18/09/2026
‘Crucial Crew’ smashed all goals in Broxbourne this month
Incredibly, the last couple of weeks have seen over 900 Year 6 children (10–11-year-olds) from 24 local primary schools across the borough take part in a series of fun and informative, interactive safety workshops, under the ‘Crucial Crew’ banner.
The Broxbourne ‘Crucial Crew’ (CC) scheme aims to teach children about important issues that are often overlooked by the curriculum, such as personal safety, Internet safety, staying safe online, water safety, park safety, safety on the railways and the dangers/consequences of criminal damage, promoting health and wellbeing, ensuring children are more informed about va**ng/e-cigarettes and their potential harm (short/ long-term effects), and first aid (learning how to save a life; DRABC; basic life support – CPR; recovery position), and fire safety (learning how to spot potential risks around the home and the importance of fire detectors and checking them weekly).
The event, held again this year at Cheshunt Football Club, courtesy of Chairman, Dean Williamson, included sessions from the following participating agencies:–
Hertfordshire Constabulary (local Safer Neighbourhood Team), Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, British Transport Police, School Nurses (part of the Hertfordshire Family Centre service), East of England Ambulance Service and Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue Service.
The workshops gave pupils a unique opportunity to learn valuable skills from the professionals, through practical demonstrations and discussions in real-life situations.
This event would not have happened without funding from key sponsor, Broxbourne Borough Council, and the kind support of Cheshunt Football Club who provided the venue for free – special thanks going to General Manager, Ria Hicks, and her team who made all the team really welcome and went out of their way to ensure that the event ran smoothly. This year we are also extremely grateful to our major sponsor Google, who has generously funded the production and delivery of ‘Junior Life Skills’ handbooks to all participating children. As well as receiving hard copies of this full-colour, 92-page, A4 handbook, participating schools will also receive a digital version of this resource which comes together with Lesson Plans and Worksheets; these have been specifically designed so that important safety messages may be effectively conveyed in the classroom and assist generally in the delivery of PSHE and Citizenship to children throughout Years 6 and 7.
The VIP Day was held on Tuesday, 15 September 2026 and was attended by special guests that included: -
Deputy Lieutenant for Hertfordshire – Karen Trew,
Mayor of Broxbourne – Cllr Patsy Spears,
Cabinet Member for Environment and Community Safety – Cllr Jim Clune,
Leader of the Council – Cllr Corina Gander,
Community Safety Manager – Louise Brown,
Cabinet Member for Culture and Growth – Cllr Pierce Connolly,
East of England Ambulance Service Local Area Manager – Jason Robertson,
British Transport Police Inspector – Gregory Blanks,
Lee Valley Regional Park Authority’s Senior Active Communities Manager – Jack Pringle,
School Nursing Service Team Leader for the Broxbourne area – Jo Kerr,
Cheshunt Football Club Chairman – Dean Williamson,
and last but by no means least…
Community Investment and Regional Lead from Google’s Global Data Centres – Michael Blake.
Schools in attendance were Forres Primary Academy and St. Cross Catholic Primary School.
