SECURE SCHOOLS
Safety pinned
THE UK’s first privately run secure school opened last year at a cost of £40m, promising the “biggest move forward in youth justice in living memory”, with a focus on “relentless love”.
The Oasis Restore unit in Kent (pictured), for 12 to 18-year-olds on remand or convicted by courts, was awarded £8.5m funding by the Ministry of Justice and Department for Health last year. When the Eye approached provider Oasis to ask about its scathing Ofsted reports – which found doors smashed off their hinges and children making their own weapons for protection – its founder, former evangelical leader the Rev Steve Chalke, admitted: “We knew it wouldn’t be perfect from day one.” Just hours later, it was revealed that the centre, near Rochester, had been shut down, with its ten remaining residents moved to alternative accommodation.