More trouble at the new Secure School. Ofsted visited in April after concerns were received about children’s safety and well-being. Inspectors found a high number of internal doors need to be replaced. This is because they are not sufficiently robust and "do not prevent children from passing through them when they are locked, particularly when children are upset or frustrated and are demonstrating this through their behaviour". Presumably they'd to all intents and purposes been kicked in.
This would be extraordinary enough given that nearly £40 million was spent fitting the premises out before it opened last summer.
But the inspectors go on to say that "several doors were badly damaged during a short period. This caused some anxiety for children and staff. There has been an increase in instances of children making weapons out of everyday items. Some children say that this is because they have not always felt safe recently."
This sounds a euphemism for serious disorder to me.
As a result the number of children living at the home run by Christian charity Oasis Restore has had to be reduced. There were just 9 when Ofsted inspected, when it should be taking 22 (and eventually 49). It looks like the Secure School currently has no Principal and no Registered Manager.
I have never visited the place but unlike some who work in the sector, I've always had worries about an organisation with no experience of secure care being able to cope let alone implement their lofty ambitions to revolutionize youth justice. In the same building 30 odd years ago, Medway Secure Training Centre (STC) suffered a serious disturbance not long after opening. Deja vu all over again?
Four years ago I wrote that "Given the inappropriateness of Young Offender Institutions and STCs, there is part of me that wishes this initiative well. But it looks too much like a risky experiment. Secure Childrens Homes already offer a proven model – it’s they which should be being scaled up. Instead the number of places has gone down. 235 last year compared to 250 in 2015 not long before the Secure School was dreamed up.