Crime - Key Stage 3&4
Act for Youth: RUN HIDE TELL
Help young people protect themselves and keep safe in the event of a knife or gun attack with the newly updated Act for Youth: RUN HIDE TELL key stage 3-4 lesson pack.
While the chances of being caught up in an attack are rare, these free lessons provide vital guidance which can be applied to many places and situations.
With an update for 2023 funded by the DfE, we have developed these lessons in collaboration with the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) as part of the Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) for YOUTH campaign.
The two lessons — one for KS3 and another for KS4 — cover:
• The three steps of RUN HIDE TELL and when it would be appropriate to use them
• The importance of not using a mobile phone to take photos or film in the event of a knife or gun attack
• How to identify suspicious behavior and/or items, and the appropriate actions to take
The Knife Angel
Knife Angel: The thought-provoking monument which aims to inspire social change will visit Gloucester Cathedral in February 2023 as part of the UK National Youth Anti-Violence Tour & Programme
Download the Knife Angel promotional poster here
The National Monument for Serious Violence and Aggression, the Knife Angel, is being supported by county wide organisations that have come together through the Stronger, Safer Gloucester community safety partnership to bring the striking symbol of peace to the city. The eight key partners include Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucester City Council, Gloucestershire County Council, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Gloucestershire Constabulary, Gloucester BID, Gloucester City Safe and NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board. The project will see them all working together to host the Angel, which aims to raise awareness of all aspects of violence, including knife crime.
The Knife Angel will be on display in Cathedral Green from Wednesday 1st February and the public will be able to view the 27ft sculpture throughout the month. A dedicated website will provide key information about the Knife Angel and scheduled events, exhibitions, and training opportunities to support the aim of education and awareness. The following dates are available for Gloucestershire schools to book a visit:
- February 3rd, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 17th for a morning or an afternoon visit.
For any enquiries and to book a school visit please email nicola.nolan@gloucestershire.police.uk directly or ghll@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Further information about the monument and the tour is available on the official British Ironworks website.
Knife Rose Acquired for Gloucester: Hundred Heroines, the Gloucester based charity dedicated to celebrating women in photography, has acquired a Knife Rose which will be unveiled at The Eastgate Centre on 1st February 2023 to coincide with the arrival of the Knife Angel.
Read the full Knife Rose press release here
Crime-fighting events in city to coincide with Knife Angel
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/events-gloucester-coincide-knife-angel-8051787
Knife Crime Lesson Plans & Resources
Knife Crime Lesson Plan & Resources - 
These PSHE lesson plans for schools teaching KS2, KS3 and KS4 are based on video testimony from ex gang members, victims and offenders. The lessons include all the worksheets, activities and film that you need to run a successful lesson.
Click here for themed lesson plans
Pledge to stop knife crime - Download a pledge template and sign it to make your pledge. Pledge as a group, or as individuals. For added awareness, upload your pledge to social media and tag us!
Workshops - Our award-winning anti-knife crime workshops educate young people about knife crime and how to make positive choices to stay safe.
Fundraise - Our important work cannot continue without support from our fabulous fundraisers! From completing a tough physical challenge like climbing the three peaks, running a marathon or cycling to Paris, to cake sales and coffee mornings - we will support you every step of the way. And whether you are raising £30 or £3000, every penny makes a difference and helps us to continue to #StopKnifeCrime.
Using the Home Office #knifefree campaign as stimulus for discussion, these PSHE education lesson plans set out to help challenge the myths and communicate the realities of carrying a knife.
The free lessons — one for key stage 3, and one for key stage 4 — are designed to inform young people of the consequences of carrying a knife and inspire them to pursue positive alternatives, using real life stories of young people’s experiences as a basis. Accompanying teacher guidance will help you plan the lessons into your PSHE curriculum safely and effectively. Well-planned and delivered PSHE education provides an ideal context for this learning, as the subject develops knowledge and understanding of key concepts such as risk, identity and power, and skills relating to decision making and managing peer influence. These lessons are therefore best suited for delivery alongside topics exploring personal safety or gang crime.
The lessons aim to help students to:
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Recognise and evaluate the risks of carrying a knife
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Challenge common misconceptions about knife crime
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Develop strategies to manage peer influence to carry a knife
Explore how young people can choose to live knife-free and achieve their potential PSHE Association Subject Specialist Jenny Fox says: “The #knifefree PSHE lessons are designed to challenge inaccurate perceptions about knife crime and help young people develop the confidence to resist pressure to carry knives. The lessons take an interactive approach using young people’s real life stories. Accompanying guidance will support teachers to introduce this topic using safe and effective practice. We encourage PSHE professionals and other staff to use these lessons to raise awareness of this important issue.”
Knife Crime Lesson Package - downloadble lesson plan, links to vidoes, photographs of injuries.
Objectives:
- Learn about the effects knife crime has in the community
- Learn about the law and knives
- Learn about the damage knives can do to people
- Learn how to report someone carrying a knife or how to dispose of a knife
An increase in knife crime - Discuss how to defuse tension and avoid conflict, and the first aid for someone with a heavy bleed.
This free lesson plan and resources include teaching learners how to avoid knives and conflict, and understand the steps for helping someone with a heavy bleed.
Knife Crime Toolkit - This toolkit aims to support and assist education staff, partner agencies and CYP practitioners in their work with children, young people and families by providing information, advice and links to resources specific to knife crime, including lesson plans for KS2 which can be accessed in the resources section at the bottom of this page.
