West Midlands Police has joined up with a charity which challenges all forms of prejudice to help deliver an education programme at a Walsall School – all thanks to funding from Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster.
The force has been working alongside the Anne Frank Trust which helps to empower pupils between the ages of nine and 15 to challenge all forms of prejudice, inspired by the life and Work of Anne Frank.
Her experiences as a young Jewish person during the Holocaust provides a powerful insight for young people to learn and reflect on the dangers of antisemitism and all forms of prejudice.
The charity makes visits to schools to train young people as peer educators, so they share their learning across their school community.
Through the ‘History for Today’ exhibition the charity take Anne’s story into schools where it acts as a springboard for educating young people on what hate crime is, what it can lead to and why it is everyone’s responsibility to take a stand against it.
PC Heather Le Roux, Partnerships Schools Intervention and Prevention Officer at Walsall LPA, put Shire Oak Academy in Walsall Wood forward to receive the exhibition.
The education programme is delivered through assemblies, class talks and events and the exhibition is at the school for two weeks until July 17.
During this time a selection of pupils in Year 7, 8 and 9 at the school were trained up to be Peer Educators. These children then delivered and presented the exhibition to all Year 7, 8 and 9 students and also a number of Year 10 students.
Heather said: “I was lucky enough to attend three parent sessions and observed the children delivering this very powerful story to all those parents and siblings that attended. The children were fantastic and a real credit to their families and the school.”
The funding for the initiative has been provided by the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner by way of the Helping Communities Fund.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster said: “There is no better use for proceeds of crime, seized from criminals, than to invest it back into the community and that is the purpose of my Helping Communities Fund.
“I am pleased to see work the team in Walsall have put in, with Shire Oak Academy, to create this important exhibition to educate students about the devastating impact of hate crime and why it is everyone’s responsibility, to challenge and stand against it.”
Back to News Archive