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Open schools to curb violence, advises children's commissioner

SCHOOLS should remain open during weekends, evenings and holidays to help curb street violence and gangs, the Children’s Commissioner for England has advised.

Commissioner Anne Longfield warns, in a new manifesto published today, that gangs are increasingly operating openly in streets and parks, with vulnerable youngsters “easy pickings” for troublemakers.

She said that keeping schools open longer to provide activities like sport, art and drama would help tackle the issue.

The “children’s manifesto” also argues that security in schools and neighbourhoods should be a priority for any government and calls for police officers to be attached to every school.

Children today are “routinely frightened,” Ms Longfield says in a foreword to the manifesto.

“They tell me about being chased in the streets, videoed by strangers, frightened to walk to school, avoiding being out after dark,” she says.

“Many of the people and places that used to be available to kids in the past, the fabric of a child’s society — from someone to greet you when you got home from school, to welcoming parks and clubs — no longer exist. We must fix this.”

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