Humane and dignified conditions in detention Conclusion Most EU Member States that allow detention of children in law have specialised facilities, either separately or as distinct parts of existing holding facilities. One characteristic of detention facilities adapted to host children is child-friendly spaces. Many facilities, however, are like prisons. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, to create an appropriate environment for children. Some Member States are short of space in specialised facilities, so they hold children in unsuitable holding facilities. Conditions are typically inappropriate for children in short-term facilities, such as police cells or holding rooms near the border, where children are held, either alone or together with their families, until a decision to release or transfer them to appropriate facilities. Minimum standards are particularly difficult to implement when numbers of arrivals are large and people are placed in infrastructure not originally intended to hold migrants. When transfer, release or removal is not immediate, short-term facilities may become congested and detention conditions deteriorate further. There is a shortage of training in child protection and child welfare for staff working in or guarding facilities where migrants are deprived of liberty. In practice, many Member States do not plan for education at first reception or pre-removal facilities, as the intended duration of stay is short. Recurrent obstacles to the provision of adequate child healthcare are the lack of specialised doctors, access to medicines, limited interpretation, lack of confidentiality and lack of trust if medical staff are seen as closely affiliated to the immigration authorities. FRA opinion 7 Asylum-seeking children and children in return procedures must not be deprived of liberty if available facilities do not guarantee minimum standards for the child’s well-being. To achieve this, EU Member States must create child-friendly spaces and take effective measures to prevent holding facilities from being like prisons. This affects infrastructure (such as removing barbed wire or bars on windows), the use of force (e.g. avoiding systematic handcuffing of children or their parents during transport), reducing the number of uniformed and armed staff, and adopting flexible house rules (e.g. free access to the yard). To guarantee the right to education set out in Article 14 of the Charter, EU Member States must provide children with access to education. Where detention lasts longer than a  very short period, education must be provided. Children should have access to a formal education system, taught by qualified teachers through programmes integrated in the country’s education system. Priority should be given to providing education outside of detention facilities. EU  Member States should take proactive measures to guarantee detained children the right to healthcare enshrined in Article 35 of the Charter. To that end, they should ensure regular visits by paediatricians from outside the facilities, provide effective interpretation services and ensure accessibility of medicines. Medical consultations and medical information must be confidential and child-appropriate. 85