Safe Places and Safe People

Transcription

1 Safe Places and Safe People Lesson Plan: KS3/4 Age: years Timing: 1 hour Teachers Notes Page 1 Lesson Aim To develop awareness of the risks of running away and how to identify safe people and safe places. Lesson Objectives Children can describe what running away is Children can establish the causes and triggers that contribute to running away Children can specify the difference between safe and unsafe choices in relation to running away Children can identify where and how to access sources of support Preparation & Requirements Interactive whiteboard or screen Whiteboard / flipchart Paper and pens Print off Safe People & Safe Places Map Print off Jessica Problem Page and response template Access to Railway Children website film Please be aware that this is a hard hitting film and you should screen this yourself first to see if it is appropriate for your student group Curriculum Links PSHE Personal Well being Key Concepts: Personal identities, Healthy lifestyles, Risk, Relationships Personal Well being Key Processes: Critical reflection, Decision-making and managing risk, Developing relationships and working with others English Key Concepts: Competence English Key Processes: Speaking and Listening, Reading, Writing SEAL Outcomes Self Awareness Managing Feelings Empathy Social Skills

2 Page 2 Activity 1: Invisible Girl Read out the excerpt of Jessica s problem page below Problem Page: Jessica aged 13...things have been so rubbish lately here, everything s gone downhill since dad stopped working. He went in one day and got told he wouldn t have a job by the end of the week. Since then he hardly gets out of bed, he doesn t want to do anything, he hardly talks to me or my sister and he just shouts at Mum. She has taken him to see a doctor and he s got some tablets but they don t seem to have made him better. Mum is really sad all the time and I ve noticed more and more empty wine bottles. I hate school, Alice and Charlie in Year 11 have been waiting for me and spreading rumours round school about me. This week I couldn t stand it anymore so I just walked out of school, but it seemed to make things worse at home because Mum and Dad went mad and ended up having a massive row and my sister said everything is my fault. I think it would be better if I wasn t at home anymore, I think things would be much better if I left, no one would even notice...what should I do? Lead a speculative discussion about the problem page using the questions below. 1. Who is talking in the problem page? 2. What is happening to Jessica? 3. What issues are happening in Jessica s family? 4. What do you think Jessica is feeling? 5. What do you think Jessica is going to do next? Bring the discussion to a close, drawing attention to the point that Jessica was thinking of running away

3 Page 3 Activity 2: What is running away? Ask the students to work in pairs to come up with a definition of what running away is. You may want to use the ideas below as starter points: Staying out overnight Leaving home for days or weeks Staying out past an agreed time Going out and not telling your parent/carers where you are Skipping some or all of the school day Students then feed back their ideas to the whole class. Capture the points on the board and bring about a negotiated agreement of what students think running away is.

4 Page 4 Activity 3: Quiz Use the quiz to assess the group s knowledge and understanding of the issue of running away. Ask the students to stand up or raise a hand when they hear the answer they think is correct. Alternatively you could use an online quiz format template, see TES resources for free downloadable templates. Q1) Is running away from home safe? a. Yes b. No c. Maybe Notes: On the whole the answer would be No, but for some circumstances where home is an extremely dangerous place then running away might be a safer option. However, even if a young person is running from danger, if they have no safe plan or safe place to run to it is still a very risky choice to make. Q2) How many young people under the age of 16 run away in the UK each year? a. 20,000 b. 60,000 c. 100,000 d. 10,000 Notes: That number would fill Wembley Stadium and still leave 10,000 outside. Q3) What is the main reason that young people run away? a. To be with friends b. Because of problems with family at home c. Because they are in trouble with the police d. For fun Notes: Family relationships are often the issue that young people say contributed to them running away. Many young people tell us that the reality of running away is scary, boring, cold, isolating - very few young people run away for fun.

5 Page 5 Activity 3: Quiz (continued) Q4) Over the age of 12, who runs away the most? a. Boys b. Girls c. No difference Notes: Boys do run away, but the statistics show that slightly more girls run away than boys. However, boys tend to stay away for longer. Ensure that the group understands that running away affects both boys and girls. Q5: What would a young person need in order for them to feel safe and not think about running away from home? a. Locks on all of the doors in the house b. Having support from family, friends and school c. Having nowhere to go. Notes: Having support and someone to talk to is a key issue for many young people and can often prevent them reaching a crisis point where they feel they have no other option other than to run away. Q6: Most young people who run away come back safely within: a. 48hrs/2 days b. 1 week c. 1 month Notes: Some young people run away more than once, some stay away longer. However long a young person runs away for they are still at risk of harm.

6 Page 6 Activity 4: Risks and Dangers Link back to Jessica s earlier problem page and play the film to see what happened next in her story Ask students to pay attention to what situations Jessica is in during the film -visible/ *Please be aware that this is a hard hitting video and you should screen this yourself to see if it is appropriate for your student group Working in small groups ask students to create a list of the risks and dangers that Jessica was exposed to in the film Create a group list from the feedback from the small groups, ask students to vote if Jessica made a safe choice or an unsafe choice in running away

7 Activity 5: Safe people and Safe places Map Lesson Plan: KS3/4 Page 7 In small groups ask the students to complete the Safe Places and Safe People Map, remembering to think about Jessica s story and which Unsafe Places and Unsafe People she had in her life. Ask students to consider what Safe Places and Safe People they could go to if they needed help, prompting the students to think about support in their own lives e.g. school, teacher, mentor, home, relative, trusted adults. Then encourage the students to think of wider sources of help e.g. phone helplines like ChildLine, Missing People Runaway Helpline, police etc. Students may need help identifying who supports them. Consider some of the following examples: friends, family, neighbour, sport s coach, youth worker, learning mentor, social worker, auntie, uncle, cousin, nan, teacher, guiding/scouts Leader, sibling, foster carer, key worker etc. Explain to students that young people like Jessica who go missing or run away often feel like they have no one to turn to when things get tough, and that it s important to recognise the sources of support available. Activity 6: Problem page answer to Jessica Ask the students to consider what they have learnt about the risks and dangers of running away and the importance of identifying safe people and safe places to get help. With this in mind students should write a response to Jessica s problem offering her some advice on what she should do to make safe choices in her situation. Ask for volunteers to read out their responses to Jessica. Lesson Summary Draw the lesson to an end by reminding students of the importance of talking to safe people and trusted adults before making risky choices to run away.

8 Page 8 Safe People & Safe Places Map

9 Page 9 Jessica problem page and response template Problem Page: Jessica aged 13...things have been so rubbish lately here, everything s gone downhill since dad stopped working. He went in one day and got told he wouldn t have a job by the end of the week. Since then he hardly gets out of bed, he doesn t want to do anything, he hardly talks to me or my sister and he just shouts at Mum, she has taken him to see a doctor and he s got some tablets but they don t seem to have made him better. Mum is really sad all the time and I ve noticed more and more empty wine bottles. I hate school, Alice and Charlie in Year 11 have been waiting for me and spreading rumours round school about me. This week I couldn t stand it anymore so I just walked out of school, but it seemed to make things worse at home because Mum and Dad went mad and ended up having a massive row and my sister said everything is my fault. I think it would be better if I wasn t at home anymore, I think things would be much better if I left, no one would even notice...what should I do? Dear Jessica,