Yorkshire Mentoring Leads Free Knife Crime Training for Leeds NW AIP Schools

A small change in behaviour can be the first sign that a young person is being pulled towards risk. Missed lessons, a new group of older friends, unexplained money, fear around certain places, or sudden changes in mood can all mean different things. In schools, the adults who notice these changes first are often the people who see pupils every day.

That is why Yorkshire Mentoring is leading a programme of free, targeted knife crime and criminal exploitation training for high schools in the Leeds NW AIP partnership. The initiative is designed to strengthen the skills of staff who work closest to young people, helping them spot concerns earlier, respond with confidence, and deliver clear prevention messages in school.

The sessions bring together practical safeguarding awareness, educational resources, and a one-day train-the-trainers model funded by Leeds City Council Safer Strong Communities. The aim is simple and urgent: give front-facing staff the knowledge and tools to help reduce knife crime risk among young people.

Free targeted sessions that build staff confidence

Yorkshire Mentoring’s sessions are free for high schools within the Leeds NW AIP partnership. That matters because safeguarding pressure is already high, and schools often need support that is both practical and easy to put into use.

These sessions are not broad awareness talks that leave staff wondering what to do next. They are targeted at the skills school teams need most when dealing with knife crime risk and criminal exploitation.

The training focuses on helping staff to:

• Recognise signs that a young person may be at risk of exploitation

• Understand how grooming and coercion can happen in and around school communities

• Respond calmly when a concern is raised

• Know when and how to share information through school safeguarding routes

• Speak with young people in a way that is clear, safe, and non-stigmatising

• Support prevention work before incidents escalate

  
  

The strength of this approach is that it recognises the reality of school life. Concerns rarely arrive neatly labelled. A pupil may not say, “I am being exploited.” A friend may pass on a rumour. A staff member may see a pattern but feel unsure whether it is enough to act on. A behaviour issue may actually be a safeguarding concern.

Training helps staff join those dots.

It also supports consistency. When teachers, pastoral teams, behaviour teams, attendance staff, safeguarding leads, reception staff, youth workers, and mentors share the same understanding, pupils are less likely to fall between gaps. Concerns are more likely to be recorded, discussed, and followed up.

The goal is not to turn every adult into a specialist investigator. It is to help them notice, listen, record, and refer well.

Why criminal exploitation awareness belongs in every school community

Knife crime does not begin with a knife. In many cases, it begins with pressure, fear, status, debt, isolation, or a young person’s need to belong. Criminal exploitation can build slowly, and it often hides behind normal teenage behaviour until the risk becomes serious.

Schools play a vital role because they see young people in context. Staff notice who has stopped attending. They see who is anxious at the gate. They hear names, places, rumours, and worries before they appear in formal reports. They also build trusted relationships with pupils who may not speak to other services.

Exploitation can involve:

• Older peers or adults asking young people to carry items

• A young person being given gifts, food, lifts, or money with strings attached

• Threats made towards the young person or their family

• Pressure to prove loyalty

• Being sent to certain areas, addresses, or meeting points

• Fear of leaving a group once involved

• Carrying a weapon for protection, status, or coercion

  
  

None of these signs should be viewed in isolation. The point of training is to help staff understand patterns and context. A single incident may not tell the full story, but several small concerns can build a clearer picture.

There is also a need to challenge myths. Young people affected by exploitation are not always looking for trouble. Some are frightened. Some are controlled. Some do not recognise what is happening to them. Some may present as angry or defiant because that feels safer than showing fear.

This is where calm, skilled adults can make a difference. A trusted member of staff may be the first person to ask the right question at the right time.

Clear resources help staff turn concern into safe action.

A one-day train-the-trainers programme funded by Leeds City Council Safer Strong Communities

A key part of the initiative is a one-day train-the-trainers programme funded by Leeds City Council Safer Strong Communities via the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Partnership . This model is designed to build capacity inside schools, rather than leaving expertise outside the gate.

Train-the-trainers works because it gives selected staff the confidence and resources to deliver sessions themselves. Instead of relying only on external speakers, schools can create a more lasting prevention offer. Staff can return to the material when needed, adapt delivery to fit their setting, and repeat key messages with different year groups.

The programme supports front-facing staff to deliver knife crime reduction training to young people in a safe and age-appropriate way. That may include pastoral staff, safeguarding teams, behaviour leads, mentors, youth workers, inclusion staff, and other adults who already have regular contact with pupils.

The one-day format is especially useful for busy schools. It keeps the training focused and practical, while giving staff enough time to understand both the content and the delivery approach.

A strong train-the-trainers session should help participants answer questions such as:

• What are the warning signs that a young person may be carrying a knife or feeling pressured to do so?

• How can staff discuss knife crime without creating fear or glamour?

• What language helps young people reflect without feeling judged?

• How should disclosures or concerns be handled?

• What should staff avoid saying or doing?

• How can schools keep the message consistent across year groups?

  
  

This matters because prevention work needs care. Poorly handled messages can create panic, shame, or curiosity. Good training does the opposite. It gives young people space to think about risk, consequences, choices, and support.

