Long Eaton college leads the way

17/05/2007

Students from Wilsthorpe Business and Enterprise College in Long Eaton have been pioneering an innovative lesson that aims to help young people in Derbyshire better understand the criminal justice system.

Derbyshire Crown Prosecution Service, in conjunction with Derbyshire County Council Local Education Authority, has developed two one-hour lessons that will form part of the schools' Citizenship curriculum.

You can view the online videos and download teaching resources here

Wilsthorpe Business and Enterprise College is one of two schools in the county selected to pilot the new project.

The lessons have been designed to be fully interactive, involving the use of audio CD, DVD, visual imagery and even a graffiti wall.  In the first session students learn about the CPS and its role within the criminal justice system, what happens in court, and the special measures available in the courtroom to support them should they ever be a victim or witness of crime.

During the second lesson students take on the role of a CPS prosecutor.  They are given a full case file and have to make a decision on whether or not to take the case to court based on the available evidence.

Alison Doyle-Stevenson from Derbyshire CPS said "We developed this lesson in order to stimulate interest in the legal system and the work of the Crown Prosecution Service, and to encourage students to consider the issues a prosecutor faces when deciding whether or not to charge someone with a criminal offence and take the case to court.

"The lesson also explores some of the concerns students may have if they were ever called to give evidence in court, and aims to give them a better understanding of their rights and responsibilities if they are ever a victim or witness of crime.

"We've worked closely with the LEA to ensure the lesson meets the Citizenship curriculum requirements.  But we also felt it was important to involve the students in developing the lesson in order to make sure it was interesting, relevant and improved their understanding of the prosecution process.  Working with the students and teachers at Wilsthorpe enabled us to get direct feedback on what they thought was good about the lesson, what didn't work so well and ideas for improvements, before we begin delivering the lesson to schools across Derbyshire."

Catherine Sprott, Co-ordinator of PSHCE at the College said "This was an excellent opportunity for our students to learn about the world beyond the classroom.  They took it very seriously and were really interested in all aspects of the work of the CPS."

Headteacher Danny Smith added "We welcome visitors to the College from outside agencies who can enhance our Citizenship education and we are very grateful to the CPS for their work with us at Wilsthorpe."