Registered charity number 1188874
LATEST NEWS & UPDATES
AUGUST 2023
We have had a fabulous few weeks at Million Styles Boxing Club in Darwen, Lancashire, delivering our Free Boxing Sessions for local children over the Summer Holidays.
We had a fantastic response and all the children worked really hard and found a passion for a Sport that focuses on discipline and hard work!
JUNE 2023
We are delighted to announce that we have paired with Million Styles Boxing Club in Darwen, to offer FREE
Boxing Lessons to some of our beneficiaries from Blackburn with Darwen during the school Summer Holidays.
We want to thank the owners, Matt and Brian for working with us on our Sports element of our GANG for LIFE? Project for children aged 9-16.
We are also delighted to announce financial support for our GANG for LIFE? Project from Northern Asphalt Surfacing Ltd based in Golborne. We are proud to have been selected as your chosen charity!
Also a huge thank you to all at EG Foundation for the financial support for our sports element of the GANG for LIFE? project being delivered during the school Summer Holidays It is great to be able to extend our work to our beneficiaries, and to improve their physical and mental wellbeing.
MARCH 2023
We have been honored over the last few weeks to have a Retired Manchester Crown Court Judge, The Right Honorable Bernard Lever join us when delivering our GANG for LIFE? Project to children in Primary School and at a PRU. He has kindly given feedback on his thoughts on the Project.
"I am a retired Crown Court Judge who down the years had a lot of involvement with cases involving Gangs. I therefore had a special interest as well as I hope special knowledge of the subject. I was very impressed by this Charity’s work.
I have attended talks given to two age groups. Ten year olds and Fifteen year olds who have been excluded from ordinary schooling. A very well pitched talk is given to both these groups supported by informative slides to emphasise the points made.
The pitch is age appropriate for both groups by a reformed ex gangster who had served a total of 16 years in prison for two separate offences. He was impressive in the content and keeping the groups attentive and well behaved. This is no mean feat particularly with the older group who have been excluded from school.
He emphasises personal responsibility, the traps and grooming of recruiters to gangs, that telling responsible adults that they had been approached is not “grassing” and the danger of carrying knives, whether in a gang or personal context.
The group is effectively run by vetted volunteers and includes an enjoyable circuit training including a safe boxing training station which is popular. The circuit is well equipped with equipment. Plainly this is as a result of significant financial expenditure and generates a feel good experience among participants."
His Honour Bernard Lever
SEPTEMBER 2022
We are starting to fundraise for our new Project, educating 10-16 year old's on the dangers and the consequences of drug and alcohol use.
This is a topic close to our hearts and one that is a huge problem for our young people today. We want to deliver hard hitting workshops that educate on the effects drugs and alcohol have on the body and the mind and the futures of young people, and the social stigma that can follow drug use.
This project is going to be run alongside of our #GANGforLIFE Project.
JULY 2022
We are excited to be meeting with representatives of the Sea Cadets to discuss how they can help our most "at risk" beneficiaries. Prevent 2 Protect are paying fees for some of our beneficiaries to enroll with the Sea Cadets so they can take part in all the amazing activities they have to offer. Update coming soon!
JUNE 2022
We are approaching the end of the school year and we have delivered our #GANGforLIFE Project to 31 Primary Schools and PRU's, some schools we have visited twice to deliver to more year groups!
We have been delivering the project to children as young as nine year's old as a preventative project and also to students attending PRU's and Alternative Educational Settings, where children are at risk of gang recruitment and criminal exploitation due to a number of different factors.
The response to the project from both beneficiaries and school staff has been
amazing, and we have learned that this project has had a huge impact on
our beneficiaries, and we are looking forward to continuing to deliver this
project in September 2022.
MAY 2022
We would like to say a huge THANK YOU to Manchester City Football Club
for their very generous donation of a signed Manchester City shirt to help
raise funds for our Gang for Life? Project
APRIL 2022
This school year to date our team has worked with 17 Primary Schools and PRU's and worked with 983 children on our GANG for LIFE? Project.
We are also booked into a further 13 new schools, working with new
beneficiaries over the next 2 months.
