Clifton Green Primary School community day with police

Clifton Green Primary School in Kingsway North has been working closely with North Yorkshire Police as part of the ‘Connecting Clifton’ campaign, said headteacher Nicola Adams.

The force have been carrying out a crackdown on organised crime and anti-social behaviour in the area under the Home Office led ‘Clear Hold Build’ strategy and the local campaign – also involving community groups, local councillors and neighbouring forces – is the first of its kind in North Yorkshire.

ACC Catherine Clarke answered questions from pupils at the assembly and talked about the varied roles within the force (Image: Kevin Glenton) Mrs Adams added that many of the officers on stage and in workshops were female, saying many pupils see the police force as a place where males work and the school wanted them to see that women have a strong presence and power, particularly in the local force.

Assistant Chief Constable Catherine Clarke joined the headteacher in a school assembly with colleagues including Detective Superintendent Fran Naughton, sergeants, police and community support officers (PCSO), a youth justice police officer and schools officers who also work with staff at Clifton Green.

Head girl Libby and head boy Antoni prepared a list of questions including what the most and least enjoyable aspects of police roles were, their favourite places to work and the funniest thing they’ve had to deal with in their careers.

Antoni asked police officers questions he prepared especially for the assembly (Image: Kevin Glenton) ACC Clarke said a call to reports of an escaped tiger on the loose which turned out to be a large stuffed toy was top of her list.

The whole assembly joined in with the ‘dial 999’ answer to a question from a Year One pupil about how to get hold of the police if they can’t immediately see an officer.

After the assembly, on Wednesday, November 13, Libby said it was nice to see a lot of women on the stage and both she and Antoni said they had learned a lot more about the police.

At a workshop to try on police uniform and fingerprinting, Year Four pupil Isaac, eight, said he enjoyed sticking his fingers in the ink, asking the police questions and seeing that there were lots of jobs that can be done in the police.

Year Four pupil Isaac in the driving seat of a police vehicle brought to the playground (Image: Kevin Glenton) PCSO Sue Court said: “Early intervention with children is important so that their communities can build confidence in the police and not be scared of us.

“Sometimes, that chance is lost by the time they enter their early teens.

“We can show young girls that they can do anything and also to show them the people who are behind the uniform, who may also have children of the same age.”

PCSO Sue Court and Sergeant Debbie Gardner spoke about the importance of community visits in schools and how pupils learn about roles performed by women in the police force (Image: Kevin Glenton) Sergeant Debbie Gardner said: “We want the kids to know they can come us for everything from being lost, to reporting anything.

“We want them to trust us and also to know that women can succeed in the job.”

School pastoral lead and mental health lead Natalie Boyle with Libby and Antoni (Image: Kevin Glenton) Some of the workshops specifically linked with the Department for Education’s Personal, Social, Health and Economic Curriculum for children in Years Five and Six and school pastoral lead and mental health lead Natalie Boyle said this includes the important, sensitive topics such as of drug education and knife crime.

The school day concluded with parents, carers and community members invited to drop-in for questions, raise concerns and get advice on community safety and crime prevention.

Headteacher Nicola Adams said: “I think the kids came up with some really creative questions.

“It’s more about the community, the chance to meet the police and find out about the work they do.”