Free online harms training exclusively for London’s teachers

The pilot follows the successful training of more than 700 other frontline professionals – including social workers, police, and youth workers – who work with young people. CPD-accredited and currently delivered virtually, the training will be hosted on 25^th March, 2021. Teachers can register via Eventbrite.

As students return to school, Lib Peck, Director of the London Violence Reduction Unit shares her concerns about the challenges teachers will face as students have spent so much more time online.

Lib Peck says:

“We know how important it is that schools are able to engage and enthuse pupils and to provide the right level and type of support and assistance when pupils need it. Never has this been more true after our young people have experienced the challenges of COVID. So much of that support is now delivered digitally and this programme is designed to ensure that teachers are up to speed, fully aware of how to use technology in the most interactive and efficient way.”

Christina Hicks, Programme Manager for The Social Switch Project says:

“We can’t expect teachers to be prepared for the entirely new situations they are facing – whether it’s the increasing time young people are spending online – and the risks that come with that – or the new apps used and how best practice is applied when teachers communicate on them.

“We had teachers on the programme last year who were adamant that this programme should be in all schools, for all teachers, and now we have an amazing opportunity to tailor the programme specifically for teachers in London.”

The Social Switch Project, co-delivered by Catch22 and Redthread, was launched in 2019, with funding from Google.org, to address the increasing violence young people were encountering online, which often leads to violence offline. In 2020, The Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit funded the continuation of the programme, enabling frontline training to continue, as well as the upskilling of at-risk young people who are supported to turn their digital skills and creativity into sustainable careers.

Catch22 works with more than 100,000 people every year, delivering public services and programmes across justice, education, social care and employability sectors. Redthread works directly with young victims of violence and has years of expertise in training frontline professionals.