Y6 Growing Against Violence

Our Year 6 students recently participated in an enlightening Friend vs Friendly workshop delivered by the Growing Against Violence (GAV) organisation. This workshop aimed to educate our pupils about the exploitative nature of gangs, dispelling the myths that gangs are merely conventional friendship groups offering protection.

The GAV facilitator, Guy, was fantastic and really enjoyed meeting our Year 6 students. The workshop focused on helping the children create positive peer pressure to reject gang culture while providing essential personal safety advice.

### Key Learning Objectives:

- **Recognise the Difference Between Friendship and Friendly:** Students learnt to differentiate between true friendships and the superficial friendliness that gangs often use to recruit members.
- **Understand Gang Exploitation:** The workshop highlighted how gangs exploit young people and why they should not be seen as typical friendship groups.
- **Safety Strategies:** Practical strategies were discussed to help students keep themselves safe and avoid gang involvement.

Before and after the session, students were asked several questions to gauge their understanding and attitudes towards gangs and safety. The results showed a promising shift in their perspectives:

#### Pre-Workshop Responses:
- **Who would tell an adult if you or a friend was being bullied?** 56
- **If your friend told you they were joining a gang, who would get help and tell an adult?** 68
- **How many people think by joining a gang it means you get lots of friends?** 0
- **Who would tell a teacher or adult if they knew someone had brought a knife into school?** 77

#### Post-Workshop Responses:
- **Now, who would tell an adult if you or a friend was being bullied?** 83
- **Now, if your friend told you they were joining a gang, who would get help and tell an adult?** 83
- **Now, how many people think by joining a gang it means you get lots of friends?** 0
- **Now, who would tell a teacher or adult if they knew someone had brought a knife into school?** 83

The increase in numbers shows the positive impact the workshop had on our students' willingness to seek help and report dangerous situations.

Miss Ballantine remarked, "The Friend vs Friendly workshop was incredibly valuable. It's vital that our students understand the dangers of gang culture and how to protect themselves. The session with Guy from GAV has certainly empowered them."

Our Year 6 students also had some insightful thoughts to share:

- "I learned that real friends wouldn't pressure you into doing bad things," said Liam.
- "It was helpful to know what to do if I ever feel unsafe," added Raven.
- "I feel more confident about telling an adult if something's wrong," noted Dani-Girl.

We are so proud of our Year 6 students for their engagement and thoughtful participation in this important workshop. Their increased awareness and understanding will undoubtedly help them make safer and more informed choices in the future. Well done, Year 6!