Resources, Articles and Websites of Interest
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The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary of England and Wales website.
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Getting Court - a resource produced by the Health and Wellbeing team in association with the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire. A lesson pack to educate about the workings of the Crown Court in England and Wales. The pack includes details of how to get involved with the Crown Court visits through the scheme.
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The Sexualisation of Young People - an article by an eminent psychologist, Linda Papadopoulos.
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The Sentencing Council for England and Wales who promote greater consistent sentencing, whilst maintaining the independence of the judiciary. The Council produces guidelines on sentencing for the judiciary and aims to increase public understanding of sentencing.
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Cifas - Anti Fraud Education Lesson Plans: Anti-Fraud Education by Cifas’ is a set of four free lesson plans for secondary schools that focus on awareness of fraud, common scams, identity theft and money mules. Cifas is the UK’s leading fraud prevention service, helping to protect individuals and organisations from fraud and financial crime. They have identified an increasing number of young people affected by fraud, either being targeted by online fraudsters or unwittingly engaging in fraudulent acts themselves.
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Disrespect NoBody - Information about abuse, consent and more.
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Knifecrimes - an entire website devoted to knife crime in the UK.
Fearless from Knife Crime
The ‘Fearless from Knife Crime’ session was created following the 28% increase in the possession of weapons within Gloucestershire for 2015. The project was aimed at addressing the problem of knife crime in the medium and long term in Gloucestershire by engaging, informing and educating young people in Year 8 (12-13 year olds) about the risks and consequences of knife crime activities whilst promoting local services available to them (including the anonymous reporting service available on fearless.org)
Fearless increases the impact of the sessions for young people by including real life stories that young people can relate to and see first-hand the consequences that their actions could have from the mentors resulting in life changing sessions.
Fearless from knife crime stats for schools
Fearless - The importance of using your voice to report crime
Home Office: 'Preventing Involvement in Serious and Organised Crime' KS3 lesson plans awarded PSHE Association Quality Mark
The PSHE Association have awarded their Quality mark to 'Preventing Involvement in Serious and Organised Crime' — two free lesson plans and teacher guidance from the Home Office designed to prevent young people becoming involved in serious and organised crime.
The Year 7 lesson will help students to recognise unsafe or coercive friendships. The Year 9 lesson explores the impact of serious and organised crime directly, including the example of young people involved in drugs supply with a focus on county lines (transporting drugs across counties).
PSHE education provides an ideal context for this learning, as it develops the ability to make decisions, assess risk, recognise manipulation and use effective exit strategies.
These lessons aim to help students:
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identify the features of coercive or unsafe friendships
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recognise what serious and organised crime is and its consequences
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explain how and why some people might become involved in serious and organised crime, including manipulation techniques
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assess the risks involved in serious and organised crime
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develop skills to seek support
Please note that these materials are not designed for home learning, but are for use in a classroom setting.
Download the lessons and teacher guidance
Media Smart - Piracy: What's the big deal? Free KS3 lesson
This free, innovative, film-based lesson from Media Smart will support key stage 3 students to learn about the impact of illegal downloading and streaming (also known as piracy).
Piracy: What’s the big deal? is designed to increase students’ understanding and awareness of the legal and social issues around accessing film and TV content illegally online. Using interactive materials — including a short film featuring influencers and TV presenters — the resource explores the consequences of online piracy for both the media industry as a whole and for individuals. It will support students to reflect on their values, raise awareness and suggest alternative approaches to accessing content.
This free-to-download lesson will help your students to:
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Identify what piracy and copyright are.
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Explain how online piracy affects the TV and film industry.
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Evaluate the personal risks involved in accessing film and TV content illegally
This lesson will support schools to meet the statutory requirements for the content identified in the ‘Internet safety and harms’ and ‘Online and media’ sections.
Download 'Piracy: What's the big deal?'
Tackling Knife Crime
Lesson plan for Key Stage 4
The Ben Kinsella Trust have worked with PSHE experts and the National Centre for Diversity to create this lesson for KS4 students. The lesson uses the award winning and BAFTA nominated film, Life Sentence.
Teaching resources
We know we can't tackle knife crime on our own. Watch our short new film to see how our free teaching resources can help you to tackle knife crime in your area
Take a look
Knife Crime Toolkit Index
This toolkit is designed for professionals to use with children and young people who are at risk of carrying or using a knife. It can be used by staff in Youth Offending Teams for young people on court orders or prevention programmes, and by youth workers, Early Help and other social care officers, teachers and school staff and staff in secure settings. It has been designed by BraveSpace, the youth justice consultancy, in partnership with young people and staff from Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham and Lewisham; and with the graphic design skills of young people from Haringey and Islington engaging with Wipers Youth project. It has been delivered for the London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, as part of the Mayor’s Knife Crime Strategy.
This product is designed as a toolkit – a suite of intervention sessions from which professionals can select those which apply to the needs and circumstances of individual young people. All of the sessions can be adapted for use in one to one or group settings, as applicable. Text which is italicised forms advice for staff on delivery of the session. The toolkit also references a number of videos which can be used to enhance learning.
As with all resources for group and one-to-one work dealing with violence, care should be taken in planning these sessions. Tailoring the material to your local context and participants, and using appropriate challenges where needed, will reinforce the positive outcomes of this work.
View and download the toolkit here
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