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Exceptional Education at the Heart of the Community

Who we are

 

The Oasis vision is for community – a place where everyone is included, making a contribution, and reaching their God-given potential. 

Oasis is driven by the passionate belief that each human being is uniquely valuable and of equal importance. We all have something to bring, and we all need each other. We call the ‘O’ in Oasis our ‘Circle of Inclusion’. Everyone matters. Everyone belongs. And because we’re committed to inclusion, we’re committed to ending inequality, injustice, and exclusion wherever and however we can.

Our work in the youth secure estate is driven by this philosophy and prevailing commitment to equality and community transformation.  

Oasis Restore 

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) appointed Oasis to establish England's first secure academy trust – to be known as Oasis Restore; an innovative, new model of care for young people in the youth custody estate, where the aim is to improve outcomes for children.

The policy vision put forward by the MoJ is for a new type of provision – secure schools - to deliver care and rehabilitation creating ‘bespoke provision for individual children that has education, healthcare and physical activity at its heart – a therapeutic environment in a secure setting’ so that children who have offended can move on to lead positive and productive lives.

Secure Academy Trusts – which are independently run charitable companies akin to the Department for Education’s Academy Trusts - will run and manage secure schools. They will be funded by the Ministry of Justice and NHS England and Improvement (NHSE&I), who are joint commissioners - using a Funding Agreement, not a commercial contract. Secure schools will deliver provision that is child-focused, integrated and values-led, with a specialised workforce. They are designed around a joint outcomes framework, working in partnership with NHSE&I, offering individualised care for children that establishes strong links with the community.

The MoJ has recently passed legislation to enable this significant policy change and to allow Academy Trusts to exist in the secure estate. Secure schools will be dual registered as 16-19 Academies and Secure Children’s Homes, and they will be inspected as such by Ofsted and Care Quality Commission.

As with the Free School pre-opening process, Oasis has recruited three senior leaders to develop the design of Oasis Restore prior to commencing mobilisation, with recruitment for further roles in the school to follow.

Oasis Restore’s Senior Leadership Team are experts in their field, are champions of divergent thinking, are innovative, and are committed to providing psychologically informed, developmentally appropriate models of support and education for children.

Alongside us in this process are three young people with experience of custody, who have successfully obtained posts with us as our Co-Creation Workers. They provide consultation, challenge and support to us in the process of the design and development of the school.