First visit as High Sheriff

Dr Llewelyn’s first visit as High Sheriff followed her theme of ‘Every child included’ and was at Spelthorne School in an area with pockets of deprivation alongside more affluent ones.

Her theme focuses on keeping young people in school through the proper support at the right time and is particularly appropriate now. After the pandemic, returning to school has posed significant challenges for many young people who did not fully engage with online learning during the lockdowns.

The issue is that if a young person hasn’t had the early help they need and misses a lot of schooling, they often fall into antisocial behaviour and become involved with county lines.

Another school, Thamesmead School in Shepperton, leads the way in the Borough with its Inclusion Unit. The unit works with students to identify problems early and ensure they are supported. Early intervention is key to preventing all sorts of school-related issues from happening later.

Dr Llewelyn said: “The local Youth Engagement Officer and the team at Family Services are busy doing all they can to help these young people, and demand is enormous as Surrey emerges from the pandemic.”