​​This 40-minute lesson plan aims to support knife crime prevention and education in secondary schools by helping young people understand the risks and consequences of carrying an offensive weapon. It also:

• reassures young people that knife carrying is not common
• develops awareness of the influences, fears and pressures that can lead to the decision to carry a knife and how these can be managed and avoided

• highlights the importance of the bystander in prevention work

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How to use this resource to improve practice

This session can be delivered as an assembly or class lesson and it is designed to be used in conjunction with the film Mark's Story: One Knife, Many Victims (please note, this video is not recommended for viewers under the age of 15).

There are supporting notes to help practitioners gain maximum impact from the lesson along with information on the target age group, the learning objectives, and the preparation required before the lesson.

A number of themes are explored during the lesson.

Think it couldn't happen?

There is the opportunity to reflect on the reasons that someone might choose to carry a knife.

What happens next?

Young people are encouraged to reflect on the short and long term consequences of carrying or using a knife.

What would you do?

This theme encourages young people to think about what they would do if they knew someone else was carrying a knife and explores options for doing something in that situation.

Improvement questions

• To what extent do we use whole-school approaches or class-based approaches to develop emotional resilience?
• As practitioners, do we support young people to explore choice in situations of conflict?
• To what extent are we helping learners to develop an understanding of the potential role of the bystander?​​

Downloads

PDF file: No knives, better lives lesson plan (1.89 MB)