‘We Are United’ is a national response to the rise in fear, scapegoating & hostility towards people from historically marginalised backgrounds. Register your early interest in organising a ‘We Are United’ event next Christmas! www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/oasis-st-martins-village-london-36481171

When the last carols have been sung, the work of Christmas begins. To ensure inclusion for the marginalised. To create liberty to the oppressed. To bring hope to the forgotten. To welcome the refugee. To seek justice for all. That’s the joy and the challenge of 2026!!

God of Love, at the beginning of this New Year, filled with the unknown, grant us the enthusiasm that trumps anxiety and opens up the road before us. As we traverse this new pathway, with its challenges and opportunities, grant us your wisdom, grace and courage.

Perhaps the deepest challenge of the Christmas story is to truly accept the ‘upside-downess’ of it all - the great reversal of the way God does things, the kind of people God gives leadership to & the way the old institutions are left either opposing them or trying to catch up!

“I bring you good news of great joy for ALL people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born”, said the angel. May God bless you this Christmas morning. With huge appreciation of all of you who are working or volunteering today or over the next few days to serve others.

Those shepherds heard the good news first. ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy for ALL people.’ God is the lover of all humanity regardless of class, sex, sexuality, gender orientation, disability, race, religion or any other characteristic. No fear, just love!

My favourite carol ‘O Holy Night’. Especially verse 3, too often dropped for being too political. “Truly he taught us to love one another; His law is love and his gospel is peace. Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother, And in his name all oppression shall cease.”

If we’re serious about tackling the rootcauses of misogyny, we must invest in empowering grassroots community groups, instead of bypassing them and then asking schools, who already give everything everyday to encourage their students to become their best selves, to do even more.

In my view, the main reason we’re living in an age of ‘over diagnosis’ of mental health issues, is because we have an ‘under investment’ in community development and well-being.

My kind of flag! We are better together!

Any expression of Christian Faith that makes us less respectful, less welcoming and less tolerant of those who are different from us, is a fake.

As the NHS struggles to cope with the surging flu outbreak, some suggest shutting schools as a fire break. But as Covid taught us, this would have huge ramifications for both children & families. That decision should only ever be taken if it has become impossible to staff a school safely.

When a child lacks security they come to school in search of what they are starved of. It’s only when a child enjoys security that they can come to school fully focussed on learning.

People are beginning to talk of shutting schools because of the severe flu outbreak. To shut a school is a decision with huge ramifications for hard-working families & children. We, at Oasis, would only make that move in a situation where a school has become impossible to safely staff.

Find out more about Oasis Belgium’s Ghaith Al-Nas (Rain for the People) work, supporting Palestinian families who have escaped Gaza & arrived in Belgium - offering them friendship, aid & practical help with appointments, schools & other vital services. oasisbe.com/ghaith-al-na...

As the govt pledges to end children growing up in B&Bs, we are already investing in houses for our pupils living in temporary housing which leaves them missing school, arriving late, tired & anxious & devastates their concentration, education, physical & mental health. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Kemi Badenoch branded last week’s budget-a 'Benefits Street Budget', referring to James Turner Street in Birmingham, which Channel 4 unkindly renamed. Well Oasis works there, our school is Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ & the community is a wonderful mix - just like any street in Britian!

Last Friday Kemi Badenoch said that welfare spending is unchristian. I see things very differently. The Bible consistantly presents society with the collective responsiblity to support the most vulnerable; to care for those unable to 'pull themselves up by their own bootstraps'.

Hope is more than an idea. It’s hard earned - makes demands on us, robust & fierce. It’s not the same as optimism. Optimism is empty - Chin up, look on the bright side, things can only get better. Hope is strategic & committed to others. It’s the warrior that conquers cynicism!

As a child I rarely read because I was told to. When I did I was bored! I read & still read when it enables me to fulfil my life goals. When we worry about the number of children not reading for pleasure, perhaps we also need to address what I think is a root cause; the issue of purpose & meaning!

At Oasis we are excited to announce plans for Big Education, the pioneering three-school trust to merge with us. Just like Oasis, Big Education has built an holistic, integrated model to child welfare & we are keen to learn even more from one another! 👇🏽 schoolsweek.co.uk/big-educatio...

Primary school tests (SATs) are often ‘devastating’ for children with special educational needs. We need ‘a more inclusive approach which incorporates the needs of the individual child’ says children's campaigner & BAFTA-winning actor Anna Maxwell Martin. news.sky.com/story/anna-m...

In order to thrive, a child needs a home where they feel safe and secure, as do parents, Insecure housing leads to an insecure & unhappy child. That is always a huge factor in terms of inhibiting their eduction & life opportunities. We want to change that! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

We all understand the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on their emotional, social and mental health. But what about the huge numbers that also suffer an ongoing Adverse System Experience!

Jesus is the Prince of Peace. You can’t legitimately use him or the Cross, the central symbol of the Christian faith, to promote division, fragmentation or polarisation, leaving many fearful simply because of their race, religion or sexuality. youtu.be/GpdCv5HDC8U

“Provision for RE in many schools…does not prepare pupils adequately for life beyond.” The Curriculum Review. Agreed! In my view, taught properly RE is about understanding the various worldviews that make up modern Britain & equipping students to live well. www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/202...

