Data released today by the Ministry of Justice and the Youth Justice Board shows a 32% increase in children in custody requiring hospital treatment after being assaulted, self-harming or restraint.
In 2013/2014, 44 children were taken to hospital after assault (28), self-harm (13) and restraint (3).
This increased to 58 in 2014/2015, with 31 children requiring hospital treatment after being assaulted; 22 after self-harm; and 5 after restraint.
The statistics also show there were 286 restraint incidents involving children lying on the ground with their face to the floor, in three secure training centres and two young offender institutions in 2014/15. Another 196 incidents involved children being restrained whilst lying on their backs on the floor in the five prisons.
In young offender institutions, officers are permitted to restrain children to secure compliance. Restraint to secure compliance was used 243 times in Wetherby young offender institution in 2014/15, and 180 times in Hindley young offender institution.
No data is provided for Hassockfield secure training centre in Durham, where children were detained until November 2014. Data is included for Hindley young offender institution, which ceased holding children in January 2015.
Read the statistics in full here. Chapter 8, entitled behaviour management, includes the data on assaults, self-harm and restraint.