--- title: "Knife Crime Awareness Week, Monday 16th to Friday 20th November 2026." url: "https://www.josephleckieacademy.co.uk/blog/2026-11-12-08-00-knife-crime-awareness-week-monday-16th-to-friday-20th-november-2026" school: "Joseph Leckie Academy" --- 6th Form Parents Evening 25th November 2026 - Bookings now available via Arbor [Click here for more information](https://www.josephleckieacademy.co.uk/keyinformation/pce) # Knife Crime Awareness Week, Monday 16th to Friday 20th November 2026. 12 November 2026 [Tom Freeman](https://www.josephleckieacademy.co.uk/blog/author/tfreeman) [Letters](https://www.josephleckieacademy.co.uk/blog/category/letters) [![](https://files.schudio.com/joseph-leckie-academy/imagecache/720x720s/gallery/letters-home-banner-header/JLA_Letterhead_Header.png)](https://files.schudio.com/joseph-leckie-academy/images/gallery/letters-home-banner-header/JLA_Letterhead_Header.png) **Dear Parents and Carers,** **Keeping our students and community safe: Knife Crime Awareness Week, Monday 16th to Friday 20th November 2026.** You will be aware that knife crime and youth violence have become distressingly frequent in national and local news. Each incident represents a young life lost, a family devastated, and a community deeply affected. Sadly, young people across the country face risks from individuals carrying knives. As part of our safeguarding commitment, we are working with West Midlands Police, Matt Sen, Director, CTF Group and WMVRP (West Midlands Violence Reduction Partnership) to educate and protect students. At Joseph Leckie Academy, we believe in being proactive rather than reactive. We aim to equip young people with the knowledge and resilience they need to stay safe and make positive choices. To support this, we will run the following interventions during the week commencing Monday, 16th November. **Programme of Events** **Monday 16th November** - From 9 am to 10:00 and 10:00 to 11:00 am: x 2 half-year groups delivered by PC D Ashley *\#LifeOrKnife workshop: The Choice is Yours*, includes a video ‘Don’t let it be my story’ The video tells the story of a secondary school pupil deciding to carry a knife and take it to school. The video ends with an altercation between two pupils and the main character being injured by the knife. Please be aware that this video is censored for strong language (cursing) but will contain scenes depicting violence. While the content has been carefully selected to support learning and prevention, we recognise that some parents and carers may have concerns about their child viewing this material. We believe this presentation is an important opportunity to educate young people about making safe and responsible choices, and it will be delivered in a sensitive and age-appropriate manner with staff present throughout. **Tuesday 17th November** - Year 8 STOP & SEARCH - KNOW YOUR RIGHTS WORKSHOPS delivered by Michael Bryan Year 8 from 9:00 to 10:00 and 10:00 to 11:00 am: x 2 half-year groups. These workshops explain why and how police use stop and search powers, what Section 60 means, and young people’s rights during a search. They also address the dangers of knife crime. **Wednesday 18th November – Year 9** - Half-year group – from 9:00 to 10:00 am Half-year group from 10:00 to 11:00 am **Precious Lives** Delivered by trainer Gus Stewart, with real-life experience of knife crime, this session explores choices, peer pressure, and consequences. It aims to connect with students on a personal level and embed awareness of the associated risks. My knife crime talk will consist of giving a brief history of gang culture & how knife crime was birthed, why individuals get involved in knife crime, and how environments play a part in knife crime. Also, an evaluation of whether pupils would directly or indirectly get involved in gang culture and knife crime, and lastly, sharing my own story of being stabbed. **Thursday 19th November – Year 10** - Half-year group – from 9:00 to 10:00 am Half-year group from 10:00 to 11:00 **Precious Lives** Delivered by trainer Rae-Anne Preece with "Lived experience as a perpetrator (youth offending) and exploitation through her previous partner, also a victim and professional lecturer on violence and prevention" In addition to the above sessions for Thursday, 19th November, we will be hosting small, focused group sessions utilising Virtual Reality Headsets. These four sessions will be facilitated by academy staff alongside officers from West Midlands Police. The aim of these sessions is not to imply that any young person is at risk of becoming involved in knife crime, but rather to enhance awareness regarding its risks, consequences, and overall impact. To ensure a productive environment, we will thoughtfully create mixed-gender and mixed-year groups of students who demonstrate positive engagement when working in groups. **Friday 20th November – Year 11, Year 12 and Year 13** Struggle to Succeed guest speaker Matt Sen - Year 11 - 9:00 to 10 am Year 12 and 13 - 10 am to 11:00 **What is Struggle to Succeed**: A powerful, inspiring and thought-provoking motivational talk delivered by former professional boxer and Cruiserweight Champion, Matt “The Slugger” Sen. Through his own remarkable life story, Matt openly shares his experiences of childhood poverty, trauma, neglect, feeling worthless, and the challenges he faced both in school and within his community. His journey is one of adversity, resilience and ultimately triumph, delivering one powerful message: “You don't choose the first page of your book, but eventually, you get the opportunity to pick up your pen and change your book's direction. We hope you will support our approach to keeping students safe. Please take time to discuss these sessions with your child and reinforce the message about the dangers of carrying knives and the importance of avoiding association with anyone who does. If you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you for your continued support in safeguarding our young people. **Yours faithfully** ![](https://www.josephleckieacademy.co.uk/images/a48d94a318395556235166db3c0bc082.png) Mrs Marie De Rome Associate Assistant Principal (Safeguarding) [ Training Day Reminder - 27th November](https://www.josephleckieacademy.co.uk/blog/2026-11-11-08-00-training-day-reminder-27th-november) ![Joseph Leckie Academy](https://www.josephleckieacademy.co.uk/images/logo/Joseph_Leckie_Academy-white.png) [josephleckieacademy](https://www.facebook.com/josephleckieacademy/?locale=en_GB) [jleckieacademy](https://x.com/jleckieacademy) [josephleckieacademy](https://www.instagram.com/josephleckieacademy/?hl=en) [joseph-leckie-academy](https://uk.linkedin.com/company/joseph-leckie-academy) [UC2I00g0snFR5Duc3VpAPAhw](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2I00g0snFR5Duc3VpAPAhw) © 2026 Joseph Leckie Academy. 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