A PIONEERING scheme to keep vulnerable children on the right track by building stronger families has been launched in Banbury.

Families from deprived areas of the town have been selected to take part in the 12-week initiative, which is the first of its kind in the region.

The young people, who may have been disruptive or caused problems at school, will get the chance to make a documentary film based on arson and tolerance. At the same time, their parents will get a lesson in healthy eating, brush up on their English and maths, and get help for any problems they may have.

At the end of each two-hour session the families will sit down together and eat a meal parents have prepared.

The scheme, the first in the Thames Valley area, is being run by police, the North Oxfordshire Academy, media charity Sitting Duck and Cherwell District Council.

Schools’ officer Pc Jade Hewitt and Academy principal Ruth Robinson came up with the initiative to re-educate families as a way of stopping youngsters taking the wrong path.

Pc Hewitt said: “We are not saying you have been a bad parent, we just want to try something different.

“We have identified these people because of their background, the area they live in or the way their children behave in school.

“All families come from areas of deprivation. We are trying to get a picture of these families and see if anything is missing.

“The council, police and teachers are trying to help these families – it’s steering children on the right path.”

Cherwell District Council has given £8,300 to the scheme and Tesco and Argos have paid for ingredients and donated vouchers for families who complete the project.

Youngsters, aged between 11 and 16, will work with Sitting Duck to make the film about the dangers of arson, which will lbe shown to the entire school.

Arson was chosen as the topic after a spate of bin fires last summer, and young people will go into the community to talk to residents and firefighters.

Cherwell’s Ian Davies said “The aim is to help young people and their parents work together to understand how lifestyle choices can impact on their wellbeing, safety, education and future.

“We believe this will help to increase personal self-confidence as well as confidence in the community in which they live.”