April 20, 2009
ROTHERHAM CHILDREN AND MP WIN SAFETY AWARD
TWO Rotherham children and their MP were among those honoured at an awards ceremony in the House of Commons.
Ten-year-old Harry Buckley and 11-year-old Kimberley Green from St Gerard’s Primary School, Thrybergh, won prizes in the Kids Taskforce Awards 2009.
MP John Healey, who hosted the event, and Irene Hartley, who works in his Wath constituency office, were also presented with awards.The ceremony recognised those who have made an outstanding contribution to the charity’s aim of making children’s lives safer through the use of the missdorothy.com and Watch Over Me programmes.
The programme has been delivered to all 60,000 primary school children in South Yorkshire for the past three years and based on that blueprint has been rolled out in other parts of the country. Mr Healey has been a champion for the programme – which has now had the backing of the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Education – since 2007.
He said: “This is a very worthwhile programme which I have been pleased to support from the beginning. Once again, South Yorkshire is at the forefront of an initiative which people all over the country are taking notice of and I hope the charity succeeds in its aim of reaching every child by next year.”
Kimberley was nominated for the Buddy Award by her friend Lauren Smith, who said “any times when others are picking on me Kimberley is always there.”
Harry was nominated for the Making the Best of Me award by learning mentor Geraldine Angel, who said although Harry had occasionally got himself into trouble in the past, since starting the programme he had been “helpful and positive” and his contributions to the lessons had been “phenomenal.”
Entertainer Bobby Davro and BBC presenter Louise Minchin helped give out prizes. Winners went on to an evening reception at 10 Downing Street, also attended by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and police minister Vernon Coaker.
Sharon Doughty, Kids Taskforce chief executive, said: "The South Yorkshire blueprint, which John has been involved with, is important because it has shown those with influence, particularly police and fire service chiefs, that it is possible to provide a sustainable safety education programme for every child.
"John has been so generous with his time and his support has given theKids Taskforce campaign enormous credibility. He knows a great dealabout our work and understands our passion for keeping children safe."
The Kids Taskforce Charitable Foundation aims to help every child in Britain learn how to handle risk and lead a safer life. The charity works in partnership with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA) and the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA). Cartoon characters in the missdorothy.com programme for junior schools and the Watch Over Me soap operas for teenagers ensure that vital safety messages are delivered in an engaging way that speaks to children and young people in their own language.It aims to reach every child by 2010.