Junior Wardens Scheme Launched
Police officers may only seem to get younger and younger, but Community Wardens in East Leeds really are thanks to the launch of East North East Homes Leeds (ENEHL) Junior Warden scheme.
Children in Cross Gates have been recruited as Junior Wardens to help improve their communities and set a great example to other young people.
The Junior Wardens celebrated their launch with their first meeting on Wednesday 25 November at Cross Gates Primary School, Poole Crescent, which was supported by printers Colour Copy Leeds.
The junior wardens have three basic rules:
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Junior warden will have respect for themselves and will show this through their behaviour
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Junior Wardens will have respect for others
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Junior Wardens will have respect for their environment.
Working with ENEHL, the new recruits will get involved in practical projects, such as litter picks, as well as having the chance to meet other members of their communities to better understand and appreciate how people get along. They will also be able to act as extra eyes and ears for the community by spotting where graffiti or fly-tipping has appeared, reporting broken streetlamps and spreading safety messages among their peers.
All the Junior Wardens are Year 5 and Year 6 pupils, 9 – 11 year olds, at Cross Gates Primary School on Poole Crescent. They will all receive a t-shirt and id badge and will remain Junior Wardens for one year, and each group is helped by ENEHL’s Community Involvement team.
Chair of ENEHL Board Angelena Fixter said: “This is a great scheme to encourage community involvement at a very young age. It is important to counteract the negative image many people have about youths today and the Junior Wardens are living proof of how young people can play a positive role in their communities.”
Community Involvement Officer Dayvid Cox, who coordinates the Junior Warden scheme, said: “ENEHL are keen to encourage the good traits in these young people that make them want to be Junior Wardens – the desire to make their area they live in safer and more pleasant for all.”