Violence reduction scheme sees youth workers chaperone walk to school
Fiona Simpson
Friday, January 7, 2022
Youth workers are being recruited to chaperone children to and from school in the West Midlands in a bid to tackle youth violence.
Professionals have been placed in busy areas across Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Wolverhampton as part of a pilot scheme to reduce youth crime before and after school.
The scheme, called Step Together, will see youth workers placed along 18 routes to schools across the West Midlands as part of the £1.2m project funded by the Home Office and the Youth Endowment Fund.
The scheme is based on a similar successful project run in the US city of Chicago with routes chosen based on police data around anti-social behaviour close to schools.
Research by the Greater London Authority, published in 2018, found that children are most likely to be involved in violence between 3pm and 10pm on a school day.
The routes used as part of the pilot scheme will remain in place until the end of the current school year, West Midlands police and crime commissioner Simon Foster has said.
He added: “I’m really pleased to see this initiative being rolled out rapidly across the West Midlands.
“It’s so important that our young people feel safe not only when they are at school, but also when they’re travelling to and from it.
“Tackling youth violence is a top priority for me and projects like this, led by the Violence Reduction Unit, are really good examples of new initiatives designed to do just that.”
Director of the West Midlands Violence Reduction Unit, Claire Gollop, said: “This project demonstrates what can be achieved when communities, schools, local partnerships and the police take collective responsibility for something as fundamental as making sure our children arrive at school safely and feeling ready to learn.
“By providing trusted adults who can mentor and encourage children on their way to school, we are hoping to improve attendance and help keep our young people in education.
“The journey home is also an important transition, where lots of young people converge in predictable places – it’s a route which every child deserves to make without fear.”
The launch of the scheme split opinion among sector experts.
Writing on Linked In, child protection consultant, Steven Walker, described the move as a “sad indictment of police failings and a hasty response to recent gang killings”.
“Street killings garner shock headlines but everyday abuse against children is woven into the fabric of our society,” Walker wrote.
However, Chris Wild, campaigner for young people in care and author, praised the scheme, comparing it to another project recently launched by McDonald’s to employ youth workers in branches.
He said on Twitter: “Chaperones walking children to school in high crime areas of the West-Midlands as part of a £1.2m pilot. And McDonald's hiring youth worker's. Good move I say. Let's see if this takes off. I think it's imperative we get youth worker's back on the streets.”
