“Relation-shops” workshops at ISP School
Ran by a former Police Officer, these workshops give young students the chance to discuss community safety issues that can make an impact early in the development of young people.
David Law is the Prevent Project Officer for the Safer East Sussex Team. This joint agency team is based at Hammonds Drive Police station in Eastbourne and is part of East Sussex County Council. David is a former Sussex Police Officer with a qualification in teaching PSHE. He is also a Registered Psychiatric Nurse. As part of his role David runs the Relation-shops Workshops. These workshops give young students the chance to discuss Community Safety issues that can make an impact early in the development of young people. Building resilience to these issues is vital and promotes a safer community for everybody.
David speaks to the students at their level using real life examples but is careful to let the young students have a safe space to understand the risks associated with these topics and develop the knowledge and skills to be able to question and challenge what they hear and see when necessary.
Over April/May this year, David visited the school over 3 weeks to discuss the important issue of challenging hate in our communities with the students and what this means in terms of knowing what is right, what is wrong and what the Law says.
He had an interesting discussion with the students about the law looking at the definition of hate crime, racism & stereotyping using some real-life examples in schools that David has dealt with. The students watched a video which explored where people’s heritage comes from through examining the DNA of a group of individuals from different countries including the UK. An explanation of Prevent was given and the dangers of radicalisation were highlighted. The students discussed the Values that Britain supports and why they are so important. The underlying theme was that our identity is important and makes us different from each other, but it does not make us better than each other.
David also covered cyber-crime and the common problems associated with the use of social media including how to keep ourselves safe from criminals. The students engaged well and made some very thought-provoking comments.
David always stresses to the students that based on his experience the most important factor of staying safe is to share any problems or concerns with a trusted adult as early as possible. It is so important for parents and carers to keep that line of communication open.
