Standing at the gate on Monday morning, it was interesting to see the intrigue and, in some cases, shock on the faces of pupils and parents as they arrived at school to see two Metropolitan Police territorial support vans in the car park.  ‘What’s going on?’ was the most common question along with, ‘Is everything OK?’  Let me explain.  Our Year Six pupils have had a tremendous opportunity to work with around ten Met Police officers on a range of topics.  They have been immersed in the role of a police offer from learning basic first aid to seeing how police dogs are trained and the support they provide to the officers.  Following on from our work with the Ben Kinsella Trust they have learnt about how to keep themselves safe from knife crime along with what to do if they were ever in the situation where they were mugged or attacked.  They have met police horses and explored vans used in large scale public disorder incidents.  The pupils also explored riot equipment and understand why the police use these in certain situations.

But why arrange such experiences, especially so close to SATS?  Because it is important.  Sadly, the only time pupils really hear about our brave police force is when something goes wrong.  For example, the sad killing of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, USA which has been the headline of many a newspaper in the past week.  We as parents, myself Included, also do not help the police’s perception with comments to our children such as, ‘That policeman is going to arrest you unless you behave.’  All of this has an effect on the pupils who begin to see the police as someone to fear (or sadly even hate) rather than people who are committed to helping us when we need it and to keep our communities safe.

Today was a wonderful opportunity to remain pupils of this important message. 

In line with our curriculum intent, today (Monday) has also showcased what a diverse range of careers exist within the police force, and it was wonderful to hear some of our pupils now considering this as a future career.  Hopefully we will see some of our pupils protecting our communities, individuals and solving crimes in the years ahead. 

Here's what our pupils said:

"The best part of the day was meeting the police dogs. We got to learn how they are trained and how the police use them to find people or illegal things. We learnt how the dogs respond to crime and how their sense help them. We got to do some training games with the dogs. It was so much fun."

Jomiloju (6T)

"I enjoyed learning about the police animals. The horses were my favourite part. They are so big and graceful. The officers were cheerful and answered all our questions. I know now that there are so many different jobs with in the police force and they are there to help and protect us."

Toni (6I)

"The personal safety scenario was my favourite part of the morning. We learnt how to make a 999 call if we were to see a crime happen. Someone came in a took the persons bag, and we had to describe what they looked like to the police officer. We also learnt how to help someone who may be hurt and do CPR on them. There was a manikin that we got to practice CPR on but it's a lot harder than it looks!"

Doyinsola (6P)

My thanks to Mrs. Beech for arranging such a valuable and enjoyable experience for all.