3 days ago
UK's first secure school for youngsters in custody is forced to close after weapon-making child inmates 'kicked down every internal door' and had 'free rein on building'
England's first secure school which promised children in custody 'relentless love' instead of punishment has temporarily closed amid safety concerns.
Staff at Oasis Restore in Medway, Kent complained prisoners have kicked down every internal door and now practically have 'free rein around the building'.
They added that the inmates also regularly make weapons out of metal objects and assault employees at the site.
Oasis Restore, which opened less than a year ago, was designed to offer therapeutic care and education to 12 to 18 year olds convicted of serious crimes.
It was launched as a 'revolution in youth justice', replacing cells with bedrooms and guards with restorative practitioners.
However, Channel 4 News has now revealed that the school will temporarily halt placements following an Ofsted monitoring visit that raised concerns about safety.
The decision means that children currently being held at the site will be sent to other youth custody facilities.
One employee told the programme: 'It was meant to be groundbreaking and had the potential to be fantastic but what was sold as a dream has turned into a nightmare.
'It's a very unsafe environment for the children and the staff.
'Every internal door in the place has been kicked through so the children virtually have free rein round the building.
'They make weapons out of sharped brush handles or metal objects. You can see the fear in staffs' eyes.'
Another added: 'Quite a lot of staff leave very quickly and are not replaced quickly enough. It is hard to live out the ethos.
'The kids come with a lot of trauma and issues that affect their behaviour, which can be extreme at times.
'Staff are just making sure that they don't hurt each other or themselves and trying to engage them in activity.
'Kids need clear boundaries and they need to be ready to engage to come here.'
Staff at Oasis Restore have reported rising disorder, assaults, broken doors and weapon-making at the school built on the former Medway Secure Training Centre site.
Revelations also include prisoners refusing to go behind their doors on lock up and refusing to go to education.
It is understood this has led on some occasions to managers instructing staff to allow them to stay out of their rooms and to play football outside for the eight hour period.
Mark Fairhurst from the Prison Officers' Association said: 'Assaults are rife, assaults on staff are not getting reported to the police including sexual assaults on staff, managers are trying to cover things up and the managers are encouraging staff not to report things to the authorities or indeed go sick when they're seriously assaulted.'
'It's completely chaotic, it's out of control, it's disordered and there are too many incidents of violence to the people who work there', he added.
According to Channel 4 News, Oasis Restore will be temporarily closed while the internal doors are replaced at the site.
The school said its closure was a 'preemptive decision' to avoid any 'serious incidents' taking place on site.
A spokesperson for Oasis Restore said: 'Oasis Restore is a revolution in youth justice, delivering integrated, therapeutic education and care for children in the criminal justice system.
'We exist to deliver the highest standards of care and learning for young people with incredibly complex and challenging life experiences and needs.
'On a recent Ofsted visit, inspectors highlighted how children feel safe and supported, and this is thanks to the hard work and dedication of our staff, who are building a new model of restorative justice from the ground up.
'However, Ofsted also rightly raised concerns about issues with the built environment and the effectiveness of internal doors.
'Whilst staff have done all that they can to mitigate against these issues, it has become clear that the installation of new doors will take well beyond the summer.
'Therefore, we have made the decision to stop all placements at Restore, and our current children will be relocated to other settings within the youth custody estate.
'This is pre-emptive action to avoid any serious incidents occurring on site whilst we wait for the new doors to be fitted.
'The decision was not taken lightly and reflects our commitment to safety, transparency, and ethical leadership.
'Our mission, regardless of our building infrastructure, is to deliver the highest standards of care and learning for children who require constant dedicated support from reliable adults, who they can build positive, trusted relationships with.
'This work will indeed continue after our internal doors are replaced.'
The closure marks a significant moment in youth justice reform, with calls to learn from the setback rather than abandon the secure school model.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'We are taking the issues at the Secure School extremely seriously and we have been working with Oasis Restore to get them addressed.
'We are working at pace to fix doors and have already reduced the number of children held there because of these concerns and now all young offenders are being moved to other secure settings.'
