Home Office Good Practice Seminars
Violent Crime Seminar
Workshop 2
"Watch Over Me": personal safety and children
Sharon Doughty, Missdorothy.com, Anthony Wills, former Metropolitan Police Borough Commander, Hammersmith & Fulham, Sally Dowler, Milly's Fund
Workshop Format
The format for this workshop was different to the usual. After a general introduction to the workshop by Anthony, participants were asked to "boardstorm" a range of topics which may be of concern to children/young people. Topics raised included:
Bullying
Influence of, and need for positive role models in, television
(Not) being listened to
Parental reassurance/education/ resonsability and role models
Cultural issues/identity
Peer pressure
Drugs/alcohol
Domestic violence and child abuse (the effects on children)
Internet grooming
Weapons
Bereavement
Normal behaviour vs anti-social behaviour (ie. adult perceptions of how children should behave)
Youth groups
Fear of Crime amongst children/young people
Groupwork
Participants were then split into 4 groups, with each group being tasked to discuss 1 of the top 4 topics raised from the list above. They were asked to define current issues and future strategies in relation to the topic. Outputs from the groups were as follows:
Bullying
Current Issues | Future Strategies |
Lack of power for teachers to deal with bullies. | Counsellors available at youth groups. |
Uniforms not standardised. | Helping children to be aware not afraid. |
Bullying taking place off school premises. | Parental contacts. |
| Bring your parents to school day. |
| Posters around schools. |
| Creating "Friendship Stops" or "Buddy Benches" at school (NSPCC programme alongside work in schools with teachers and children). |
Fear of Crime
Current Issues | Future Strategies |
Young peoples' perception of risk and tolerance of crime may result in low reporting of crime against them. | Improve access to facilities and identify/address barriers. |
Restrictions in activities (due to parental fears) may result in fewer learning opportunities. | Developing coherent strategies to deal with pupils excluded from school. |
Crime & Disorder audits and strategies rarely address children/young peoples' needs or do not ask the right questions. | Promote Citizenship Education |
Domestic Violence and Child Abuse
Current Issues | Future Strategies |
Clarifying the links between domestic violence and child abuse. | Development/improvement in supporting children and teachers. |
Information/work packs often remain unused in schools. | Improved inter-agency information sharing. |
Use of the PHSE/Citizenship curricula. | Counsellors trained PROPERLY to work with children/young people. |
Dealing with childhood trauma effectively. | Diversity training. |
Teachers are often reluctant to raise sensitive issues and may not have training/back up to deal with disclosure |
|
Drugs etc.
Current Issues | Future Strategies |
Some good practice but not nationally coordinated. | The strategy appears to not fit for practice. |
Disparity in quality and availability of services. | Any future strategy must mesh with other, related strategies. |
School Liaison Officers are not properly targeted and information sharing is poor. |
|
Age limits exclude potential service users. |
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Links
"Missdorothy.com" website address: http://www.missdorothy.com/
"Milly's Fund" website address: http://www.millysfund.org.uk
Last update: 28/01/04