City school panels are extended to tackle youth crime

AN expansion has been carried out of school police panels in Coventry as part of a drive to prevent youth crime in the city.

Secondary school panels consisting of three regional panels launched 18 months ago in Coventry.

They include all school headteachers, police and other agencies to discuss families and violent crime.

But the scheme has been expanded to primary schools, aimed at Year 5 and 6 students, a council meeting was told.

It is one of a number of measures that form a wider 10-year multi-agency strategy to reduce youth crime in Coventry.

Speaking at a council scrutiny meeting one school headteacher told councillors it is helping share intelligence of children missing from school, or those involved in crimes or the threat of crime.

Paul Green, headteacher of Lyng Hall School, said: “There’s now a hugely positive relationship between schools and police, so much so that every school in the city - including primary panels now - is contributing to the employment of a full-time coordinator.

“During the last academic year schools in the city were aware of more than 1,000 instances of pupils being involved in crime, anti-social behaviour or being missing.

“That means when I receive that alert on a Monday morning about children being in trouble with the police the previous week, I can do some really positive work in my headteacher level with them and their families to ensure they don’t reoffend.

“That has been very successful and that has been extended now.”

As a result of work in the school panels, a new system has been implemented where schools are alerted “very quickly” when a child goes missing.

All secondary school staff have also been trained in identifying signs of gang behaviour.

The work was highlighted to councillors in a discussion on keeping young people safe in Coventry.

A 10-year prevention strategy seeks to tackle the root causes of crime, councillors were told, and includes agencies, police and the city council.

Building on work in schools, Kirston Nelson, the council’s director of education and skills, said a Supported Transfers programme launched last year has helped lead to a reduction in permanent exclusions, with 86 per cent of children now re-integrated into schools rather than hit with exclusion.

Other partner agencies including Positive Youth Foundation are helping to train 120 community members to act as mentors for young people.

“Community mentors are absolutely critical to this process,” said CEO Rashid Bhayat.