The inaugural UK qualification for community advocates was developed in partnership between the Safety Net Associates Group and the Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network. It’s specifically designed to address the skills needs of volunteers within community organisations such as Neighbourhood Watch and Home Watch, as well as staff from public bodies who support them and any other charity or organisation that has to be an advocate.
Launched as part of Neighbourhood Watch Week, which ran from 18-26 June, the qualification is now open for full public enrolment. Across three specific areas, learners will now be able to develop the knowledge and skills required to act as advocates for community organisations.
A key aim of this year’s Neighbourhood Watch Week, subtitled ‘Tweeting not Twitching’, was to encourage a new generation of volunteers to become involved in the organisation. This is supported by an all-new website (www.ourwatch.org.uk) designed encourage the use of social media, and by providing formal and recognised professionalisation via an accredited qualification that previously did not exist.
The qualification is “a tangible example” of how private and third sector organisations are working together to deliver the Government’s vision for a Big Society.
Pictired (below) at the ‘Neighbourhood Watch at the Heart of the Big Society’ event organised by Wandsworth Community Safety Trust on 21 June are, from left to right: Lynn Farrar (vice-chairman of the Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network), Trevor Kennett (CEO of the Safety Net Associates Group), Baroness Browning, Jim Maddan (national chairman of the Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network) and Alfred Kennedy, Neighbourhood Watch volunteer representative for London.
Community action: joining forces to reduce crime
Commenting on these developments, Baroness Browning – the Minister of State for Crime Prevention and Anti-Social Behaviour Reduction – explained: “Neighbourhood Watch is a great example of how communities can come together to help reduce crime and anti-social behaviour and make our streets safer. It’s important we keep this movement alive by encouraging new and more diverse membership, as well as embracing new and different ways of communicating.”
Jim Maddan stated: “This exciting new initiative will provide a valuable resource for Neighbourhood Watch members who are interested in developing their personal skills. The Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network is indebted to Safety Net Associates for its support in developing the programme, and I look forward to further collaboration between our two organisations.”
The Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network is the one of the largest community organisations in the UK, with over seven million members and 170,000 co-ordinators. The organisation’s vision is “to support and enable a caring society that is founded upon trust and respect in which people are safe from crime and live in communities that enjoy a good quality of life”.
In addition, the National Neighbourhood Watch Academy was launched last year in partnership with the National Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network. Its aim is to provide training and qualifications to volunteers from community organisations to enable them to better serve the communities in which they are involved.
Trevor Kennett added: “We are proud to have been given the opportunity to develop and deliver the new BTEC qualification in partnership with the Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network. We’re confident that this new qualification will not only benefit the existing membership, but also provide an added incentive and an enabling tool for people to get involved with community organisations such as Neighbourhood Watch. This in turn can only benefit the communities which we are all a part of.”
Safety Net Associates Group is well recognised as one of the leading crime and justice education, training and business consultancies, numbering over 800 organisational clients across the UK.
The CSP Academy, which is part of the Safety Net Associates Group, is an overarching and innovative learning platform designed to enable people from any background to access the highest standard of training and specialist qualifications.
A suite of themed academies is provided In partnership with a number of national and international bodies or funds. Each academy is tailored to a specific group based on the needs of the individual or organisation.
To find out more about the new qualification visit the website (details below), send an e-mail: [email protected] or telephone: 0845 299 7144
For further information on the National Neighbourhood Watch Academy, Safety Net Associates Group, The CSP Academy and the Our Watch website, click the dedicated web links at the foot of this article
