Published: Tuesday, 23rd June 2020
A new campaign addressing extremism and radicalisation was launched in schools across Cannock Chase District in January and has been extremely successful in raising awareness of extremism and the wider Prevent agenda.
The Council’s Community Safety Team commissioned Loudmouth Education & Training to create and deliver a brand new theatre in education programme on extremism to students in Year 8 and 9. The programme consisted of a 30 minute piece of interactive drama which was followed by workshops. The workshops used the drama to encourage further discussions in a safe environment.
To date, Loudmouth has delivered the education programme to six secondary schools, Chaselea Pupil Referral Unit and two primary schools – engaging with over 800 young people during the process.
As part of the programme, a sample of students were asked to complete a pre and post survey to help the Council measure the effectiveness of the campaign.
The aim of the campaign was to ensure young people had an increased awareness and understanding of what extremism is and the wider Prevent agenda as well as encouraging people to report their concerns and make a referral to the relevant agency.
The results of the feedback showed that the percentage of students who knew what the term extremism meant increased from 25% to 88% as a result of the Loudmouth session.
The percentage of students who felt confident or very confident about spotting signs of extremism also increased from 41% to 88% as a result of the Loudmouth session.
The percentage of students who knew where you could report extremism increased from 38% to 94% as a result of the Loudmouth session.
Most importantly the percentage of students who said they would tell someone if they thought their friend was involved in extremism increased from 79% to 93%.
Students stated that they felt that Loudmouth’s session helped raise young people’s awareness of different forms of extremism.
In addition to the sessions, resource packs have also been distributed to all primary and secondary schools providing information about local support services, details about the Prevent agenda and campaign material.
Campaign messages are continuing to be promoted via the Council’s social media platforms and refuse vehicles during the COVID outbreak. Vinyl adverts are also due to be fitted to the Council’s housing vehicles in the coming months.
A tailored package for South Staffordshire College is now being developed with Loudmouth and will be rolled out later in the year.
The campaign has been funded by the Staffordshire Commissioner’s Proceeds of Crime Fund, Staffordshire County Council’s Building Resilient Families and Communities Fund and the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Prevent Targeted Initiative Fund.
This forms part of the Council’s wider safeguarding campaign. ‘See something, Say something’, which was launched last year and aims to encourage people to report any concerns they may have about an individual or group.
Councillor Alan Pearson, Leader for Crime and Partnerships, said: “The Council is committed to ensuring people are aware of the signs of extremism and the associated factors as well as making sure people report any concerns they may have about an individual or group.
“It is fantastic to see that this campaign has had an impact on the students and teaching staff and has helped raise the profile of the Prevent agenda and extremism.
“If you have concerns about someone becoming involved in extremism, report it by calling 01785 232054”.
Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire and Rescue and Crime, Matthew Ellis said: “Through the Proceeds of Crime Act, police are able to seize the ill-gotten gains of criminals and use them to make a real difference to our communities.
“I allocated money from the fund to support this important educational resource, and the results really do speak for themselves. It’s great to see the way the young people have responded to this campaign, with an increased awareness of extremism, and the confidence to seek help if they have any concerns in the future.”
Eleanor Vale, Company Director of Loudmouth Education & Training “We were thrilled with the responses from the pupils and staff to our new theatre in education programme on extremism. The pupils related so well to the main character in the drama and as a result talked openly and sensitively on what can be seen as a difficult topic. The evaluation results show that the drama and workshop really made them think more deeply about the repercussions of extremist actions and how they want to behave in the future.”
Gill Heath, Cabinet Member for Communities at Staffordshire County Council said: “Keeping young people safe remains a key priority for the county council and we continue to work closely with our partners to build resilience within schools. It’s really encouraging news that the workshops are going down so well with the pupils. Not only is the project helping to raise awareness of the dangers of radicalisation but it’s also giving them the information and tools to keep themselves safe.”
Sergeant Calum Forsyth, Prevent Coordinator from Staffordshire Police, said: “We are always looking for new and innovative ways in engaging young people and to get them thinking about the issues that can affect them. This project has been exciting to work with from its inception through to delivery and we are happy to have been a part of it”.
For further information about this campaign contact the Community Safety team on 01543 464387 or visit www.cannockchasedc.gov.uk/safeguarding