Kent Police Teams Up with Champion to Transform Thanet School Kids
Kids at St George’s School in Broadstairs are set for a major boost thanks to a new personal development and wellbeing project led by Kent Police. The initiative features British sport star Claire Bennett, a former Commonwealth Games fencing gold medallist, mentoring youngsters to improve their futures and their communities.
Crime Prevention Meets Community Action
Sergeant Sheena Maclean-Bell from Thanet’s Community Safety Unit masterminded the project. Her goal: keep young people away from crime and give them the confidence and skills for a brighter future. Partner agencies including Southeastern, Kent Community Foundation, and Virtual School Kent have chipped in funding and support to get the programme off the ground.
Claire Bennett will mentor two groups of Year 8 and 9 pupils from October through June. The youngsters will work on social action projects aimed at cleaning up Thanet and reducing anti-social behaviour.
First-Ever Police and Dame Kelly Holmes Trust Collaboration
The programme is run in partnership with the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, a charity dedicated to boosting young people’s wellbeing, resilience, and self-esteem through athlete mentoring. It’s a first for Kent Police to join forces with the Trust for this kind of project.
The mentoring connects kids with their own strengths and their local communities via practical, hands-on work. The aim? To inspire meaningful action and help prevent crime in the area.
Driving Change from the Ground Up
“A priority for Kent Police is to keep children safe,” said Sgt Maclean-Bell. “We focus on vulnerable young people and work with schools to provide support before they fall into crime.”
“The social action projects will come from the children themselves – whether that’s tidying up local spaces or other ideas to tackle antisocial behaviour. Supported by our officers and the Trust, they’ll see their plans through across the school year.”
“I’m excited to see the great ideas the pupils come up with and the positive impact on our community.”
Mentor Claire Bennett added: “It’s a privilege to support young people on their journey to achieve their ambitions. Watching their progress and knowing we helped makes it all worthwhile.”
Headteacher Adam Mirams said: “We are grateful to work alongside Southeastern, Kent Police and the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust on this mentoring scheme. It shows what’s possible when organisations come together to invest in young people.”
“This is just the start—we hope to roll out more initiatives benefiting many more pupils in the future.”
“We are proud to partner with such forward-thinking groups dedicated to helping our youngsters thrive.”
