The first ever week of action to protect schoolchildren from robbery was launched today in Manchester by Home Office Minister Hazel Blears, Crimestoppers and Olympic medal winning boxer Amir Khan.

'SAFE' week will start on Monday. 'SAFE' assemblies and lessons have been designed by crime-fighting experts at the Home Office, teachers and police, and will be held in schools up and down the country to give young people essential safety advice and help cut crime. At the same time, a renewed wave of TV and radio ads will be aired as part of the Home Office 'Let's Keep Crime Down' Campaign which launched in November last year.

SAFE week is being held in the peak month of the year for street crime to combat thieves who take advantage of the dark and target victims with new Christmas presents.

Ms Blears said: "Being a victim of crime is a traumatic experience for anyone, but especially for young people - and unfortunately, children can make easy targets for thieves, often school age themselves.

"The Government is determined to increase young people's safety, which is why we have joined forces with Crimestoppers to make sure that over the coming week - a peak time for robbery - kids are taught how to reduce their chances of being a victim. Lessons in 'SAFE' week will focus on how simple precautions - keeping mobile phones hidden, not flashing about valuables like MP3 players, keeping lockers locked - can make the difference between keeping or losing treasured possessions.

"At the same time, SAFE week will send a strong deterrent message to those kids in school who are active or potential offenders. Most young people do not commit crime, but those who do tend to target victims their own age. 'SAFE' will make them realise that robbery is serious - and so are the consequences.

"The Government has made great strides in cutting crime - 30 per cent down since 1997 - but we want to see even greater falls. To help achieve this, we have put record levels of police on the streets, recruited more than 4,000 community support officers and launched in November a major public information campaign, 'Let's Keep Crime Down'. But we cannot win the battle single-handed - we need the public, including children, to wise up to the risks, hide their valuables and stop making life easy for opportunistic criminals."

Dave Cording, Director of Operations, Crimestoppers, said: "Our charity works to support young people in keeping safe but also knowing that if they see a crime being committed they have an opportunity to give information anonymously by using the Crimestoppers UK-wide number 0800 555 111. Over the last year calls to Crimestoppers have seen 128 people charged with robbery offences. It's easy to just tell us what you know, not who you are."

SAFE week was launched today at Burnage School in Manchester, where pupils and staff attended a special assembly with Ms Blears and Amir Khan and watched the National Youth Theatre perform a drama created especially for SAFE week to drive home the risk of being a victim.

TOP TIPS TO KEEP KIDS SAFE

• Talking on your mobile phone and wearing MP3 player headphones shows robbers that you have things worth taking - don't flash your valuables about - keep them hidden!
• Be aware of your surroundings and remember - a robbery can occur anywhere, from a crowded environment to a deserted street.
• Think about your route beforehand when travelling, especially if you're going to be on your own. If at all possible travel with friends.
• Keep your bag zipped up and make sure your wallet or purse can't be seen.
• Stay aware at bus stops, inside or around train stations, and at other transport links and don't take your phone out at these places.
• Spread your possessions about - for example, keep your mobile phone separate from your wallet and money.
• And remember, boys are just as likely to be targeted as girls!

The Home Office, in consultation with Crimestoppers, the Department for Education and Skills and teaching representatives, has designed a 'SAFE' educational resource targeted at 11-14 year olds, which teachers can access via the websites 'Teachernet' and the London Grid for Learning. Schools in high street crime areas have been actively encouraged to build this into lesson plans under the key stage 3 Citizenship Curriculum during 10-14 January, with hard copies of the resource sent by the Home Office to more than 600 schools.