A student at Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise Academy has launched a campaign to highlight the importance of knowing when to make a 999 call.
Chad Fowkes, 13, is educating primary and secondary pupils as part of his role on Derbyshire Youth Council.
Youth Council members were asked to come up with an idea for a campaign and Chad decided to focus on 999 calls.
He met with OIEA principal Nia Salt and came up with a plan before delivering assemblies to Year 7,8,9 and 10 and is also set to visit Cotmanhay Junior School.
He said: “I became a member of the Youth Council when I was in Year 8 after I was elected and at one of our meetings we were asked to come up with a campaign.
“I had a friend who didn’t make a 999 call when he should have and I thought it would be a good idea to teach young people about when it is appropriate to make a 999 call and when it isn’t.
“I contacted Derbyshire police and they were really helpful and I put a plan together. So far I’ve delivered assemblies to Years 7 to 10 at our school and I talked to them about their responsibilities and now I’m going to a primary school that will be more about trying to teach them about why they would make a 999 call and when.
“I want to tell people not to be afraid to make a 999 call but to make sure that they are doing it for the right reasons.”
During the sessions Chad delivers he talks about the information you should give when making a 999 call, what it is like to be a member of the emergency services and hoax calls.
Superintendent Simon Tunnicliffe, who is Head of Contact Management at Derbyshire police, said: “This is a great initiative which is highlighting an ongoing issue which all emergency services suffer from.
“Dialling 999 when not necessary ties up phone lines for people who are reporting genuine emergencies where an immediate police response is required.
“We would like to remind people to only dial 999 when there is an immediate threat to life or when a crime is in progress.”
OIEA Principal Miss Salt congratulated Chad on his campaign.
She said: “Chad is a valued member of our school community and contributes actively to all areas of school life. He has shown great initiative with this excellent campaign which will hopefully have an impact on young people in the local area.”

Source