Schools ‘need help to end city knife crime’

SCHOOLS MUST stop being isolated and start working with the council, police and communities to tackle knife crime, warns a senior Sheffield councillor.

Coun Jayne Dunn, Sheffield City Council’s cabinet member for education, says many local schools have severed all links with the council since becoming academies. But she warns they must work in partnership as the city grapples with the growing issue of knife crime.

Coun Dunn wants Year 7 pupils, those in the first year of secondary school, to be educated about the danger of knives.

And she wants to introduce a citywide protocol which parents, teachers and the council can follow if there are any serious incidents at schools, such as the recent mass brawl at Fir Vale School. “The role that education and our schools play here is vitally important,” she said. “Our aim is to make sure that all Y7s and above have an awareness of knife crime and what can happen if they make the wrong decisions. “We know with gang violence that they target vulnerable children and that’s why I’m keen to get information into schools. There is a lot of work on Child Sexual Exploitation but there is a different kind of grooming where gangs try to get younger boys involved in crime. “I can’t force schools because they have autonomy but I think parents will be on board with me and I would challenge any school that doesn’t want to participate.”