Key partnership links with police and local schools

Youth Engagement Officers

Youth Engagement Officers are allocated to different areas across Warwickshire. Their role is to proactively engage with primary and secondary schools and young people through educational packages delivered in the form of presentations, workshops and assemblies.

They are able to deliver a number of key subject areas, safety messages and guidance including Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), Drugs/Alcohol, Hate and Knife Crime, Gangs, Sexting, Prevent Radicalisation and much more. For a full list and further details on what can be delivered please see the portfolio at the end of this article.

Youth Engagement Officers are not able to deal with crimes or incidents that have occurred in school because of the size of the geographical area they cover. However, the advice to schools is to continue to use 101 in non emergencies or 999 in an emergency and to report other incidents such as safeguarding incidents through normal procedures.

Youth Engagement Officers in your area:

North Warwickshire (covers Nuneaton, Bedworth, Rugby, Atherstone, Coleshill, Kingsbury and Polesworth) -  PC Lee Marston and PCSO Carly Davis.

South Warwickshire - PC Darren Lund, PSCO Sarah Louise Lighgow and PCSO Robbie Williams

 Alongside this role, these officers are also the Cadet Leaders for their area being responsible for the learning and development of Police Cadets over a two year cadetship. Each year the scheme recruits 14 new cadets. Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police Cadets is a volunteer scheme for young people who wish to gain a practical understanding of policing and develop their spirit of adventure and good citizenship.

If you would like more information about the cadets click here. Cadets are recruiting now- please click here for more information

Safer School PCSOs

PC Lee Marston and PCSO Carly Davis have been in post since May 2016 and with support from Safer-School officers they have delivered topics to a total of 6850 young people to date. Currently there are three Safer School PCSOs for North Warwickshire who are:

• PCSO Joanne Jackson covering Rugby
• PCSO Leigh Chapman covering Bedworth and Nuneaton
• PCSO Jessica Eales covering Hartshill, Atherstone, Polesworth and Coleshill

In 2017, Warwickshire Police are looking to recruit an additional 2 Safer School PCSOs. All the Safer Schools PCSOs work very closely with Youth Engagement and can also deliver educational packages delivered in the form of presentations, workshops and assemblies.

Officers within the Safer Schools and Youth Engagement Team in North Warwickshire have developed some key partnership links within local education organisations. With these key partnerships, they have a vision of developing links and partnerships with all the secondary schools within North Warwickshire and building links with feeder schools and other youth organisations. The aim of these partnerships is to develop better relationships with young people and break down barriers and stereotypes. This is done with a view of assisting schools and organisations in delivering key safety and prevention messages and advice in a safe learning environment. Subjects can be adapted for all age groups from primary school to secondary schools and colleges.

It should not be regarded by any school, teacher, parent or pupil, that engagement with the team is due to a failing school, troublesome school, or a school that has more issues than any other. The scheme is a partnership and there to build relationships, break down barriers and assist with the delivery of key messages.

The team are able to deliver a number of key subject areas, safety messages and guidance as below. Other areas can be delivered on request.

• Alcohol
• Anti-social behaviour
• Bonfire and Halloween
• Bullying
• Careers
• Courts
• Crimes
• Child sexual exploitation (CSE)
• Cyber crime and internet safety
• Domestic abuse
• Drugs
• Female genital mutilation (FGM)
• Gangs
• Hate crime
• Knife crime
• Law and police processes
• Personal safety
• Prison, me no way
• Protective behaviours
• Road safety
• Sexting
• Smoking
• Stop, Think, Act, Reflect (S.T.A.R)
• Prevent radicalisation

Working in partnership with Ofsted, Warwickshire County Council, PSHE Association, Department for Education.