Children at Newington Community Primary in Ramsgate are investigating the many and varied roles played by Kent Police.
The ongoing work by Year 5 pupils was spurred on by an action-packed visit to the recent police open day event at the force’s training college in Maidstone.
Pupils enjoyed a wide range of fun activities, demonstrations and display stands that included an informative insight into the work of some of the specialist teams.
Matthew Rigden, Year 5 Lead at Newington, co-ordinated the visit. He said: “The whole of Year 5 attended and had a brilliant time – it was a great learning experience and they found out that there are so many aspects to the work carried out by the police and their partner agencies.
“They discovered more about what goes on behind the scenes and how many diverse and interesting aspects there are to policing that are vitally important but are often not seen by the public.
“It was an excellent way to support this term’s important PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) topic which is ‘rights and responsibilities’.
“Our children have been learning about what rights they have and how they are supported by services such as the Police, and the Fire and Ambulance services that were also at the event.”
The action-packed day included what it’s really like to visit police custody and spend time in the cells; a driving simulator to see if you can activate the blue lights in a ‘cop car workshop’; exciting live demonstrations to show how the emergency services and other partner agencies keep Kent’s roads safe; investigating a crime scene; how far criminals go to evade the law; specialist tips to ensure children are safe online; a flying visit from the eyes in the sky national Police Air Service; and displays ranging from police dogs and search and marine teams, to taser and public order demos.
Prior to going to the showpiece, pupils designed and submitted posters that celebrated the diverse communities, stakeholders and partners the police supports, which were displayed on the day of the show.
Meanwhile Year 5’s Rosie demonstrated her knowledge to win a forensic quiz prize of a large police teddy bear that will be presented to her when officers visit school as part of a special assembly.
Kent Police say the aim of the open day was to ‘promote the vital and diverse role of policing across the county, from training officers through to receiving and responding to emergency calls. It also highlighted how the police work with partners to deal with crime and disorder, protect the public from harm, and keep Kent safe.’
The annual schools event is provided by Kent Police with the support of its emergency services colleagues and partner agencies.