Good housing is essential for us all. It provides security & stability. For children it enables them to thrive in school & life. So my huge thanks to SASC who’ve just invested £2.135m into @Oasis_UK to help us provide such homes in Sheffield & Scunthorpe. newsfromthenorth.co.uk/2025/11/05/s...

‘Labour Dumbs Down Schools’. Rubbish! Labour’s Curriculum Review is designed to tackle the huge, widening disadvantage gap by equipping far more children with the skills & opportunities to thrive. Now, the task is to turn this vision into reality, by giving schools the resources to make it reality.

What makes for a successful education system? You can’t create an effective approach to teaching and learning for life around a school curriculum that only works for some. So as the saying goes “If the child doesn’t learn the way you teach, start teaching the way they learn.”

As knife crime rises, we have to wake up to the fact that it’s just a symptom of the underlying issue. So more ‘stop & search’ isn’t the answer (it creates more resentment). Instead it’s time to invest in the empowerment of local communities & the care & belonging it will create.

Education is about much more than school. A child is in school for under 20% of their time. So what we really need is an overarching, joined-up, inclusive, child-first vision. And then a long-term thoughtful plan to implement it.

As the saying goes “If the child doesn’t learn the way you teach, start teaching the way they learn.” Why? Because it’s impossible to create inclusion for all via a curriculum and a style of learning - a pedagogy - that only works for some.

When a child has experienced trauma, their behaviour isn’t a moral failing, it’s communication. The anger you see? That’s pain. The defiance? That’s fear. And the silence? That’s a survival strategy. None of this is about excusing bad behaviour. It’s about understanding it!

Why? Why is it that in the world’s 7th largest economy, which even now continues to grow, albeit at a modest pace, there is, at the same time, a forever decreasing amount of cash for public services or commitment to poorly served & therefore vulnerable individuals & communities?

You can’t build a successful education system around shame, embarrassment, detention & exclusion. You can’t create inclusion for all via a curriculum that only works for some. So as the saying goes “If the child doesn’t learn the way you teach, start teaching the way they learn.”

Today the King will unveil a memorial to LGBT+ personal serving in the Armed Forces, as well as celebrating those who served when it was illegal for them to be gay. The Armed Forces have long moved on but, as a Church leader, I regret that too many parts of the Church have not.

As a teenager all I learned from school was I was thick! But at my youth club I learned to play the guitar, I became a junior leader & I got the chance to travel. I felt trusted & empowered. Enrichment both ‘in’ & ‘beyond’ school is an essential part of education for every child.

Support for children with special educational needs in England is fundamentally flawed, a major new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) says!! I think we all know that and have known it for a very long time!! 😬😬😬

The deepest issue driving Gaza’s ongoing agony is not the anti-semitism that some harbour, as ugly as is, but a fundamentalism driven by an over-literalist interpretation of the Jewish Bible which suggests to ultra-nationalists it’s their God given job to conquer the land. Bad theology costs lives!

The new V-levels (vocational courses) for 16-18 year-olds will be a huge leap forward, not just for the wellbeing/ life opportunities of countless young people but also for our economy. And the idea of a creative alternative to resitting maths & English GCSEs is equally a liberation!

So happy to be a patron of @officialcpfc.bsky.social the extraordinary charity of Crystal Palace - FA Cup and Charity Shield winners this year - and that Oasis is a partner with them in creating innovative life changing opportunities for children and young people across South London.

“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” Desmond Tutu

In my view, the main reason we’re living in an age of ‘over diagnosis’ of mental health issues, is because we have an ‘under investment’ in community development and well-being.

This Thursday, one week on from the Manchester synagogue attack, we will take a moment to remember its victims and their families, and to stand with all those who live in fear of further attacks or reprisals. #britainstandstogether www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

We know that maintaining biodiversity is vital to the survival of humanity. It’s time that we celebrated & protected neurodiversity in the same way. At least 3m children in the UK are neurodiverse. Let’s support & empower them rather than place educational obstacles in their way.

We don’t see a child as a problem, instead we see potential. Oasis Villages; designed to work with children & young people struggling with mainstream school to offer them opportunity, skills & great life-choices. Find out more or get involved here: www.oasisuk.org/latest-news/...

Creating Oasis Village Wirral with Wirral LA will: Harness the dynamism & innovation of local charities & provide physical space for them to work & thrive. Support local schools by reducing barriers to education. Create career pathways for young people at risk of exclusion. Plus lots more!

“An Oasis Village is a proven cost-effective model for…genuine partnership with local people to transform the life opportunities of children, young people and their families, by empowering grassroots groups & ordinary people.” Cllr Julie McManus, Wirral Council www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/2550231...

I look forward to hearing more about the proposed idea of a reading test for year 8 secondary school children. However, all a poor test will prove is that our education system has failed to meet the child’s needs. So unless linked to a rethink around pedagogy it will achieve nothing.

The choice. Erika Kirk: “I forgive…because the answer to hate is love”. Donald Trump: “I hate my opponent. I don’t want the best for them.”