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Formation | 1985 |
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Founder | Steve Chalke |
Founded at | United Kingdom |
Type | Charitable organization |
Legal status |
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Area served | |
Services | |
Website | www |
"Oasis Charitable Trust, registered charity no. 1026487". Charity Commission for England and Wales. |
Oasis Charitable Trust, commonly known as Oasis, is a United Kingdom-based Christian registered charity. It was founded by the Reverend Steve Chalke in September of 1985. Chalke had been assistant minister at Tonbridge Baptist Church, Kent, for four years. He left this job with the aim of setting up a hostel for homeless young people. Oasis now has over 5,000 staff in the United Kingdom as well as thousands more volunteers.
Since its foundation Oasis has also developed into a family of charities now working on four continents (11 countries) around the world, with the goal of delivering housing, education, training, youthwork and healthcare. Oasis is now a voluntary sector provider, delivering services for local authorities and national governments, as well as self funded initiatives. [1]
Oasis currently works in 51 local neighbourhoods – 35 of which are in the United Kingdom.[ citation needed ]
In 2003, under Steve Chalke's leadership, Oasis became responsible for the buildings of Christ Church and Upton Chapel, in Waterloo, central London, and started working with the existing members there to form what was originally known as Church.co.uk. (now named Oasis Church, Waterloo).
Christ Church and Upton Chapel was founded as Surrey Chapel in 1783, and was to provide a major influence in the start of the ragged school movement – which provided schools for local children from poor homes – and also supported the birth of the Shaftesbury Society, the YMCA and the Bible Society. In the 1800s it was also influential in the anti-slavery movement; William Wilberforce and friends made its building a venue for many of their anti-slavery meetings, and its spire, built in 1867, is named the Lincoln Memorial Tower, donated in memory of Abraham Lincoln who was both inspired and supported by in his work to achieve the emancipation of the slaves of North America through the network of friends based in London. [2]
Since 2003 a wide range of community services focused on the half-mile radius around the building, have been developed including a children's centre, a primary school, a secondary school, various adult education opportunities, a food bank, a debt advice centre, a community farm, a coffee shop, as well as becoming responsible for the local public library and launching various other youth projects and programmes. [3]
Further Oasis churches have developed running alongside the communities of Oasis Academies in Salford, Oldham, Brightstowe, Bristol, Enfield, Southampton (Lord's Hill & Mayfield), Immingham and Wintringham. [4]
The Oasis church network has five values which are at the heart of their work: inclusion, interdependence, intimacy, involvement and influence. [5]
Stop The Traffik is one of the Oasis subsidiary charities. It is a coalition working in nearly 100 countries and in partnership with multiple other charitable organisations, businesses and anti-trafficking agencies with the goal of disrupting and preventing human trafficking. [6]
Oasis Community Housing delivers services for vulnerably housed and homeless people, in the North East as well as in South London. Annually it supports over 1000 people with housing needs. [7]
Oasis Community Learning [8] is a multi-academy trust and one of Oasis Trust's subsidiary charities. It has an UID of 4076 [9] It acts as an umbrella group to govern the Oasis Academies which are schools classed as academies. The first three Oasis academies in Enfield Lock, Grimsby and Immingham, opened in September 2007, with six more, two in Bristol, two in Southampton, two in Croydon and one in Salford, opening in September 2008. Since then, Oasis has grown to be one of the country's largest Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) and is currently responsible for 53 schools around England; a mix of primary, secondary and all-through academies. [10]
The trust have guided forty schools out of special measures. Chalke says "Turning round a school is sometimes a quick fix, it really, truly is. And sometimes it’s a really long, hard, hard job". A few schools have been problematic for decades, according to Chalke. [11]
Oasis has a long-term strategy for enhancing the performance of its schools. Firstly it has devised a standard curriculum. Secondly it has invested in staff training, and thirdly, through its Horizons scheme it is providing each member of staff and student with a tablet. [12]
Horizons is a scheme to upskill each adult and child in the Oasis Community Learning group by loaning them an Apple iPad tablet so they can access enhanced on-line learning both together in class and at home. [14] Oasis explains that this
Oasis took over the management of the Medway Secure Training Centre (Medway Children's Prison) from G4S and HM Prisons Service; the facility was scheduled to reopen in March 2021. [16] The focus will be on rehabilitation not retaliation and the children and young people will be called students, not prisoners or inmates. Through education and a co-curriculum, Oasis hopes to develop a pathway for them towards that day that they can follow after they leave. There will be capacity for 64 students aged between 12 and 17 who may be staying from a few days to several years. [11]
In June 2019 the Ministry of Justice announced that they had awarded Oasis the long-term contract to run the UK's first ‘Secure School’. Chalke explains that Oasis will offer a therapeutically informed education and health care based alternative to youth prison. He also recognises that "The challenge is huge...we have been given a massive responsibility. I realise that the reputation of the Ministry of Justice and the reputation of the whole of Oasis depends on this." [17] The Oasis Secure School, which will be known as Oasis Restore, will occupy the site of the Medway Secure Training College (formerly known as Borstal) which was previously run by G4S until 2016 when a BBC Panorama documentary exposed the level of drugs and violence in the jail and the government removed their contract. [18] Oasis Restore will open at the end of May 2024.
