The Safety House scheme was started in West Sussex last autumn by a parent, Tricia Porter, who had read about a similar scheme in Australia several years after the attempted abduction of her 12-year-old son. The abduction and murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne in Sussex in July 2000 spurred Mrs Porter on to set up a local initiative.
Under the pilot scheme, which is running in the towns of Ferring and Goring, registered childminders and foster carers can apply to register their premises as Safety Houses - places where children can go for help if they are frightened or feel they are in danger. The houses are identified by a large yellow triangle window sticker. There are currently ten Safety Houses in the area and the scheme has the backing of local social services, schools and West Sussex County Council.
Mrs Porter, who is chair of the British Safety House Association, said, 'The aim is to have a Safety House on every street in Britain.' She said that she hoped in future there would be enough funding for police vetting by the Criminal Records Bureau so that many more members of the public would be able to get involved as Safety householders.
Mrs Porter visits local schools and gives children a leaflet for their parents explaining the scheme. Schools are encouraged to display a map showing the location of the Safety Houses.
Safety householders must agree to be on the premises during the time that children are usually travelling to and from school. If a child is thought to be in danger it is the householder's responsibility to contact their parent or guardian and the police if necessary.
The West Sussex scheme is in the process of becoming a registered charity and aims to set standards for other schemes around the UK. Mrs Porter said, 'It is vital for the safety of our children that we make sure strict guidelines are in place.'
Security measures have been built into the manufacture and design of the Safety House stickers to prevent them from being falsely duplicated, and each sticker has a serial number recorded against the house where it is displayed. 'The stickers disintegrate if anyone attempts to pull them down,' Mrs Porter said.
There is a Safety House Project co-ordinator for each area who regularly checks that the stickers are visible from the road and that no fraudulent stickers are displayed.
For further information on the initiative, contact Trisha Porter on 01903 249 987 or e-mail britishsafetyhouse@hotmail.com