'Stranger Danger' guidance for year 6 children as part of the junior citizenship scheme
Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.028688
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Please could you share the information on stranger danger that you present to year 6 children as part of the junior citizenship scheme.
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Please could you share the information on stranger danger that you present to year 6 children as part of the junior citizenship scheme.
JCS Scheme content is not recorded centrally.
Junior citizenship scheme is a primary school initiative which is implemented across London boroughs with content incorporating key subject matter. Whilst the scheme is co-ordinated by Transport for London, the vast majority are organised locally by MPS with support from partner agencies. There is no single model of delivery and a variety of subjects may involve scenario style, group activity, and presentation.
Equally, personal safety runs as a central theme throughout each scheme however oversight of individual “Stranger Danger” content is not held centrally.
Organisationally, the Metropolitan Police Service has now adopted the Clever Never Goes programme which gives police, staff and volunteers an effective alternative to stranger danger based on the simple message that children shouldn’t go with anyone unless it has been arranged beforehand. Rather than fearing the worst in everyone they don’t know, Clever Never Goes helps children to recognise specific situations that are unsafe and gives them the tools to respond. It’s designed to be positive, practical, playful and – above all else – to keep things in perspective.
In collaboration with the charity Action Against Abduction, Clever Never Goes was first piloted in the Met in 2019 by Safer Schools Officers in 37 primary schools, delivering more than 66 lessons. The feedback was universally supportive of service-wide rollout of the programme. Following the success of the pilot, the infant resources were launched for MPS use in September 2020, at the start of the academic year. The charity continues to work with the Met and has now launched its junior resources, expanding access to the Clever Never Goes classroom lessons for all primary school children.