Stephen John Chalke is a British Baptist minister, the founder of the Oasis Charitable Trust, a former United Nations' Special Adviser on Human Trafficking and a social activist.
Oasis Academy MediaCityUK is a co-educational secondary school for 11-16 year olds in Salford Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The school is an academy run by Oasis Community Learning, a multi-academy trust. The buildings date from 2012. It has had a turbulent history but is now classed by Ofsted as a "Good" school.
United Learning is a group of state-funded schools and fee-paying private schools operating in England. United Learning is the trading name for United Church Schools Trust (UCST) and United Learning Trust (ULT). It is one of the largest 10 charities with the most employees in the UK, with central offices in Peterborough, London and Salford. It is governed by a board of trustees and run by an executive team. In 2012, ULT and UCST rebranded to operate under one name, United Learning. They legally remain as two separate charities.
Oasis Academy Sholing, previously known as The Sholing Technology College and, before that, Sholing Girls' School, is an academy school in east Southampton, Hampshire, in the south of England. The school is for girls and boys aged 11 to 16 years. The school was founded as Sholing Middle Road Girls' School between 1910 and 1912. It became a specialist technical college in 2003, though still remained a girls school. It became an Oasis Charitable Trust academy in September 2018 with a mixed boys and girls entry.
Groundwork UK is an environmental organisation in the United Kingdom. It is based in Birmingham and is a registered charity under English law.
Oasis Academy Coulsdon, formerly known as Coulsdon High School, is a school in the London Borough of Croydon, England. It is between the area of Coulsdon and Caterham. It is an academy run by the Christian charity Oasis Trust. The conversion to an academy in 2008 attracted a £20 million investment over five years by the government, via the Oasis Trust.
Oasis Academy Mayfield is a city academy in Southampton, England, run by Oasis Community Learning with approximately 900 pupils.
Oasis Academy Brightstowe is a secondary school with academy status in Bristol, England. It opened in September 2008 in the buildings of the former Portway Community School.
Oasis Academy Hadley is an all-through academy school located in the Ponders End area of the London Borough of Enfield, England run by Oasis Community Learning. It is the second Oasis academy in London and has close links with Oasis Academy Enfield. It opened on 7 September 2009. It opened in the existing buildings of Albany School and the Primary Phase opened its reception class in September 2010. Mid January 2013, the new building in Ponders End was opened.
Oasis Academy Lord's Hill is an Academy situated in the city of Southampton, Hampshire and specialises in Arts. Oasis Academy Lord's Hill replaced Millbrook Community School and Oaklands Community School which both closed in August 2008.
Oasis Academy Shirley Park is a mixed all-through school located within the Ashburton Learning Village complex in the Woodside area of Croydon, Greater London, England.
Oasis Academy Oldham is a coeducational secondary school with academy status for 11- to 16-year-olds in the Hollinwood area of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England.
Oasis Academy Enfield is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in the Enfield Lock area of Enfield, England.
Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located over two sites in Minster-on-Sea on the Isle of Sheppey in the English county of Kent. It is currently managed by the Oasis Community Learning Multi-academy Trust.
Oasis Academy Immingham is a coeducational secondary school with academy status located in Immingham, North East Lincolnshire, England.
Oasis Academy Arena is a coeducational secondary school located in the South Norwood in Greater London, England. It is part of Oasis Community Learning.
Oasis Academy Silvertown is a coeducational secondary free school located in North Woolwich in Newham, in London, England. It is part of the Oasis Community Learning. It opened to pupils in September 2014. It moved to this site in September 2016, and will move to its permanent home, in Silvertown in 2022. It was rated 'Good' in its first Ofsted inspection in 2017.
Oasis Academy Leesbrook is coeducational secondary school located in the Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It is part of the Oasis Community Learning. It opened to pupils in September 2018. It moved to its new site on 9 November 2020. It has not had its first Ofsted inspection.
Oasis Academy South Bank is a free school in Lambeth, London, England. It is coeducational secondary school with sixth-form opened and run by Oasis Community Learning. It opened to pupils in September 2013 and was fully operational by September 2016. Oasis Academy South Bank was rated 'Outstanding' in its first Ofsted inspection.