Stevenage Police are working alongside North Hertfordshire College and seven secondary schools in Stevenage on a project known as ‘Operation Educ8’. A pioneering new initiative to safeguard young people within our community against current issues and threats from county lines drugs, gangs, knife crime, domestic abuse and online safety issues.
Operation Educ8 aims to provide an engaging educational and safeguarding programme to enable students to stay well aware of current affairs and issues that are vital for their safety, through a series of workshops, which will be delivered in schools to all year 8 pupils and all student groups at the college.
The first of the workshops took place on Thursday 23rd January with criminologist and urban youth specialist, Craig Pinkney talking to students about gangs and knife-crime. Domestic abuse will be the next subject to be tackled in March.
Head of Student Experience at NHC, Claire Cooper said:
“We have come together and created this fantastic initiative. Stevenage police are a very proactive force and wanted to find a solution to addressing the key issues our young people face. Working with each secondary school and the college, the police have outlined the issues and we, as educators, have created a series of interactive workshops which are delivered in the classroom. This means every student gets up to date information about each topic, the risks to them, how to keep safe and where to find support. Crucially, the staff team are also up to date with these topics and can help students to access the support they need.”
The Operation Educ8 initiative has encouraged other communities to replicate this programme with other police forces and schools, delivering an effective method of communicating with young people and educating them on their well-being and safety.
Stay connected with the safeguarding initiative and give them a follow on Twitter: @operationeduc8