Teaching young people to stay on the straight and narrow and play a positive role in society is the aim of an initiative showcased at the Education Show at the NEC from March 7 to 9.
Devised by West Midlands Police and Coventry Education Support and Advisory Service, the joint Anti Social Behaviour Citizenship Project, also known as Trouble!, was launched last February. Educational materials officer Nicky Warner said: ?It takes the form of a good citizenship resource for key stages 1-4 and is already gaining national recognition as best practice in its field.?
Trouble! at key stage 1 is designed for classroom use and includes Big Books, an illustrated floor mat and games to promote literacy and social skills. It encourages children to become less impulsive and to make positive behavioural choices. For years 3 and 4 ‘Jez and Tag’ are the first in a series of stories dealing with issues such as graffiti and peer pressure to commit crime, including street robbery. A classroom work mat explores this growing problem with comic strip scenarios showing the character Jez as a victim of street crime. This approach is designed to stimulate discussion about personal safety and anti social behaviour in a lively and non-confrontational way. The third element of Trouble!, for key stage 2-4, is a social behaviour game covering a range of over 120 typical situations in which young people are likely to find themselves.
Nicky said: ?For each scenario, students are presented with a choice of actions, and a point scoring system encourages them to make positive choices. Funded by Building Blocks, West Midlands Police Charitable Trust, Trouble! builds upon young people’s coping skills by encouraging a multi agency approach to citizenship education. The project replicates guidance given in classes currently being used by police, local education authorities and schools across the region as a tool to deliver citizenship education. A new series of ‘safety’ cards are being developed with the support of the West Midlands Ambulance Service, who will help staff the Trouble! stand at the Education Show.
