Year 9 Are ‘In The Zone’

1 February 2024 | School News

This week, Year 9 students had the exciting opportunity to participate in a series of powerful workshops designed around the issues affecting young people today.  ‘In The Zone’ aims to give young people the knowledge and skills to keep themselves safe in the community. The workshops were delivered by Merseyside Police and local agencies, including:
  • Youth Justice
  • Compass Team
  • Youth Matters
  • Response

This series of interactive workshops, delivered across two days, tackled knife crime, criminal exploitation and county lines; cybercrime, online safety, cyber bullying, digital footprints and sending indecent images; peer pressure and substance misuse; alcohol and drugs.

The Workshops

‘Crime and Consequences’ delivered by the Youth Justice Service
This interactive and informal board game/presentation focused on crime, consequences and reducing serious violence and knife crime. The session aimed to raise student awareness about the impact of offending and the rise in violent and knife crime amongst young people, locally and nationally. For information and support in relation to this issue visit: www.noknivesbetterlives.co.uk. For concerns about any young people visit www.wirralsafeguarding.co.uk for advice and guidance.

‘Going Country’ delivered by the Compass Team
The Going Country workshop looked at issues around criminal exploitation and county lines. The Compass Team (Wirral’s Child Exploitation Team) worked with students to encourage them to think about keeping safe in the community and the session covered topics such as grooming. Criminal exploitation is when a young person is groomed, forced or coerced into carrying out criminal acts for the profit gain of another individual. Some examples of things young people may be exploited into doing are drug dealing/county lines, committing acts of violence and robberies. Over recent years criminal exploitation is becoming more widely recognised and it is important young people from all backgrounds are aware of how this occurs and ways of keeping themselves safe. For more information on Criminal Exploitation/County Lines visit: www.wirralsafeguarding.co.uk/county-lines.

‘HAC Man’ delivered by Merseyside Police
Merseyside Police have designed a fun, interactive and educational game called Hac-Man. This session aims to raise awareness around cybercrime, online safety, cyber bullying, digital footprints, sending indecent images, as well as other cyber related crimes and offences. The students were placed in to teams, identifiable by a single colour, and a designated game piece. They were then given the opportunity to answer questions based on the content highlighted. The teams worked their way around the board collecting tokens whilst trying to avoid being hacked and losing all their loot. At the end of the session the team with the most tokens was declared the winner and the Hac-Man Champion. The session enabled you people to have up to date knowledge on the use of social media, the law and keeping themselves safe.

‘Think * Feel * Do: Peer Pressure & Substance Misuse’ delivered by Youth Matters

‘Think *Feel * Do’ explores young people’s understanding on a range of social scenarios they may find themselves in, as a young person living in Wirral. Youth Matters staff develop this resource to enable young people to explore and discuss the scenarios and think about strategies to support them in the future.
‘Peer Pressure’ – feeling like you have to do something just because all your friends are doing it. This resource enabled young people to discuss, share experiences, develop strategies and confidence to make their own choices.
‘Substance Misuse’ follows on from ‘Peer Pressure’. The resource focused on a particular scenario involving drugs and alcohol, that young people can sometimes find themselves in.
For more information on what Youth Matters offers, you can follow them on Instagram @youthmattersinwirral or email [email protected].

‘A Walk in the Park’ delivered by Response
‘A walk in the Park’ is an interactive Q&A session, using activities and real life scenarios to help educate and advise Year 9 students in relation to alcohol and drugs. Pupils chose symbols from the interactive board to explore scenarios they may face as they navigate adolescence. Covering the most frequently asked questions about alcohol and commonly used drugs, the workshop aimed to informally educate, encourage space for safe conversations, and pass on harm reduction messages to help students make informed choices, and reduce risk.

Useful links:

www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware
www.thinkuknow.co.uk
www.actionfraud.co.uk

Download the 'In the Zone' information sheet