Schools Safety and Cohesion Programme

The Schools Safety and Cohesion Programme has been developed as one of the London Youth Crime Prevention Board's (LYCPB) key measures for keeping young people safe.  The programme was piloted in 2008 and is now being rolled out in more schools across London.  It is being managed by GOL and the Youth Justice Board in partnership.

What is the programme about?

Recognizing schools' position as the universal safety net for young people, the Schools Safety and Cohesion Programme puts schools at the heart of crime reduction, providing a pupil-safety model that can be built into their culture. As a result of this work, for the first time, all London schools will have access to a single, comprehensive method for improving the way that they keep their pupils safe and, where necessary, out of trouble.

Pilots in 27 London schools, a combination of primary, secondary and faith schools, pupil referral units, have worked jointly with the police and a range of other partners to assess current practice with the aims of: 

• keeping young people safe
• keeping young people out of trouble 
• recognizing the positive contribution safe schools can make to their communities.
  
  Based on the OFSTED self-assessment framework for the inspection of schools, the Schools Programme for Safety and Cohesion has enjoyed early success, with pilot schools already having changed some of their day to day practices. These changes have fostered improved information sharing between partners and greater clarity about the support agencies can provide for young people to keep them safe.
  
  Its approach is based on:
• thorough assessments of what schools are doing to keep pupils safe and out of trouble
• close partnership working between police, schools and local agencies such as youth offending teams, children’s services and third sector agencies
• concrete action plans and a focus on delivery 
• close engagement with pupils and parents, particularly pupils at risk
• joint working to monitor the impact of the work and gain community recognition for it. 

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What do young people think?

Pupils from pilot schools across London helped LYCPB to develop the programme and have provided some key messages, such as: 

•Young people value opportunities to learn about personal safety and want channels for letting the police and others know where and when they feel safe or unsafe. They also want to see action that addresses their concerns.

• Young people welcome strategies for building positive relationships between pupils and police and value input from police officers within schools settings. This is a positive way of breaking down stereotypes and seeing officers as more approachable within reasonable boundaries. A uniformed presence can act as a deterrent to bad behaviour.

• Pupils often feel safe at school but worry about the journey to and from school, especially when travelling to another borough to receive their education. Young people see transport hubs as potentially dangerous areas, especially when pupils from neighbouring schools use similar transport routes.

• Mentoring schemes give pupils a point of contact to voice concerns and get support and advice regarding issues such as bullying. These can be more effective than a designated central contact or drop-in services.

• Young people value anonymity when reporting crime. Options for reporting crime or potential crime confidentially and getting confidential advice on issues such as bullying
and domestic violence are needed.

The programme is already starting to address some of these concerns, producing local action in response such as mapping youth crime data on transport routes and developing a credit system for mentoring and being positive role models.

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What next?

• Learning from the programme is now informing DCSF and Home Office guidance on Safer Schools Partnerships, to be published in spring 2009.

• London's lead ion this important issue is being followed by others - discussions are taking place about implementing the Schools safety and Cohesion Programme in other regions. 

• The programme will be implemented in Pupil Referral Units in London as part of London Councils' Back on Track initiative.

For further information dowload the Safer Young London report from this page or contact Richard Jolley on 0207 217 3761 richard.jolley@gol.gsi.gov.uk