The Area Panel meeting in November attracted just fewer than one hundred people, young and old, to the Vestry Hall. The theme of the meeting was implications of the recent tragic death of Jonathan Matondo, and how the major local agencies working in Burngreave are going to work with us to make our community a safe place for everyone.
Six leading staff from Sheffield Futures, the Police, Youth Offending, Children/Young People’s Service, Activity Sheffield and the city’s Safer Communities Partnership attended. They all reflected on what Jonathan’s death meant for their responsibilities, and what they planned to do in the future. Over forty questions were asked, and mostly answered.
What did the Panel decide?
The councillors drew a number of conclusions:
increase provision for young people in the area
strict monitoring of pupil exclusions, particularly relating to black/minority pupils, including provision of support for excluded pupils and their parents
more joint working and collaboration between Activity Sheffield and Sheffield Futures and other providers
build on the work that Streetworx are undertaking in the area
the adverse publicity following this and other incidents in the area, by highlighting the positive things young people are doing in Burngreave
improve play facilities for young people in the area
increase Police presence in the area, particularly the PCSOs
Ronny Tucker (from the Youth Offending Service) explained that they were now determined to stem any gang formation, which some other cities are experiencing. This means having determination and an ability to work in schools and on the streets, with gang members and those on the fringes, in the detention centres and in the neighbourhoods to give back to some young people the hope they may have lost. Lastly, the panel wanted to know how things will look in three months time.
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