Knife crime lessons for 11-year-olds

CHILDREN as young as 11 are to get lessons about the dangers of knife crime for the first time in a £1million bid to curb bloodshed on the streets.

Pupils in secondary schools across England will be given an hour-long lesson to steer them away from carrying a blade ahead of the summer holidays – when violence traditionally flares.

The move, due to be announced by the Home Office today, comes 24 hours after a shocking Daily Mail poll revealed the majority of Britons think police have lost control and criminals are acting with impunity.

Ministers are under intense pressure to get to grips with an epidemic of violence across Britain with knife crime up 22 per cent in a year.

Now schools across England are being issued with new guidance on teaching children aged 11-16 about the risks of carrying a knife and the dangers of social media.

Almost 50,000 secondary school teachers have received lesson plans and power-point presentations to show pupils the hazards of arming themselves and give advice on how to resist peer pressure. The guidance states: ‘ It is important that young people are able and confident to identify the risks associated with carrying a knife and feel empowered to live knife-free.

‘In line with best practice, the lessons and resources have been carefully designed to minimise feelings of fear, shock or guilt while learning about this potentially sensitive topic.

‘It is important to use a reassuring approach throughout and to avoid “worst case scenario” thinking.’

As part of the lessons, pupils will be taught about slang such as ‘ shank’ or ‘tool’ for knife, ‘mandem’ and ‘ posse’ for gang and ‘feds’ for police.

The initiative is set to be rolled out across all state and private secondary schools in England as part of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) lessons.

It is anticipated thousands of pupils will be taught anti-knife lessons this week and other teaching materials will be provided by the Home Office for the next academic year.

It is the first time the Home Office has intervened in an area which traditionally has been left to charities and campaigners to educate informally.

Children’s Minister Nadhim Zahawi said: ‘Knife crime has devastating consequences on society and this Government is determined to take action and protect our children, families and communities from it.

‘These lesson plans will help illustrate the real impact of knife crime on young people’s lives. It’s heartening to know schools up and down the country are taking advantage of them.’

Today Home Secretary Sajid Javid will chair the latest meeting of the newly- established serious violence taskforce, which will focus on early intervention and methods for stopping young people being drawn into crime.

Recent police figures showed there were 2,579 weapons seized at schools between April 2015 and the beginning of this year, including axes and almost 500 knives. Some seizures involved children as young as five.

Crime Minister Victoria Atkins said: ‘The summer holidays can pose additional dangers to young people, which is why we are determined to do everything we can to keep them safe and give them the tools and resilience they need to enjoy the summer break.’

Official figures show 2017 was the worst year for knife deaths among young people in London since at least 2002. Forty-six victims aged 25 or under were stabbed to death, up by 21 on the previous year.

Senior police officers and knife campaigners have been calling for early intervention in schools for some time. In January, Detective Chief Superintendent Sean Yates, Scotland Yard’s head of knife crime, suggested children as young as five should be taught about the dangers.