Students at Stockwood Park Academy benefit from Att10tive's Taking the Right Path workshops

Hundreds of students from Stockwood Park Academy school in Farley Hill, Luton, part of the Shared Learning Trust Academy, have been benefiting from Att10tive's Taking The Right Path workshops making students aware of gangs and knife crime.

The bespoke workshops delivered to all students in year 8 at the school taught them about a whole range of things to look out for with the aim of keeping them safe. Managing Director Montell Neufville who has been delivering the workshops alongside Att10tive staff Laaibah, Anna and Ruth said “We want students to be aware of organised crime groups, peer pressure and to learn a whole range of new things that they might not have been familiar with in order to keep themselves, their friends and classmates as well as other siblings safe”

The workshops are part of a youth support programme being delivered by Att10tive, Mary Seacole Housing Association and YouTurn Futures and is coordinated by Luton council's Social Justice Unit and the Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation. These form part of a series offered out to Luton schools and colleges throughout 2024.

Montell said “It was great to see how much the students enjoyed these interactive sessions. Its important to cater for all learning styles and different needs. The point of these workshops is for students to understand that they have choices, they can go down different paths, these paths can impact them negatively or positively. The sessions weren't just targeted at young people who are involved or at risk of involvement in gangs, these are aimed at all students to help keep everyone safe, using the premise that in the future they may come across someone who might show signs of being exploited or exploiting others.”

Laaibah Mujtaba who is the Executive Assistant at Att10tive and helped deliver the workshops said: “Delivering these workshops was a great opportunity for us to engage with students to raise awareness and educate them on knife crime and gangs, particularly looking at prevention. The students learned about places they could turn for help if and when needed. I thought delivering these workshops not only educated the students but also allowed me to connect with younger people to understand what they felt. I learned that many students weren’t aware of the likelihood that someone their age can be groomed or exploited so easily. This showed me the importance of early intervention and raising awareness of both knife crime and gangs to give hope that they will have a better tomorrow and if we all work together we can help bring lasting change."