Education (Schools)
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and Essex Police started a collaboration project in 2016 to combine both organisations strategic messaging into one education offer for the schools of Essex. Now, our Education Officers address both home safety and crime prevention topics in carefully designed and approved lessons. The Education Team visit schools throughout Essex, provide virtual lessons and promote their online Education Hub. This blended approach to education delivery allows the team to reach approximately 150,000 children each year.
The Education Hub – has all our education programmes videoed with supporting documents for children of all ages.
Our schools’ team has been in place for more than 10 years. Each Education Officer has substantial experience and expertise in delivering safety messages to children and use age-appropriate packages when visiting schools. It is our aim to give children the knowledge to prevent the risk of fire at home and understand the importance of home security. We also discuss the consequences of committing arson or making hoax calls, crime prevention, cyber safety, road safety, knife crime, gang awareness hate crime and healthy relationships. The skills and knowledge gained through our Education programmes can be used by children throughout their lives and into adulthood.
Our dedicated team of Education Officers deliver key safety message to Key stage 2, 3 and 4 children using specially designed interactive school programmes. Every school in the county is contacted and offered our core school programmes, as listed below:
• Year 3 Home Safety Programme - to help develop fire safety awareness skills and promote the importance of home security. In this programme there is an emphasis on pupils taking greater responsibility for their own safety.
• Year 6 Cyber Safety Programme - children are given key information on the dangers of internet predators, prevention of cyber bullying and keeping our online data safe.
• Year 7 ‘Heat of the Moment’ Programme - The ‘Heat of the Moment’ programme has been specifically designed to reduce the incidence of hoax calls and deliberate fire setting.
• Year 7 - Pedestrian Safety. The ECFRS ‘Making a Safer Journey’ programme aims to raise awareness of the dangers on today’s roads to help students to negotiate safer every day journeys.
• Year 8 - Home Safety Programme. Students given key information around fire prevention, making an escape plan and general home security.
• Year 9 - Healthy Relationships Programme. Children are given key information around the dangers of grooming, Child Sexual Exploitation and the importance of positive relationships with friends, partners and family.
• All years (secondary schools) – Knife crime prevention. Children are given key information around the risks and consequences of carrying / using knives.
• All years (secondary schools) – Gangs Awareness. This programme aims to raise awareness of grooming techniques used by gangs, the realities of life in a gang, county lines and criminal exploitation.
• All years (secondary schools) – Hate Crime Prevention. Discussing the meaning of hate crime with young people, the protected characteristics that are affected and ways to report hate crime.
• All years (primary and secondary schools) – Firework and Halloween safety. Children are given key information around firework safety and Halloween safety. The consequences of misusing fireworks and related anti-social behaviours are also discussed.
• All years (primary and secondary schools) – Summer Safety. Discussion about the dangers of engaging in risky behaviours over the summer period such as: field fires, swimming in open water, beach safety, railway safety.
Our education programmes are free of charge and open to all schools in Essex.
For more information and/or to book a visit please call the Education Team on 01376 576000
When we visit schools, the students often make designs and posters showing some of the safety messages they have learnt. Please click here to see some examples of their fantastic work.