Merseyside teachers welcome a new scheme to make the region's streets safer
The new training is being delivered to more than 130 primary schools across the region
Teachers across Merseyside are welcoming a new programme to make the regions streets safer by education primary school pupils about sexual harassment, misogyny and online safety.
It’s part of plans from Mersysides Police Crime Commissioner (PCC) to prevent violence against women and girls.
Phillippa Agate, head teacher St Celias in Tuebrook, told us this training is needed now more than ever.
She said: “We are seeing children of six and sometimes five or four have got phones in their hands and they're coming to school in prams with their parents.
"So, the younger the better really this program is pitched at year five and six, but I can see in future years it will probably trickle down to younger children.”
The five week programme is currently aimed at pupils in year five and six. During the workshops children are taught about boundries and how to ask for help from bystanders.
One element is a workshop called ‘Send me a selfie’, delivered by the Ariel Trust.
This workshop includes an activity where the pupils are asked to think of an emotion a character in an animated video might feel when they are asked to send a selfie to someone they do not know well.
This educational training is being delivered to more than 130 primary schools across the region as part of Safer Streets Merseyside.
Police crime commissioner Emily Spurrell told us it’s important to educate young people to help nip violence in the bud.
She said: “We won’t accept sexual violence.
“We want to do everything we can whether that is being strong, going against perpetrators, sending a clear campaign message to people when they move around the city, but also having conversations with children and young people.
“We take this seriously we want to rout this out, and having those conversations with children at a really early age is part of that journey as to how we get there”
Safer Streets Merseyside will also be promoted through visual communications campaign targeted at potential perpetrators and highlighting there is no excuse for behaviours such as catcalling and unwanted sexual comments, groping and uninvited touching.