For immediate release
30th May 2007
 
Local officers receive award in Parliament for improving child safety
 
Local police and fire officers have been recognised for their outstanding achievements in protecting schoolchildren, at Britain’s first Kids Taskforce Awards in Parliament.
 
Local MP and Treasury Minister, John Healey, presented officers Karen Swanston (Education Coordinator, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue), Inspector Les Portman (South Yorkshire Police), John Hoey (Assistant Chief Fire Officer, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue), Simon Dillan (Station Manager, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue) and Bob Rowland (Head of Community Safety, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue) with their awards at the House of Commons, with Kids Taskforce Patron Lynda Bellingham.
 
The launch of the Kids Taskforce comes at a time of increasing concern over how to improve child protection. The Kids Taskforce was launched to coincide with the signing of the strategic partnership between the Professional Footballers’ Association, Chief Fire Officers' Association, Association of Chief Police Officers and missdorothy.com.  The taskforce is committed to get missdorothy.com resources to every schoolchild in England and Wales and all those who are signed up to the partnership are working together through the taskforce to achieve its aim.
 
The learning programme missdorothy.com was developed by Ms Sharon Doughty – a  former newsreader. It uses a cartoon character called Dot Com to spread the message in primary schools and the cast of a teen soap called ‘Watch Over Me’ in secondary schools. The missdorothy.com learning programme teaches children how to manage risks in life including fire, bullying, child predators, drugs and gun and knife crime. Officers at South Yorkshire Police and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue have been instrumental in ensuring that all children in South Yorkshire benefit from the missdorothy.com programme.
 
Kids Taskforce Head, Sharon Doughty, said: “It is incredibly important that children are taught to manage life’s risks for themselves. You can’t watch your children all time time as recent events have so tragically shown us."
 
Local MP and Treasury Minister, John Healey, said: "Because of the dedication and commitment of local fire and police officers in South Yorkshire, more of our children will now benefit from the training provided by missdorothy.com and learn how to manage some of the risks they may face in life."
 
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Further details:

For more information about the missdorothy.com programme or the Kids Taskforce, please call:
01322 520490 and ask to speak to Claire Britcher or Sharon Doughty.
 
Joanne Wilson, Research Officer to John Healey MP, Tel - 01709 512463