Over 1,200 school children from across Hartlepool attended a multi-agency event to learn how to stay safe.
Pupils from Years 5 and 6 took part in a series of workshops covering issues such as electrical safety, road safety, water safety, cybercrime, first aid and the dangers of vaping.
Crucial Crew, organised by Hartlepool Borough Council, took place at Hartlepool Power Station over two weeks.
Our Cleveland Unit for the Reduction of Violence (CURV) funded St John Ambulance to carry out a knife crime awareness session for pupils.
Delivered by experienced facilitators, the Young Responders workshop included an interactive session on how to treat a stab wound, giving young people the tools and confidence to know what to do when a serious injury incident occurs.
CURV – Cleveland’s violence reduction partnership – was established in 2022 to develop an area-wide strategy to reduce levels of violent crime.
It focuses on developing interventions to prevent violent crime before it occurs, analysing data on the root causes of violence and bringing agencies together in multi-agency partnerships.
Other supporting organisations at Crucial Crew included host EDF Energy, teams from Hartlepool Borough Council, Cleveland Police, HM Coastguard, Northern Power Grid and the RNLI.
Life-saving first aid training
Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland, Matt Storey, attended the event and said: “It was a pleasure to see first-hand the fantastic training delivered by the St John Ambulance Young Responders team.
“First aid is an essential life skill for everyone to learn and be confident with, and the advice and guidance given through the street first aid programme is great way to expose young people to crisis scenarios that they may well find themselves in one day.
“It was also a great opportunity to meet young people, talk to them and hear about their concerns regarding policing and crime.
“I would like to see Crucial Crew rolled out across the whole of the Cleveland area in the future so that even more young people can benefit from the vital life-saving first aid training.”
Councillor Rachel Creevy, Chair of Hartlepool Borough Council’s Children’s Services Committee, also attended and said: “Giving children the knowledge and skills to keep themselves safe on a day-to-day basis is so important.
“I would like to thank all supporting organisations for making it possible.”
Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash said: “The Crucial Crew event has been a long-standing fixture of young people’s experiences in Hartlepool.
“Over 26 years it has ensured that young people, including my own daughter, have learned critical safety skills across a range of areas.
“I visited the power station recently to see this fantastic work and I pay tribute to everyone involved in this brilliant event.”