The funding from Leeds City Council Safer Strong Communities also sends a valuable message. Knife crime reduction is not only a school issue. It is a shared community safety priority that needs schools, local services, families, youth organisations, and community partners to work together.

Educational resources shaped for real conversations with young people

The initiative also includes educational resources and presentations provided from the makers of 24 Hours in Police Custody, who provided permission and licensing from Channel 4 . These materials add another layer to the training by giving staff content that can support discussion, reflection, and classroom delivery.

Video, visual resources, and structured presentations can be powerful when they are used well. They can help young people engage with difficult topics without feeling as if they are being lectured. They can also open up conversations that pupils may struggle to start on their own.

For schools, ready-made resources can save time and support quality. Staff do not have to build everything from scratch. They can focus on how to deliver the content well and how to respond to the issues it raises.

Good knife crime education should do more than list consequences. Young people often already know that carrying a knife is dangerous. What they may need help with is understanding the situations that lead to risk, and the ways they can seek support before harm occurs.

Resources can help explore:

• Peer pressure and fear

• Online influence and rumours

• Status, respect, and belonging

• The impact on families and friends

• Legal and personal consequences

• How to ask for help safely

• How to support a friend who may be at risk

  
  

The Channel 4 production team materials can also support staff who feel less confident leading sensitive group conversations. A shared resource gives a clear starting point. It helps staff introduce the topic, pause for discussion, and guide pupils back to key safety messages.

The best resources do not replace trusted adults. They help trusted adults speak with clarity.

Equipping front-facing staff to deliver prevention messages

The success of this programme depends on the people who stand closest to pupils each day. In every school, there are adults who know the pupils beyond their timetable. They notice friendship changes, family worries, attendance dips, and behaviour shifts. They hear what pupils say when they are not in a formal meeting.

Yorkshire Mentoring’s work rightly places these front-facing staff at the centre of the response.

Knife crime reduction training is most effective when it is not treated as a one-off assembly. Assemblies can raise awareness, but pupils often need smaller conversations, repeated messages, and trusted adults who can follow up. A young person may not speak at the end of a session, but they may approach a mentor, teaching assistant, pastoral worker, or tutor later.

That is why staff training matters as much as pupil education.

When front-facing staff feel prepared, they can:

• Notice risk earlier

• Use safer language

• Avoid blame-based responses

• Escalate concerns through the right channels

• Support pupils who feel trapped or scared

• Reinforce school-wide safeguarding messages

• Help young people understand where to get help

  
  

This work also supports staff wellbeing. Dealing with concerns about knives or exploitation can be stressful. Training gives adults a clearer framework, which reduces uncertainty. Staff are less likely to feel alone with a worrying conversation or unsure about what action to take.

There is a wider benefit too. When pupils hear consistent messages from different adults across school, those messages carry more weight. A lesson, a corridor conversation, a mentoring session, and a pastoral check-in can all point in the same direction.

The role of parents, carers, and the wider community

Schools cannot reduce knife crime risk in isolation. Young people move between school, home, streets, shops, parks, sports spaces, online platforms, and friends’ houses. Risk can appear in any of those places. Support needs to surround them in the same way.

Community awareness helps adults notice when something is wrong. Parents and carers may spot changes at home. Neighbours may see young people gathering in places where they seem uneasy. Local organisations may hear concerns before schools do. Youth workers may know the pressures in a particular area.

The point is not to create suspicion around young people. It is to build a more alert, caring community that knows the difference between normal teenage behaviour and signs of harm.

Helpful community responses include:

• Listening without jumping straight to punishment

• Sharing concerns through safe and appropriate routes

• Supporting schools when they run prevention sessions

• Encouraging young people to speak to trusted adults

• Challenging language that glamorises violence

• Making sure young people know where support exists

  
  

The Leeds NW AIP partnership gives schools a structure for shared learning. When schools work together, they can compare what they are seeing, build common practice, and support each other. That shared approach is vital, because exploitation does not respect school boundaries.

A concern in one area may connect to a pupil in another. A pattern noticed by one school may help another act sooner. Training across the partnership helps create a common language and a stronger local response.

A practical step towards safer futures

Yorkshire Mentoring’s free training offer for Leeds NW AIP high schools brings together several things schools need: targeted staff development, practical safeguarding awareness, ready-to-use educational resources, and a train-the-trainers model that keeps knowledge inside the school community.

The programme funded by Leeds City Council Safer Strong Communities recognises that knife crime reduction starts before a crisis. It starts with awareness, relationships, and the confidence to act on early concerns.

For young people, the message should be clear. Help is available before things go too far. For staff, the message is just as clear. You do not need to have every answer on your own, but you do need the skills to notice, respond, and connect pupils with support.

The work led by Yorkshire Mentoring is a strong example of prevention in practice. It treats schools as key partners, not passive observers. It values the staff who know young people best. It also reminds the wider community that safety is built through shared attention, steady support, and early action.