Construction has begun at the country’s first secure school- a custodial facility to educate young offenders and prevent further crime
The first secure school has launched construction at the former Medway Secure Training Centre in Kent.
Around eight in 10 prolific adult offenders begin committing crimes as children, with the estimated cost to the taxpayer around £17 billion per year.
The school’s core focus on getting troubled young people into jobs or further education is part of the Government’s ambitious plan to further drive down reoffending – following a five per cent fall over the last decade.
Every single pupil at the first secure school will be enrolled in formal education or training and encouraged into further learning or employment on release.
Courtroom to classroom
It will be run by Oasis Restore and staff will be trained to offer a broad curriculum and offer one-to-one learning support, setting challenging targets in core academic subjects such as English and mathematics.
Ofsted inspectors will hold the establishment to the same standards as all other schools nationwide.
Young people will participate in a weekly programme of rigorous physical education and can work towards sports and leisure qualifications.
The first secure school will prioritise rehabilitation
The design of the new secure school is based on international, peer-reviewed research which shows that smaller settings, high-quality education and healthcare provision, and a specialised workforce of teachers and youth workers are vital to successfully rehabilitating young people in custody.
The old prison-style features at Medway have been stripped out and the finished site will look like a residential school rather than a custodial facility, within secure prison walls.
It will house a maximum of 49 children, and will include state-of-the-art, bar-less windows as well as the latest secure in-room technology which will allow children to continue homework and projects in their rooms, organise their routines and contact their families in a safe and secure way.
Building on the promises of the Prison Strategy White Paper
The construction of the UK’s first secure school marks progress on the Government’s commitments under the Prisons Strategy White Paper to drive up standards of adult education in custody, while also tackling drug and alcohol addiction and ensuring offenders are ready for work on release.
The Rev Steve Chalke MBE, founder of Oasis, said:
“For too long society has bought into the idea that punishing young people will somehow benefit them. All the research shows this does not work. You can’t help a child by harming them. You can’t take children who have been wounded psychological and somehow hope that punishment will heal them. Then, when you release them, wonder why so many reoffend.
“Oasis is not trying to ignore a young person’s crime, or to minimise the pain of their victim and family. But, it’s time for a revolution in youth justice. And, we’re excited that Oasis Restore – the country’s first secure school – with an emphasis on therapeutic care, education and positive settlement into life beyond our gates, which enables them to thrive – will be that revolution.”
Deputy prime minister, lord chancellor & secretary of state for justice, Dominic Raab MP, said:
“This secure school is a first. It’s effectively a school with prison walls around it that will give the stubborn hard core of young offenders, who need to be in custody, the tailored curriculum and mental health support they need to turn away from crime and get into training and work.”
Construction work will continue until autumn 2023 when the site will be handed over to Oasis Restore, with the first pupils expected to arrive in 2024.
