A new educational resource for children covering knife crime and related topics has been launched by the Pan-Staffordshire Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Education Service.
Funded by the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Violence Reduction Alliance, the resource has been created to support children and young people to nurture the skills, empathy and resilience needed to avoid becoming involved in knife crime and feel equipped to make safe, healthy and informed choices.
Deputy Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire & Rescue and Crime David Evans is co-chair of the Violence Reduction Alliance. He said: “Preventing and protecting is one of the key priorities in the Commissioner’s Police & Crime Plan, so I am pleased the VRA has been able to fund a new resource to help protect children from knife crime.
“Knife crime has devastating, long lasting effects on individuals and communities, which is why it’s important that we continue to talk to children about living safely. I encourage education providers to utilise the resource and continue to have these all-important conversations with children to protect them from harm.”
Commissioned by the Staffordshire Commissioner’s Office, the PSHE Education Service aims to support the education of every child across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent and empower educators to develop and deliver quality and consistent PSHE education.
The Knife Crime Education Pack includes resources to help educate children with a range of abilities and needs. The pack forms part of the service’s Resource Library which includes both local and national resources designed to support children to stay healthy and prepare them for life and work.
The PSHE Education Service is hosted by Staffordshire Council of Voluntary Youth Services (SCVYS). SCVYS Chief Executive, Phil Pusey said: “Our PSHE coordinators are excited to have created this new comic book resource supported by young people’s and education providers feedback.
“The comic book, as part of a wider series, will really help bring the subject to life for local children and young people, supporting learning and enabling better informed decision-making.”
Staffordshire Police Knife Crime Lead, Chief Inspector Dave Barrow said: “This new PSHE resource is a practical step forward in our collective approach to reducing knife harm. It complements policing activity by equipping teachers and youth workers with age-appropriate material to build resilience, empathy and safer decision-making among young people.
“Prevention, education and early intervention are central to keeping our communities safe. We will continue to work with the Violence Reduction Alliance, schools and partners to ensure these conversations reach those who need them most.”
Professionals and education providers can access the Knife Crime Education Pack via the PSHE Education Service Resource Library: https://pshestaffs.com/login/