2022 NEWS
So far this year we have delivered our #GANGforLIFE? Project to children in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire. We have been asked to work with children as young as 9 years old
SEPTEMBER 2021
We are looking forward this month to delivering our Project to the new YR6 students at Moorside Primary School in Salford, and delivering workshops and a Careers Day with the UK Army to Kassia Academy in Warrington
AUGUST 2021
We want to say thank you to Experience Days for their very generous donation of a £50 Gift Card to help raise funds for our Project.
Experience days offer some fantastic days out, and you can find out more by following this link
https://www.experiencedays.co.uk/charity-scheme
We are delighted to announce we are the Winner of the Asda Green Token Scheme for the Swinton store, thank you to all that voted!
APRIL 2021
April has been a very busy month for the P2P team! We have been busy delivering our GANG for LIFE? workshops in the following locations:
Spring Lane PRU in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester.
Brighter Futures Educational in Salford.
Moorside Primary School in Swinton Greater Manchester.
Fielden Park learning Centre in West Didsbury, Greater Manchester.
Newton Heath Youth Project, Newton Heath in Greater Manchester.
Clayton Learning Centre, Clayton, Greater Manchester.
Proctor Learning Centre, Hulme, Greater Manchester.
West Gorton Youth Centre in Gorton, Greater Manchester.
JANUARY 2021
After delivering our workshops in schools and PRU's and speaking with children and young people, it was noted that a lot of the students are interested in joining the Army when leaving secondary education. Prevent 2 Protect contacted HM FORCES and asked if the Army would be happy to work with our team and volunteers in 2021 delivering our GANGforLIFE? Project to children and young people, and also provide careers advice to those that are interested. We are proud to say that we will be working with representatives of The Army during 2021.
We would like to thank the following Grant makers that have donated to our project in 2020
The National Lottery Covid-19 Response Fund
HM Government
Salford CVS
Lennox Hannay Charitable Trust
Greenhall Foundation
Music Sales Charitable Trust
Matthew Wrightson Charitable Trust
Howdens Joinery Salford & Wardley Branches
Blakemore Foundation
Souter Charitable Trust
NHS Salford CCG
Alchemy Foundation
The Sydney Black Charitable Trust
The Hudson Charitable Trust
The Good Exchange
Burg Wachter
DECEMBER 2020
Feedback from Staff and Students at The Clifton Centre PRU, after taking part in our #GANGforLIFE? Project
WHAT DID YOU FIND MOST SATISFYING ABOUT THE SESSIONS?
The way the staff (p2p) engaged with the students - the staff met the mindset of our cohort.
The variety of equipment used was different than our students are used to which made it exciting.
The Education sessions were informative and easily accessible for our students.
The gym activities were enjoyable.
"I was surprised at what i could do, i'd never challenged myself like that before". (student)
I enjoyed kicking the punch bag (student)
I liked the Boxing (student).
DID YOU ENGAGE WITH OUR WORKERS?
All of Clifton staff that took part engaged with P2P workers who were approachable and open to finding out about our students (staff).
"I enjoyed the workers who came in, they treated us well" (student)
"They were safe" (student).
DID THE MESSAGE ABOUT THE PROMOTION OF HEALTH AND WELLBEING COME ACROSS?
Yes the message about this came across strongly for both staff and students. This was a unanimous view (both staff and students)
DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS OF HOW TO IMOROVE THE SESSION?
No
DO YOU HAVE ANY FEEDBACK FOR OUR TEAM?
Staff were impressed at the speed at which the workers were able to engage our students. Workers were respectful of personal space and interacted and involved PRU staff.
The team worked very well with some of the most hard to reach students in the Authority. They quickly built relationships that have the potential to be built upon moving forwards if it is an option to have P2P back in school.
WOULD YOU LIKE FOR US TO RETURN?
Yes
IN A SHORT PARAGRAPH PLEASE CAN YOU SUMMARISE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE GANG FOR LIFE? SESSIONS
The sessions have been beneficial in providing our students with a safe and informative space to learn about wellbeing and the choices they make. This will hopefully inform how their lives may turn out in the futures. Workers were open and honest about their lived experiences which allowed some of our students a window into the possible choices and ramifications of these choices. The overall opinion from school staff observed that the students engaged well because they didnt feel judged and the safety of this atmosphere allowed them to join in knowing it was ok just to "have a go" at the different activities on offer.
