Safeguarding Assemblies

What is it and who is it for?

We were commissioned by Wednesfield High Specialist Engineering Academy to undertake two assemblies that covered the entire school population (Years 7-9 and 10-13) during their Safeguarding month.

What we did

We developed a concept for the assemblies based on a game show where some pupils became contestants and the remaining audience became their team e.g. ‘phone a friend’.  This approach meant that we could actively involve the whole of each audience in a fun and interactive way rather than them merely being passive recipients of the information.

This technique proved very successful in exploring and unpacking issues, as well as presenting a challenge, relevant to young people living, learning and spending leisure time in Wolverhampton. Some of the issues raised, explored and discussed included serious youth violence; keeping safe in the real and virtual world; joint enterprise; avoiding a criminal record, their rights and responsibilities as young people etc.

This method of delivery enabled active engagement with over 700 young people during the course of a single day.  Very important safeguarding messages were conveyed in a way that allowed everyone, and very notably, as witnessed by staff, those who ordinarily would have been reluctant to put their hands in a classroom setting and make a contribution, to take part.

The feedback from staff and pupils was extremely positive and complimentary.