.

“Prison staff treat them fairly and they feel motivated to engage with the range of programmes and vocational training courses on offer. Any complaints about having to share cells because of the limited availability of single occupancy cells are tempered by the fact that they recognise they enjoy a range of facilities that is superior to that found in many other prisons.

“They also appreciate the fact that there are various forums in which their voice is genuinely listened to by the prison’s senior management team”.

Newly appointed contract director at HMP Ashfield, Vicky Pails, said: “This prison has seen a huge amount of change since it altered its role three years ago and this excellent report is a reflection of the hard work and professionalism of our team at Ashfield, who are fantastic.

“There are of course areas where we can improve and we are studying this report to see what lessons can be learnt.”

The IMB Report can be found at http://www.imb.org.uk/imb-gives-hmp-ashfield-seal-approval/