The work fits nicely into the PSE Curriculum that students are currently studying around Emotional Well being, drug education and relationships. From a school perspective it is always a privilege to work with organisations who completely understand the needs of our students. It is clear that P2P have the synergy that is necessary to ignite to minds of our hard to reach cohort of students. We would really appreciate more sessions if that could be made possible. Thank You!
NOVEMBER 2020
Feedback from our workshops ran on the 20th November 2020
Thank you for the sessions you ran today, they were really enjoyed by all the learners who participated.
The cookery lesson went well (all the pizza was eaten, and more was requested) some of the learners have already put requests in to make their favourite foods when you return.
The learners that took part in the fitness session all agreed it was fun and really pushed them, when asked how it went some responses were:
"its sick" CB
"its good" AW
"when are they back" MF
all were positive by everyone that took part.
We found your staff to be engaging with the learners, able to communicate at a level that was easily understood, informative and they kept the groups under control.
I look forward to working with yourselves in the future.
regards
Neil Smith
Manager
Brighter Futures
To everyone at Prevent2Protect, At Brighter Futures we have groups of students from various authorities who are here to build on social development and life skills, we have a relaxed policy where every child matters and we look at individual plans of progression and self-awareness. You came in on Thursday 8th October and ran sessions with our learners covering cookery from scratch and sport, fitness and well-being. On popular demand you also visited again on the 16th November ! This was again cooking and fitness with a different group of learners. The learners thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and we felt it was beneficial and successful, we are looking forward to future engagement as the staff also believe the enthusiasm shown by yourselves was a massive contribution to the learners progression plans. The students will be doing an evaluation sheet at some point over the nest few weeks so you will be given one for each. We will add this document into the students reviews and reports. Students and staff discussed the sessions and agreed the sessions were:
• Well presented great sessions and varied
• Tutors related well with learners
• Appropriate language at a level easily understood
• Exercise was targeted at learners’ levels and adapted accordingly
Once again having you in to our centre was a valued session, we look forward to doing so again in the future.
Regards Neil Smith Manager Brighter Futures Jane Barnes APQA support
Feedback from the Staff at Manor Road City Learning Centre after our visits there over the last couple of weeks (photos to follow). Feedback like this is why Prevent 2 Protect are proud of the work being done and the results we are achieving.
"The programme was a great way to raise awareness about Gang issues especially for our students and the vulnerability that they may face at this young age.
The presentation was clear and informative and the students were engaged in asking questions.
The "real" example given of Gangs and Imprisonment highlighted the real dangers of Gang experience by a member of your team, it also shown that you can achieve a positive outcome if you wish.
On behalf of Manor Road Staff, we would like to thank you for your great effort and interest in our students.
THANK YOU"
"I thought the presentation and the subject matter discussed was excellent in every way. The children were largely engaged and participated in the discussion.
In summary, a worthwhile, informative and educationally beneficial exercise.
THANK YOU"
OCTOBER 2020
Ciaran Ball, reporter for the online paper Salford Now, has written an article about Prevent 2 Protect!
A Salford charity is helping school students across Greater Manchester to put an end to gang violence around the region. The charity ‘Prevent 2 Protect’ are providing schools knife amnesty boxes in its current project ‘GANGS for LIFE?’. Their aim is to use workshops within school classes to educate children on topics such as Salford knife crime, gang violence, domestic abuse, forced marriage and many more situations.
The project is hoping to prevent them from being influenced by gangs and the feeling of confidence with using a knife in an everyday occurrence.
‘Prevent 2 Protect’ is also offering young children the opportunity to learn new skills, such as cooking and fitness classes to keep the spirits high. Daniella Nuttall from ‘Prevent 2 Protect’ said: “Schools in Greater Manchester and Lancashire will be able to run knife amnesties, and this will make a huge difference to the safety of children and young adults in those communities”. Daniella suggested that due to the Coronavirus and the economic impact it has had on families within the area, some youths take it upon themselves to be the leader of the house. But Prevent 2 Protect give troubled youths the opportunity to rehabilitate.
The charity has been selected by the business Co-op to receive a grant for their project through their Local Communities Fund.
It was reported that averagely in 2019, across Greater Manchester, there was nine knife crimes a day that was reported to the police, which was nine too many for Salford City Councillor, David Lancaster.
In return to these shocking figures, Salford city Council pledged £300,000 to tackle Salford knife crime with six new initiatives in October 2019.
