He never thought he’d “work for the man”, he said, but added “this is where the real challenge is; these are the children who have been failed by everyone and my job is to help them begin their upward climb”. I thought Chris was outstanding.
Oakhill had been in special measures for months due to multiple failings as a secure establishment. A new broom, G4S, had been brought in to clear out a failing regime and, using their experience of running children’s homes, to recruit a different workforce, motivated to working with children in trouble.
Initially, it appeared that Oakhill was on an improving trajectory. This was certainly the view of Ofsted up to 2017. But an “urgent notification” to improve issued by inspectorates this year suggests Oakhill has gone backwards. Rainhill Secure Training Centre followed this course a year before and now sits empty, it’s future uncertain.
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