A group of young people in Rotherham have taken part in a ‘passing out’ event, after completing a five day course aimed at reducing anti-social behaviour in the city.
The event took place last week at Rotherham fire station and saw the young people carrying out a display in the station drill yard to start off the presentation.
The group of nine, aged 13-16, took part in the Achieving Respect and Confidence (ARC) project, a joint initiative between South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue, South Yorkshire Police and other partner agencies.
The course, which mixes practical training with some classroom-based learning, is aimed at young people who have offended, are at risk of offending or have been victims of crime.
The project aims to highlight the consequences of antisocial behaviour and to improve self-discipline, team spirit, fire safety awareness, life skills and values which will improve the life chances of the young people involved.
South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s Simon Brookes, Community Safety Watch Manager said: “The course helps the young people not just in terms of teaching them firefighting skills and techniques, but also by showing them the value of things like teamwork, discipline and communication.
“We encourage them to think about their behaviour and to make positive choices towards improving their life chances.”