Children from a primary school in Hednesford took part in a Staffordshire Police Junior Cadet Graduation ceremony today (10 March 2017).
A group of 10 children at St Peter’s Primary School have taken part in six one-hour sessions led by local Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Emily Sharp 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 Superintendent Sharrard-Williams 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.
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 St Peter’s Primary School to see the graduation of 10 new Junior Police Cadets.
“I would like to thank PCSO Emily Sharp 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.’
PCSO Emily Sharp added: “I have really enjoyed working with St Peter’s Primary School and all the children involved and I would like to thank the school and parents for all of their support.
“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.”
