The boss of the country's first "secure school" is confident it will set an example by transforming how young offenders are rehabilitated through education and mental support instead of punishment.

The Rev Steve Chalke, founder of the Oasis Charitable Trust, is responsible for establishing Oasis Restore secure school, which will be based in Rochester.

The Ministry of Justice says the £8.5 million educational prison, based on the site of the now closed Medway Secure Training Centre in Rochester, will see young offenders go straight from the courtroom to the classroom, with every single pupil enrolled in formal education or training and encouraged into further learning or employment on release.

Building works started in May and will continue until next October.

People living nearby are being urged to complete a questionnaire about it and even get involved in volunteering when it opens.

The religious organisation which runs the Oasis Academy on the Isle of Sheppey, promises to bring a clean slate for what once was a scandal-hit youth jail.

"It's vital we change all of its old form. We've had a theory of justice in this country, which hasn't caught up with our understanding of what's called neuroscience," Mr Chalke said.

"What that means is that in the last 25 years we've learned more about our brains, what makes us tick and what makes us act and react and respond than we've ever known in human history.

"But we have a justice system that's not linked to any of that development.

"So now we know that a child's anti-social behaviour is normally trauma-driven. Some children are in a hyper-stress state for the whole of their life because of the violence they've seen, the abuse they've known, the neglect they've been through.

"What we therefore need to do is rather than punish them, we need to make them secure so they can't be any more harm to themselves or others."

Staff will be trained to offer a broad curriculum and one-to-one learning support, setting challenging targets in core subjects such as English and maths.

Ofsted inspectors will hold the establishment to the same standards as all other schools nationwide, in an effort to ensure education is of the best possible standard.

Mr Chalke said: "This isn't about taking away freedom, it's about giving. Oasis Restore is about restoration. It's not about retribution, it's not about punishment, it's about wellbeing and health.

"And that requires specialist staff, so there'll be no guards, there won't be prison officers. We are not going to have officers with big belts, with keys on and uniforms.

"We are going to staff ourselves with teachers and youth workers with psychologists and therapists, all of whom are trained to a high level in therapeutic care for children."

He added: "We have also got a virtual survey running at the moment to gauge more support and also for people to ask their questions and get involved. We are looking for volunteers, actually volunteers that will come in and play football with these kids, or chess with these kids, or sit and watch a film with these kids, talk with these kids."

Since 2012 the number of children in custody has fallen from around 2,000 in 2012 to around 500, but young offenders are around 50% more likely to reoffend than adult offenders.

Though reoffending rates for children who received custodial or community sentences have fallen from 38% in 2012 to 34% in 2022 they remain nearly nine percentage points higher than adult reoffending.

Mr Chalke said the school cannot assure a complete success rate but is confident many youngsters will be helped.

He said: "I'm not suggesting that we will have a 100% success rate. I'm not suggesting it won't be difficult, but I am saying that at the moment we do not have a system that works at all.

"And when we say, well lock 'em up and throw away the key. Well, how long do we lock people up for and how long do we throw away the key for? My concern is just as much for the victims of crime as it is for these young people who've committed crime.

"I've often been criticised for the fact that when I'm asked what our strategy is, I say relentless love. People say to me, 'well, that's a bit soft, that's a bit easy'. My response is, no, it's easy locking kids inside a cell for 12 to 18 hours a day. Anyone can turn a key in and lock a child up.

"But you're not protecting them and you're not protecting society. And they will re-emerge as angry as they went in and as traumatised as they went in with, as anti-social behaviour patterns as they went in. But love changes things. Every young person wants to be seen, heard, understood."

Oasis Restore will house 49 children when full, and will include "state-of-the-art, bar-less windows" as well as the latest secure in-room technology to allow children to continue homework, organise routines and contact families in a safe and secure way, from their rooms.

Construction work will continue until autumn 2023 when the site will be handed over to Oasis Restore, with the first pupils expected to arrive in 2024.