Kids Behind Bars - Season 1

Each year in Britain, we lock up 2,000 school-age children. Vinney Green Secure Unit locks up some of the youngest and the most troubled; the kids no one else can manage - whether they are a danger to each other, or a danger to themselves. Filmed over a year, with unprecedented access to the unit, the children and the staff who care for them, this extraordinary series tells their stories and finds out what's being done to set them straight. It documents the journeys of boys and girls who are behind bars, and follows the daily life at Vinney Green as the staff try to change them.

Vinney Green houses 24 children aged from 10 to 17. Some have committed very serious crimes. Others began getting into trouble when they were at primary school. Some are sent here for their own protection. And for some, simply the chaos of their lives has led them down the wrong path. For most this is their last chance - and an opportunity to change. In their own words, they explain what it's like to be locked up while you're still a child.

This film follows three of the youngest boys in Vinney Green, who started getting into serious trouble when they were just nine years old. Kalem has been inside the longest and faces spending his teenage years behind bars - "I went the down the wrong way". Kieran is there for the second time, but with only a few weeks at the unit it will be hard for the staff to have any effect. Tali has just arrived, but is so volatile he's struggling to fit in - "I'm not a guy that likes people around me 24/7 - I'm a guy that likes being free so it's hard for me..." .

Are they being locked up to punish them or change them? And can Vinney Green turn them around?

Each year in Britain, we lock up 2,000 school-age children. Vinney Green Secure Unit locks up some of the youngest and the most troubled; the kids no one else can manage - whether they are a danger to each other, or a danger to themselves. Filmed over a year, with unprecedented access to the unit, the children and the staff who care for them, this extraordinary series tells their stories and finds out what's being done to set them straight. It documents the journeys of boys and girls who are behind bars, and follows the daily life at Vinney Green as the staff try to change them.

Vinney Green houses 24 children aged from 10 to 17. Some have committed very serious crimes. Others began getting into trouble when they were at primary school. Some are sent here for their own protection. And for some, simply the chaos of their lives has led them down the wrong path. For most this is their last chance - and an opportunity to change. In their own words, they explain what it's like to be locked up while you're still a child.

Acts of violence committed by girls have doubled in the last four years. This second film follows three girls who are in Vinney Green for a variety of reasons, including violence to others. Some are there because they are hurting themselves so badly that they have to be locked up for their own protection. Jess has a violent past: 'I'm just an angry person', and the staff have got their work cut out to try and control her. Ruby has run wild and is kicking against the unit's strict regime: 'They always have the last word and I don't like it.' And Steph is there for her own protection: 'It's the safest I've ever felt.' Over a tempestuous summer, we look at whether the unit can tame them.

Each year in Britain, we lock up 2,000 school-age children. Vinney Green Secure Unit locks up some of the youngest and the most troubled; the kids no one else can manage - whether they are a danger to each other, or a danger to themselves. Filmed over a year, with unprecedented access to the unit, the children and the staff who care for them, this extraordinary series tells their stories and finds out what's being done to set them straight. It documents the journeys of boys and girls who are behind bars, and follows the daily life at Vinney Green as the staff try to change them.

Vinney Green houses 24 children aged from 10 to 17. Some have committed very serious crimes. Others began getting into trouble when they were at primary school. Some are sent here for their own protection. And for some, simply the chaos of their lives has led them down the wrong path. For most this is their last chance - and an opportunity to change. In their own words, they explain what it's like to be locked up while you're still a child.

In the third and final film, three boys are facing the prospect of beginning their adult life behind bars if they can't change during their time at Vinney Green. This film follows them as they prepare to leave.

17-year-old Ryan started getting into trouble when he was nine and still struggles to contain his anger: 'I don't lose control, I just choose to get angry'.

15-year-old Ryan can't say no to his friends: 'We think we're bad - but we know the truth - we're not bad'.

And Ashley, who has been in and out of secure units, needs to break the cycle before it is too late: 'By Christmas I'll be back inside - it's my life - trouble'.

Will the unit have any effect on such persistent troublemakers? And will they be able to leave here and never come back?