Resources

These two free lesson plans from the Home Office are designed to prevent young people becoming involved in serious and organised crime.

The Year 7 lesson will help students to recognise unsafe or coercive friendships. The Year 9 lesson explores the impact of serious and organised crime directly, including the example of young people involved in drugs supply with a focus on county lines (transporting drugs across counties).

PSHE education provides an ideal context for this learning, as it develops the ability to make decisions, assess risk, recognise manipulation and use effective exit strategies.

These lessons aim to help students:

• identify the features of coercive or unsafe friendships
• recognise what serious and organised crime is and its consequences
• explain how and why some people might become involved in serious and organised crime, including manipulation techniques
• assess the risks involved in serious and organised crime
• develop skills to seek support

Please note that these materials are not designed for home learning, but are for use in a classroom setting.

PSHE Association Subject Specialist Jenny Fox says:
“Teachers can use these lessons on serious and organised crime to address issues related to the supply of drugs, knife crime, exploitation and personal safety. The two lessons take a spiral approach, introducing young students to the concept of coercive friendships and the warning signs of manipulation, and later applying this learning to the specific issue of serious and organised crime groups who try to recruit young people into criminal activity. These lessons provide students and teachers with a safe context to discuss controversial issues and develop the knowledge and skills to keep themselves and others safe.”