Police and fire officers in Coventry are going back to school as part of a new project aimed at improving their links with the community and encouraging good citizenship among children.

The Coventry Emergency Services Literacy Project is being officially launched on Friday 23 October, following a successful pilot at Wood End Primary School earlier this year.

It will see officers from West Midlands Police and West Midlands Fire Service being trained to read stories to children in primary school across Coventry. The aim of the project is to:

• Encourage the development of good citizenship among children in Coventry

• Support literacy development with both male and female role models

• Reduce juvenile crime and anti-social behaviour

• Redress the balance of views towards emergency services officers

The scheme is the brainchild of Teresa Beddis, project co-ordinator, Creating Safer Environments with Coventry’s Education Service.

She said:

"In some areas of Coventry the emergency services felt they needed to improve their relationship with young people. One way of achieving this was to meet young people in school in a professional yet enjoyable way. At the same time they are able to deliver messages about safety and behaviour and encourage reading.

"The whole thrust of the work I am doing is citizenship based. It is about actively involving young people in making decisions and encouraging them to be good citizens."

To date 19 fire and police officers have been trained to read stories to children from a range of books. Some of the stories raise issues relating to fire, crime and anti-social behaviour, while some are just for fun. The stories are used by the officers as a starting point for discussing their work.

Councillor John Fletcher, Leader of Coventry City Council, said:

"This project is fantastic news for Coventry and for its children. It brings together a whole range of issues including safety, behaviour, the work of the emergency services and the importance of reading. I am sure it will be a huge success and will prove invaluable to our city."