Oasis Restore
Right now, one third of young people released from prison reoffend within just one year of release. Countless young people leave young offenders’ institutions without the skills needed to build a career or pursue further education. And violent crime is prevalent across communities draining precious resources from other services.
Rehabilitation in the youth justice system isn’t working. We need a new approach.
In 2024 we opened the UK’s first ever Secure School – Oasis Restore. A therapeutic alternative to a Young Offenders Institute (YOI) challenging decades of failure to reintegrate young people into society.
A review conducted by Charlie Taylor, chief inspector of prisoners, found the majority of young people in YOIs spend most of their time in their cells – with some spending 22 hours a day locked up. In addition, Dame Rachel de Souza, England’s children’s commissioner, has called for the closure of all YOIs across the country saying: “We have left a vacuum in the services that children need. We have retreated from our moral duty towards these children. And then we are surprised when they fall down.”
“We have retreated from our moral duty towards these children.”
Dame Rachel de Souza, England’s children’s commissioner
You can’t hurt to heal
Oasis Restore is a school not a prison. It asks not ‘what’s wrong with you?’ but ‘what’s happened to you?’.
Oasis Restore is founded on the belief that all behaviour is communication. Young people commit crimes not because they are inherently evil but because of unaddressed trauma. Punishment is not what leads to transformation, but love. Whilst our young people embrace the consequences of what they have done at Oasis Restore – the curtailing of their freedom is their punishment – they are not locked up 22 hours a day. You can’t hurt to heal.
As Oasis Founder Steve Chalke said in an interview with the Times: “We’re not a bunch of softies or happy-clappy hippies. What’s easy is locking a child in a cell for endless hours. All you need to be able to do is turn a key and have a cup of tea. What’s really hard, as every parent knows, is to sit with an anxious teenager. The whole thing is about trust. Everyone needs someone they can believe in and who can believe in them.”
“We’re not a bunch of softies or happy-clappy hippies. What’s easy is locking a child in a cell for endless hours. All you need to be able to do is turn a key and have a cup of tea.”
Oasis Founder Steve Chalke
A revolution in youth justice
Oasis Restore is designed to build this trust, from the physical building to the curriculum to the relationships formed between students and practitioners. There are no bars on the windows, there are teachers rather than guards, and young people are students not prisoners with bedrooms rather than cells. Yet, the environment is still highly secure.
Our students receive bespoke care plans tailored to their life experiences and learning styles — most are neurodiverse. We adopt a psychologically informed approach to care that helps our students address negative habitual behaviours, reducing the risk of future harm.
Practically, this looks like offering a rich curriculum where students can learn bricklaying and decorating at our workshop, music production in our recording booths, hair and beauty expertise at our salon as well as design and technology classes and cooking classes supported by Jamie Oliver, and much more!
One student burst into tears when he first arrived at Oasis Restore and saw the facilities and asked, “Am I allowed to use all these things? I don’t know why I’m crying but I’ve never been in a place like this.”
“I don’t know why I’m crying but I’ve never been in a place like this.”
Oasis Restore student
It is our hope that Oasis Restore is simply the beginning of a revolution that transforms the way society rehabilities young people — focusing on healing rather than punishment and bringing restoration rather than retribution.
Find out more: https://www.oasisrestore.org/