Retired officer speaks out about his passion for helping youngsters

21 March 2023

A retired Federation member who spent the last stint of his career supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the region has revealed how the programme he helped lead inspired one youngster to join the police cadets.

Jon Hewett, a former education partnerships officer with the Force, has reflected on the past three decades and in particular the final few years of his policing career, in which time he helped run a programme called Teamworx.

The multi-agency programme, which was led by the police, the Fire service and Sandwell Young People’s Service, was designed to engage with local primary school children, helping to build their self-esteem and confidence by taking part in a number of sport and outward-bound activities.

“We started to find that speaking to students at secondary school just wasn’t early enough - it was too late, and in fact, the best chance we had at intervention was if we worked with primary schools,” said 51-year-old Jon.

Rewind back to 2011, when West Bromwich and Wolverhampton became the centre of trouble, as 300 youths ran riot, looting businesses, smashing windows and setting both cars and bins alight.

“I was part of the Smethwick neighbourhood team at the time,” recalled father-of-four Jon, “And we started to look at the young people who were involved in the riots, which led to us working with schools in the area.

“I was really fortunate that my parents supported me throughout my childhood but you quickly realise that not everyone has the same opportunities as you did.

“Young people were being led down the wrong path and, in Smethwick particularly, there were very few positive activities for them to do. And so, it felt like the most obvious thing for us to do was to provide them with an alternative - something they could do instead of getting in trouble.

“The more I saw, and the more research I did, confirmed that we had to do something. Helping those young people was my drive.”

Jon linked up with six local schools working with their headteachers to identify youngsters who were at risk of living a troubled life.

“There were 30 children in total and there were no provisions out there for them,” continued Jon.

“Especially for boys. There are some really strong characters out there, who are very capable, they just needed some sort of direction.

“We eventually persuaded The Albion Foundation - the charity partner of West Bromwich Albion - to put on activities for under 11s, and within weeks the sessions were full.”

As a result, the Teamworx programme was born, by way of trying to get something set up that would support those young children in need.

“Working with the fire service and the Young People’s Service, Teamworx involved taking the children out for a total of eight days, across six weeks,” explained Jon,  who said the programme took everyone out of their comfort zone. 

“The first programme we did was specifically for children who were at risk of exclusion but we soon realised it would be good for vulnerable children too, including those who might be being bullied, lacked confidence or having trouble at home.

“It wasn’t just the children who were taken out of their comfort zone, we would be too - we all got to know each other in a different setting, and have open, honest conversations with one another than we wouldn’t usually have. The programme really helped to break down those barriers.

“At the end of the programme, we created a presentation video and showed it to the group to celebrate the journey they have been on.”

Teamworx was eventually evaluated by Public Health Sandwell, which gave the programme a level of credibility. 

One of the children who took part was Chloe Ashman, a Year 6 student at the time, who has since joined Sandwell Police Cadets and is now at Halesowen College studying public services. 

The 17-year-old now plans a career as a police officer when she has finished her studies.

Jon said: “Chloe got so much out of the programme, she fully embraced it. As a Teamworx participant, the children would each receive a journal, a DVD of the video created and a laminated pass. And Chloe has kept them all, to this day.

“While we can’t trace everyone we have supported, we know we have helped at least one person and that’s worth it.”

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Teamworx was put on hold. 

“This programme has such an impact on these children, I really hope it picks up again,” said Jon, “Even just a few weeks before I retired, I was visiting one of the local schools and I saw a lad there, who by this time, was Year 11. 

“I haven’t seen him since he was in Year 6, yet he shook my hand and gave me a hug, and said, let’s talk about Teamworx. How humbling is that?”

Although he is retired, Jon’s passion for helping young children continues, and he now hopes to use his knowledge and experience to work with local schools in the area.