Recommendation 12

HM Government Acknowledged

The MoJ and Oasis Charitable Trust (the successful applicant to run the country’s first secure school in Medway, Kent) are working closely with our cross-government partners to get the school ready to open as soon as possible. With secure schools, we are realising a concept never seen before in this country—institutions dually-established as SCHs and 16 to 19 academies. The first such establishment will be run by a charitable secure academy trust, another first for the youth secure estate, and it is important we take the time to get it right. This innovative approach has required us to work through some significant and complex legal and regulatory issues. We want to attract the best child-focused providers and many of those organisations are charities. Charitable status for secure schools is a complex issue, which we have had to work through carefully in partnership with the Charity Commission. We have concluded that the surest way for the operation of a secure school to be deemed a charitable activity is through primary legislation. This includes ensuring this legislation has no unintended consequences beyond establishing the charitable status of secure schools. Provisions in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill introduced into Parliament in March will enable Oasis (and future providers) to establish a secure academy trust and to commence the activities needed to open the school, most notably, the ramp up of recruitment. In parallel to legislation, Oasis is developing an operating model for the school, with the work being led by the school’s senior leadership team who are expected to take up post from this spring. We are planning an extensive refurbishment programme at the Medway site to upgrade its facilities, create smaller units and provide a homely child- centred environment that meets children’s home regulations. Last year, the department revisited the design and capacity of the site in response to feedback from Ofsted. Following a tender process, we are shortly appointing a preferred constructor to develop the detailed design of the building and to confirm the full programme of works, timeframes, and costs. Subject to securing necessary approvals, we intend to commence the renovation of the site at the end of this year. In such a complex regulatory and operating environment, it is important to take the time to get it right if we are to provide the high-quality provision that children need to enable them to turn their lives around. We continue to work towards an opening date at the end of 2022 and we will keep the Committee updated on progress.