New recruit April gives insight into training during the pandemic

13 August 2020

April Baker had volunteered as a Special for 18 months before joining the Force as a recruit on the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship scheme.

That role, she has found, has stood her in good stead as she started her police officer training but, nevertheless, she has found the remote learning element of her course challenging.

April acknowledges that her cohort of 28 new recruits has had a better experience than other intakes in recent months.

Split into two classes of 14, they have just completed four weeks of face to face training at Tally Ho as the only groups in the building due to the coronavirus restrictions.

“We had our induction days on 21 and 22 May and then completed four weeks of online training, 8am until 3pm daily delivered by Staffordshire University,” explains April, who previously worked as a higher level teaching assistant working with vulnerable children and children with special educational needs at a Smethwick primary school.

“We were the first class to be allowed back to Tally Ho for training in person and we have undertaken our personal safety training, working with a partner throughout. After this we worked with uniform trainers who delivered sessions, developing our learning by providing us with definition checks and arrest role play scenarios. The trainers have been supportive and adapted learning around us.

“The whole set-up is really well thought out. There is a one-way system in place, social distancing, gloves and masks have been available and there are hand-washing stations around the building.

“It has been a really strange time to be joining the police service. Tally Ho, which would normally be a hive of activity, has just had our group in it but everyone has made the best of the situation.

“For me, my time as a Special has also given me a great advantage since I have had real life experiences to relate to when being taught something and I have been able to share knowledge with the others in my group.”

April’s time as a Special involved a posting to Brierley Hill where she said the officers and staff team were supportive and keen to ensure she got a good grounding in terms of the life of a police officer.

“The team at Brierley Hill knew that I had applied to be an officer and knew I really wanted to get stuck in and learn the job, so they took the time to work with me and support me as a Special Constable. In return, I volunteered over the 16 hours expected each month and worked full-time during school holidays,” she says,

April had originally considered policing as a career when she was at school but instead went into education. Having had a change of heart, she joined the Specials to get a taste of policing and then applied to join the regulars.

The recruitment process took about 18 months.

Despite no longer working at the school, she hopes when she starts working in the community that she can visit the primary school where she worked to serve as an inspiration to the young pupils.

“I want to show them that you can do anything if you put your mind to it,” she says, “I have worked closely with vulnerable children and their families and I hope that when they see me in my uniform, working as a police officer, I can inspire them and show them that the police are here to support and help our communities.”

For now though, she is back to online training which she says is quite difficult because they miss out on the conversations with trainers and the interactivity with the rest of the class.
She will then move onto the investigations team at Wolverhampton for eight weeks, before taking annual leave, embarking on another two weeks of university training and another eight-week placement on response at Brierley Hill.

“There have been some changes to our schedule along the way due to coronavirus but, as a group, we are taking each week as it comes and we are all learning that we need to be flexible,” she explains.

While working within the Force, the students will be given protective learning weeks so that they can keep up to date with their studies and the onus is on them to make sure they keep their tutors up to date with the deadlines they are working to with their course work.

“You really do have to manage your own time,” says April, “But I am very grateful that, having been a Special, and knowing others who have already been through the recruitment process, I already had an understanding of how the Force works and what is expected of you.”

Aware of the work of the Federation, she also signed up as a member as soon as she could.