The awards, founded by diversity champion Linda Riley, celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion by rewarding those who make the world a better place.
Hedleys College, in Newcastle, and Northumbria Police teamed-up recently to give young people with specialist educational needs their first-ever opportunity to become a Volunteer Police Cadet (VPC). Volunteer Police Cadets are the uniformed youth group of policing and, until now, the cadetship has only been available to able-bodied, mainstream-educated youngsters.
The scheme is having such a positive impact on students aged 18-25 at Hedleys College that it has been revealed as a finalist for ‘Community Project of the Year’.
The very first cohort of cadets were officially sworn-in by the Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, Winton Keenen QPM, in October at a special ceremony held at the college.
The VPC programme opens-up policing to young people – giving them a practical understanding and encouraging them to have a spirit for adventure and be a good citizen.
Eight volunteer police cadets from Hedleys College, who were selected via a recruitment process, have been given a uniform and sworn-in for duties.
Over a full academic year, the cadets are learning all about policing including the phonetic alphabet, hate crime, anti-social behaviour, knife crime, crime prevention, internet safety, dog handling, wellbeing and mental health, theft, road safety/drink driving and anti-bullying.
The cadets learn through lots of off-site visits to various places including a mosque, a speedwatch exercise, a beach, the force’s dog-handling unit – and via classroom-based lessons.
Hedleys College is an independent specialist further education provider for students aged 16-25 who have education, health and care plans.
Louise Horsefield, from The Percy Hedley Foundation, said: “We were thrilled to be the first in the country to be able to offer our students this amazing opportunity and now to hear that we have been revealed as a finalist in these coveted national awards, is the icing on the cake.
“We strive to offer our students education and experiences that help them reach their fullest potential in all aspects of their lives, and this cadetship is supporting that.
“The first eight police cadets are doing brilliantly on the course and getting so much valuable experience and learning from being part of the police force.”
The winners will be announced on Wednesday 22 March 2023 at an awards event, hosted by June Sarpong OBE and Dr Ranj Singh, at Grosvenor House in Park Lane, London.
