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Community policing and schooling webcast
Thursday, 21 January, 2010.
Transcript
Kash Walayat, OBE, set up an event at Brinsworth Howarth Primary School to demonstrate how bringing together pupils, parents, teachers, the police and agencies helps develop good community links and builds positive relationships.
Maxine Crawford, Headteacher, Brinsworth Howarth Primary School: As a new headteacher I wanted to have an opportunity where I could bring the community together. The activities are involving our children in foundation so that's our youngest F2 and F1 children, so as young as four years old, with their parents being invited to come and do what we call 'stay and play'.
Joanne Cook, teacher, Brinsworth Howarth Primary School: I think to involve parents is key in these events. We are really trying to develop our work with parents at school because we see them as part of the children's learning and I think to be involved in fun activities based around the community is a good way to introduce parents to get involved in their children's learning. We started the day this morning with a range of activities outdoors and in the classroom based around people who help us. We have been looking at role play areas based around police stations and vets' surgeries but we have also had visits previously from doctors and nurses.
Child 1: Today we've got all the police activities. We've got, like, police cars and we've got police motorbikes and police cars. We've got the big Lego and even we are going to build some things.
Child 2: I would like to be a police lady.
Child 3: And there's a helicopter landing on the field!
Police Helicopter Pilot: Anyone else got a question?
Children's voices: Me! Me! Me!
Police Helicopter Pilot: You first, then you. Go on, what?
Child 4: Why have you got that helmet?
Police Helicopter Pilot: I've got that helmet because did you hear how noisy it was when we landed?
Children: Yes.
Police Helicopter Pilot: It was really noisy wasn't it?
Kash Walayat OBE: Project Leader: I've set this project up on a voluntary basis to show how, working with the police and with the local schools, we can develop that trust and partnership working. I think the school is the heart of the community and this establishes that within the community. Today what we're showing is working in partnership with the police, it's not just about crime but it's about helping the community working with them to develop those young children so when they grow up they have a memorable experience of the police therefore making them hopefully better citizens.
Helen Scothern: South Yorkshire Police Air Operations: Today we're here to show all the children the police helicopter. A lot of the time this can be the first interaction that children have with a police officer and we like it to be positive, we like them to come and see the helicopter to enjoy everything that we can show to them and also if they do hear the helicopter or see it flying around where they live that they won't be frightened, that they know that we're there probably helping somebody or trying to stop somebody from being hurt. We want them to know that we're very approachable, that they can come up and tell us things and ask us questions and they get to know a little bit more about what we do so when they see us they're not frightened of us and they're more than happy to come and talk to us.
Parent 1: Today's event was really good. I mean, I haven't seen anything like that in my lifetime and for children to be able to see things like that at this age I think is amazing. What did you enjoy about today?
Child 5: I liked the helicopter.
Parent 1: Did you like the helicopter? Did you like waving to them? It was exciting, wasn't it? It was windy when they were landing!
Child 5: Yep.
Inspector Richard Scholey: Safer Neighbourhood Team: We run an 'adopt a school' scheme where Police Community Support Officers are allocated to each and every primary school in the Borough of Rotherham and we send our PCSOs into school on a regular basis to work with the children and to support the teachers in delivering some of the lessons but also just to build relationships with young people. Schools are a major part of our local communities. The fabric of the building provides facilities that we can use. The teachers are often members of the local community themselves and of course the children who attend the schools are our citizens of today and tomorrow and for us it's really important to build those relationships at an early age to instil a sense of confidence in the police service and for young people to know that as they go through we are no enemy of young people, that we're there to help them they are as much a part of the community as anyone else and we want them to understand that. The kids have obviously been enthralled by it and I don't think that my hat's been worn by more children in one day than it has today. I really don't!
Parent 2: Did you enjoy the police car? What did you enjoy about the police car?
Child 6: When we got to go inside.
Parent 2: You enjoyed sitting in the police car. What about the helicopter? Did you enjoy that?
Child 6: Yeah.
Maxine Crawford, Headteacher, Brinsworth Howarth Primary School: The Police Community Support Officer, Tony Brown, has been exceptionally supportive to my school and to my community and children now from my school they know Tony Brown and when they see him out and about they acknowledge him and say 'hello' and so it is promoting a safe environment, promoting our children to be good citizens so it's a whole package really it's not just an enjoyable day, but the education and the learning that goes on with it as well is outstanding.
Joanne Cook, teacher, Brinsworth Howarth Primary School: I think it's been fantastic. The excitement from the children was evident right from the beginning of the day and we've been doing a topic about people who help us in the community because we really want to forge links with the community and make the children see themselves as part of the wider community. Seeing the children's faces as the helicopter approached from ahead and came down in front of them you know giving them the real life experiences of what we're talking about in school was fantastic and I think it will be a memorable day for those children probably for the rest of their lives.
Kash Walayat OBE: Project Leader: Following the huge success of the project I visited David Bell just to see what his thoughts were regarding the project and some of the good work that had taken place. Hello, David.
David Bell — Permanent Secretary, Department for Children, Schools and Families: Good to see you again, Kash.
Kash Walayat OBE: Project Leader: Thank you for taking the time out to -
David Bell — Permanent Secretary, Department for Children, Schools and Families: A pleasure.
Kash Walayat OBE: Project Leader: - be involved in these innovative projects. So I just wanted to get some of your thoughts and some of your views about the project and some of the things that we've done within them.
David Bell — Permanent Secretary, Department for Children, Schools and Families: The basic principle of agencies working together for the benefit of children and families is something that underpins the Children's Plan. We want all of those agencies to find ways of working together. This seems to be a great example. I mean, here you've got schools working with the police service but doing it in a way that as you say is very very memorable. I mean, if you had a Community Police Officer come into the school and give a lesson that's great but if you've got the police helicopter come in and you've got police officers coming out and you've got all the glamour and excitement it's a great way in to lessons and it's a great way in to building that trust that you described.
