Children from a primary school in Rugeley took part in a special Staffordshire Police Junior Cadet Graduation ceremony yesterday (24 Nov 2016).
A group of 10 children at Etching Hill Primary School have taken part in six one-hour sessions led by local Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Liz Dale during school time, covering areas including road safety, police investigations and anti-social behaviour.
The Junior Cadets were presented with certificates for completing the sessions by Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis and Assistant Chief Constable Nick Adderley at the graduation ceremony. The children received their own pocket books to fill in during sessions along with a Junior Police Cadet baseball cap and t-shirt for completing the course. They were also treated to a visit from the force mascot, Police Dog Kash.
The ceremony was filmed by the BBC to highlight the positive impact the scheme is having on young people across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
Police and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire, Matthew Ellis said: “I felt very proud to present certificates to the Junior Cadets who all looked extremely mature and professional in their uniforms.
“It’s fantastic that primary school children are now becoming Junior Cadets and taking part in a fun-packed programme which teaches them how to become responsible citizens.
“It was great to speak to some of the cadets and hear how much they have enjoyed and learnt from the scheme. I thoroughly enjoyed the ceremony and seeing what a good start to life these youngsters have got.”
Superintendent Sharrard-Williams added: “I’m really proud to have been here today at Etching Hill Primary School to see the graduation of 10 new Junior Police Cadets.
“I would like to thank PCSO Liz Dale for her fantastic work with the Junior Police Cadets over the last few weeks, talking with them about anti-social behaviour, being good citizens and what it means to be part of the police family.
“It felt extremely special to be part of the ceremony and see the Cadets take a promise to be a good citizen in front of Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis and Assistant Chief Constable Nick Adderley”
PCSO Liz Dale added: “I have really enjoyed working with Etching Hill Primary School and all the children involved and I would like to thank the school and parents for all of their support. I would especially like to thank Mrs Heather for her continued support and her assistance every week.
“The response from the children has been fantastic and they have really enjoyed everything I have been showing them. Hopefully this will have given them an insight into what Staffordshire Police does on a daily basis and make them feel like they can come to an officer if they need to.
“The Junior Cadets are really important to us as it helps to build a relationship between the police and the public very early on.”
You can watch a video of the ceremony here: https://youtu.be/fJJYPF0utHM
