Secure schools will not look like jails, ministers pledge

SECURE schools which will replace young offender institutions will have “minimal” visible security, ministers have decided.

The Ministry of Justice says the schools, which will take offenders aged 12 to 17, should not look like prisons, although there will be fences and CCTV.

Instead, they should look similar to normal schools and give “a therapeutic environment in a secure setting”.

Plans to create the new schools were announced in 2016 after a review called for fundamental change to the youth custody system.

The report found children in young offender institutions were only getting 15 hours of education a week, compared with the expected 30 hours.

The new schools, which will have 60 to 70 places each, will be built by the Ministry of Justice but run by newly established secure academy trusts.

Philip Lee, the justice minister, said that the schools would have both indoor and outdoor sports facilities and physical activity would be “key to a productive day in custody”.