Councillor Lancaster announced in October last year that:
“Being drawn into crime jeopardises those chances and risks their safety but with the right help and support, we can help them turn things around.
“This funding will boost the help we can give.”
You can visit the ‘Prevent 2 Protect’ Facebook page to help donate to their new campaign.
"The Prevent 2 Protect team came into Broadwalk to run a workshop about gangs and crime. They worked with pupils to give them some knowledge about County Lines and Jason, who had previously been in prison because of gang crime, talked about his experience. This session was followed by a boxing circuit class, to show how good exercise can be for your mental health and having a positive attitude. This session was a fantastic experience for our pupils and they learnt a great deal. Thank you to everyone at Prevent 2 Protect."
Lisa Prior, PSHE Teacher, New Broadwalk PRU, Salford
Huge thank you to The Trustee's of Lennox Hannay Charitable Trust for making a
donation towards our GANGforLIFE? Project! This means we can deliver even
more Workshops to the children of Salford and Greater Manchester
Howdens in Wardley kindly donated £200 to pay for our volunteer uniforms.
Thank you Howdens of Wardley!
Thank you to The Pignatelli Charitable Trust, The Sydney Black Charitable Trust and
The Hudson Charitable Trust for their kind Grants towards our Project.
‘The agency staff were fantastic! They really engaged positively with our students and the message 'Say No to Gangs and No to Drugs' was powerful and had an impact on the students who were part of the sessions’.
Matt Wilson - The Clifton Centre PRU
Our Year 6 children benefited enormously from the present 2 protect session that was delivered in school. From start to finish, the children were fully engaged and interactive. The factual presentation was age appropriate and informative without being too much for the children at this age. There was a good balance between giving facts and eliciting responses (which were dealt with sensitively). The practical session in the hall was a big hit with all the children - many of which challenged themselves more than they would usually.
Use prevent 2 protect again - a resounding yes!
Ben McKean - St James Primary School, Farnworth
To everyone at Prevent2Protect
At Brighter Futures we have groups of students from various authorities who are here to build on social development and life skills, we have a relaxed policy where every child matters and we look at individual plans of progression and self-awareness.
You came in on Thursday 8th October and ran sessions with our learners covering cookery from scratch and sport, fitness and well-being.
The learners were engaged from the start and thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and we felt it was beneficial and successful, we are looking forward to future engagement as the staff also believe the enthusiasm shown by yourselves was a massive contribution to the learners progression plans.
Students and staff discussed the sessions and agreed the sessions were:
· Well planned out
· Well presented
· Tutors related well with learners
· Appropriate language at a level easily understood
· Exercise was targeted at learners’ levels and adapted accordingly
Overall, it was a pleasure having you in to our centre and we look forward to doing so again in the future.
Regards, Neil Smith, Manager, Brighter Futures
SEPTEMBER 2020
The staff and volunteers at Prevent 2 Protect would like to say a huge THANK YOU to BURG-WÄCHTER for their very generous donation of one of their security products to be used as an AMNESTY BOX during our GANG for LIFE? Project for schools in Greater Manchester and Lancashire. The products come to us through Burg-Wächter’s Secure Communities Scheme, an initiative designed to help community projects.
The products from BURG-WÄCHTER are always the safe choice, so they were our first choice when it came to looking for a secure Amnesty Box for our project.
The generosity of BURG-WÄCHTER is hugely appreciated by everyone at the Charity, as the donation will make a huge difference to the safety of children and young adults in schools. THANK YOU!
AUGUST 2020
The National Lottery in Partnership with HM Government has granted Prevent 2 Protect £10,000 in response to COVID-19 with their Community Fund. With 29 schools on our waiting list for September 2020 including PRUs we cannot wait to get started working on the Project.
All Trustee's attended a conference on FGM and Forced Marriage, furthering their knowledge on the subject and making valuable connections with the Trustee's of "One Woman at a Time" for our educational workshops on this sensitive topic.
We have also just been granted funding for Volunteering costs from Salford CVS; this will be for the GANG for LIFE? project starting in September.
JULY 2020
The Lynn Foundation has granted funding to Prevent 2 Protect, a huge thank you to the Trustee's for their support of our Project.
JUNE 2020
Prevent 2 Protect has received a grant from The Blakemore Foundation to start our
GANG for LIFE? Project.