The boss of several secure re-educational centres in Spain says he was "disappointed" after hearing about England's first "secure school" shutting due to problems with violence.
Last month, it was announced Oasis Restore in Rochester would be temporarily closing after safety concerns were raised over children making weapons and kicking down doors.
It had promised "relentless love" instead of punishment for some of Britain's most violent 12 to 18-year-olds.
The government and NHS England ploughed £48 million into renovating the former Medway Secure Training Centre site.
The money was spent on replacing cells with bedrooms and guards with "restorative practitioners", and it opened last year.
But now, the school is temporarily closing and pausing placements after safety concerns were raised following a monitoring visit by Ofsted.
Oasis Restore says the problems stem from the "built environment and the effectiveness of internal doors" which they need to fix.
However, the decision will now mean children held there will be sent to other youth custody facilities.
David Maguire, Chief Executive of Diagrama Foundation, says he has "a lot of experience" running similar centres in Spain.
The non-profit organisation has been assisting vulnerable people since 1991, and has 32 centres in total, 17 of which are secure "re-education centres".
The small-scale residential facilities focus on educating young people and preparing them for release so they can reintegrate into their local communities.
Mr Maguire says Diagrama tendered to run the site in Rochester, however, their bid was unsuccessful.
He explained: "One of the reasons we were not awarded was because we have a model to run these types of centres, and the government wanted to look for a new model.
"I think they were concerned about our experience running schools because we run custodial centres."
He says the main difference between the approaches is the objective, adding: "In England and Wales, the focus is on punishment, while ours is more about rehabilitation.
"From day one, we are thinking about what needs to happen for them not to reoffend.
"Punishment or bad experiences shouldn't be in those centres, it should be an opportunity for them to realise that they have another chance".
Mr Maguire, who is based in Borough Green, says he was disappointed once he heard about the problems at Oasis Restore, adding it would be "quite unique" to have similar incidents at his sites.
He said: "You can go to any of our centres, anytime, and not one kid or not one member of staff will say that they feel unsafe.
"I was concerned when I found out because the system has failed these kids.
"When I say the kids should be punished, they should know that for anything they do, there are consequences like everybody else.
"However, inside the centre should be more about rehabilitation.
"Anyone who has kids knows that the schooling bit is the easy part. The most difficult part is to keep them engaged for the rest of the day.
"We don't want to make holiday camps for them. We want to give them an opportunity to realise what their future can be."
The revelations about Oasis Restore came as part of an exclusive investigation by Channel 4 News.
Staff told the network's investigation how there is rising disorder, assaults, broken doors and weapon-making.
There have also been managers instructing staff to allow convicts to stay out of their rooms and to play football outside for up to eight hours because they refuse to go to education or their rooms.
Mark Fairhurst, from the Prison Officers' Association, told the investigation how the school was "completely chaotic" and "out of control".
Problems with the design of the doors were not recognised until the site opened, and doors were discovered to be vulnerable to damage by children on site.
No damage was made to external doors or bedroom doors, which are a different design and remain secure.
Speaking about the closure previously, Oasis Trust boss Steve Chalke said: "These children have been punished by the combination of poverty, which is the underlying cause, by the developmental trauma that often goes with that, in lots of ways, and often by their neurodiversity - and you get that toxic mix.
"You can come and sit with these kids, and I'm telling you, which I'll probably get into trouble for saying on this interview, but I love them. They are great, they are good to be with.
"So closing for this pause is the hardest thing that an Oasis board has ever done. And to me, it's like a dagger through my heart, it really is.
"But we have to do it to get open again in a secure way where we can show that this model works, as all of the data will prove."
Mr Maguire says the people working in his centres have university degrees and act as role models to the children.
He added: "They are parenting these kids, showing them how to behave, how to manage expectations, how to manage frustrations, how to clean, and how to live a normal life.
"The data says that 82% of our kids reintegrate in the community, and 18% don't re-offend, while in the UK, it's quite different
"We also help them to find and keep a job outside and have opportunities work-wise, and we work very closely with the families."
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "We are taking the issues at the Secure School extremely seriously and we have been working with Oasis Restore to get them addressed.
"We are working at pace to fix doors, and we have now moved all children and young people to other secure settings."