The government has revealed that the first secure school will be run by Oasis Charitable Trust
Oasis Charitable Trust, which runs 52 Academies with 30,000 students across England, has been announced as the operator of the country’s first secure school.
The trust runs 52 academies and the new secure school is set to open towards the end of 2020 at the site of the Medway Secure Training Centre in Kent.
This is part of the government’s aim to put education at the heart of youth custody.
Oasis has provided the DfE with a clear and ambitious vision and will be given complete autonomy to set the curriculum and timetable.
Three quarters of Oasis’s academies operate in the UK’s most deprived areas and most were rated by Ofsted as failing at the time they were taken over.
Now, 80% are rated as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.
A £5m investment to create the secure school will include extensive refurbishment of classrooms and residential areas to provide the best possible environment for Oasis to work with young people at risk of violence and abuse.
Justice minister, Edward Argar, said: “Secure schools are critical to our vision for youth custody – placing education, healthcare and purposeful activity at the heart of rehabilitation.
“I have been impressed by Oasis’s dedication to improving the lives of young people and its track record across education, health and youth work.
“We will now work closely with them on detailed proposals to ensure high standards from day one.”
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