All schools throughout England should sign up to Safer School Partnerships to support young people, improve community safety and tackle crime, said Ed Balls the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families and Jacqui Smith the Home Secretary.
A recent survey of police forces suggests there are now over 5000 schools that are part of Safer School Partnerships (SSPs), which is ten times more than previous estimates. The ACPO survey indicates that about 20 per cent of primary schools and 45 per cent of secondary schools in the country are involved in some sort of SSP provision or other similar formal arrangements with the police.
Updated guidance launched in May by the Government, ACPO and the Youth Justice Board seeks to help teachers, police and communities set up SSPs – a formal agreement between the school, police and other agencies to work together to keep young people safe and improve behaviour. This builds on actions outlined in the Depoartment for Education’s Youth Crime Action Plan last year to support schools in preventing and tackling crime, racism, violent extremism, weapons, illegal drugs and gang culture.
On a visit to a SSP in the West Midlands on May 11, Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families said: “It’s great news that over 5000 schools are already involved in Safer School Partnerships (SSPs) but I want every school to work with the police to keep young people safe and prevent problems with youth crime before they escalate. Safer School Partnerships are not just for schools with serious behavioural problems or in challenging areas – we want all pupils to feel safe in their community.
“We have heard from heads and teachers that SSPs are improving behaviour and attendance. But there are other benefits for young people – a positive role model in their SSP officer, learning about the work of the police and being given the chance to voice their concerns about local issues. This will help them develop into young adults who care about the communities they live in.”
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said: "We know that prevention is vital in stopping young people from getting involved in bad behaviour in the first place. Safer School Partnerships (SSP) reduce the risks of young people turning to crime and antisocial behaviour. This new guidance will help schools, police forces and other local partners to work together to develop and expand SSPs to help keep our young people safe.
"I want to ensure our young people are offered as much protection from crime as possible — while they are often blamed for causing crime the reality is they are more likely to be victims than perpetrators. Developing good relationships between young people and the police is essential to achieving that goal. That is why we are publishing this guidance and urging every school to get involved."
Rod Jarman, ACPO lead for Safer Schools Partnership and Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner, said: "Police officers working in schools and local communities have an important role in ensuring children and young people are not victimised and bullied. Safer Schools Partnerships have helped to make the schools and the surrounding area safer places, evidenced through significant reductions in crime and antisocial behaviour and greater confidence of young people that police will deal with their issues. Through these Partnerships we are also better able tackle the causes of violent extremism and to deal with specific issues that are of concern to young people such as bullying, weapons, drugs, alcohol and gang culture.”
Graham Robb, YJB Board member, said: “The Youth Justice Board (YJB) warmly welcomes the new SSP guidance which will help schools, police, youth offending teams and children’s services learn from more than seven years of success. SSPs have been a success because Headteachers and Police Commanders saw that pupils, staff and parents are reassured by the visible sign of agencies working together to keep pupils safe and to prevent crime. Extending SSPs is a key part of the prevention track of the Youth Crime Action Plan. We will continue to play our part in promoting SSPs alongside our national partners in ACPO and in our work with Youth Offending Teams and Local Authorities.”
The guidance highlights about SSPs:
•Pupils feel safer and receive support if they have been victims of crime and anti-social behaviour;
•Positive relationships between pupils and the police, helping young people learn more about what the police do in the community and how they can avoid being drawn into crime and anti-social behaviour;
•Improved pupil behaviour and attendance, and fewer exclusions;
•More support and challenge for pupils at risk of offending or susceptible to violent extremism or gang culture;
•Specialist support in dealing with screening pupils for weapons; and
•Helping everyone in the school community feel safe and improving relations generally between young people and the wider local community.
