A message from Birmingham
“The people of Birmingham will stand together against those that seek to
divide us. The best response to evil attacks such as those we have
witnessed in recent weeks is to stand by our values, treat each other with
respect and continue to live our lives as we wish. We must continue to
work together to build a cohesive society and to ensure that extremism
has no place within it. Britain is an open and tolerant country and we
should all join the fight to ensure that this remains the case”.
‘Cllr Tristan Chatfield and Cllr Brigid Jones 2017 ’
A generic framework for discussing a
terrorist attack
A framework for schools to use to facilitate classroom discussions in the event
of a terrorist attack.
Whilst we would normally strongly advise that all learning in PSHE education is
built into a planned progressive programme, there are times when we may need
to respond immediately to unforeseen events. Terrorist attacks can create a
variety of strong feelings, including curiosity, excitement, anxiety or fear. This
discussion framework can be adapted to a range of situations, and provides a
framework for young people to discuss such events, and provides opportunities
to process what has happened in the safety of a classroom.
Please note that when covering this topic with primary aged children you can
use our discussing a terrorist attack with children in the primary phases
guidance.
The resource below is generic. You may want to differentiate this according to your setting.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please watch the short film on slide 15 before you ask
students to watch it. The film shows what to do if you are caught up in an incident
to ‘run, hide and tell’ - guidance which can be applied to many places and situations.
It maybe useful to inform parents/carers if you have chose to show the film.
Note for Primary Teachers
Discussing a terrorist attack with children in the primary phases :
Although we would normally advise that teaching and learning in PSHE education is built
into a planned progressive programme, there are times when teachers may need to
respond more immediately to unforeseen events, such as terrorist attacks. This guidance
gives practical suggestions for ways that you can structure questioning, discussion or
further learning about such events.
When a terrorist attack occurs, children will hear about it in a number of different ways,
some of which may be inaccurate, untrue, or based on rumour or speculation. Wherever
they happen, events may create feelings of personal anxiety and fear that children can
find hard to articulate: giving them a context to discuss, question and express their
thoughts and feelings will help them to process what has happened in a safe environment
with a trusted adult. This guidance is not intended as a script or lesson plan, but to help
teachers answer questions, structure discussion and, if appropriate, extend children’s
learning and understanding. Teachers should pick out what they feel is relevant for the
nature and circumstances of an event, the age and readiness of the children, and their
whole-school ethos and values.
Further guidance:
https://www.psheassociation.org.uk/sites/default/files/Discussing%20a%20terrorist%20attack%20with%20primary%20children.pdf
#WeStandTogether
London Bridge attack: What happened?
There has been a terror attack at London Bridge
in the south-east of London in which seven people
have died and at least 48 people are injured.
A white van hit pedestrians on London Bridge at
about 10pm on Saturday, then three men got out
and attacked people in nearby Borough Market.
Police were there within a few minutes and the
three men believed to be responsible for the
attack were killed by the police.
Dozens of emergency service workers were sent
to the scene and the injured are being treated in
five London hospitals.
London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, said it was "a
deliberate and cowardly attack on innocent
Londoners", but the capital remained the "safest http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsroun
global city" and Londoners would not be cowed by d/40149168
terrorism.
Britain's prime minister, Theresa May, has said that more action to deal
with terrorism needed to be taken "here at home".
She added: "But the whole of our country needs to come together to take
on this extremism, and we need to live our lives not in a series of
separated, segregated communities, but as one truly United Kingdom."
“The general election will go ahead as
planned on Thursday”. Prime Minister
“…The attack should not disrupt the
election…” Sadiq Khan
Our democracy is our greatest asset and we will not allow
it to be undermined. The simple act of voting, whether it
be yourselves or your family, will be a strong rebuttal to
those who hate our way of life.
Discuss: Why is the right to vote so important?
As a class discuss the following
statement made by the Prime Minister
“…We need to live our lives not in a series of
separated, segregated communities, but as
one truly United Kingdom”. Prime Minister
THINK- PAIR- SHARE
Now, as a class think of ways that we can build a
strong community that shows mutual respect and
understanding and not allow any divisions
Discuss your ideas using:
For e.g.
Support- Challenge- Develop
“I support the idea that we should not show hatred or bias towards any
particular community of people just because the people who carry out terrorist
attacks may say they belong to a particular religion. It is unfair to label
everyone as the same. Religion does not teach you to kill innocent people.”
“I want to develop this point, and say that some communities have been
targeted more and that we should stand together, and not allow people such as
those who carry out these criminal attacks to divide us! We should remain
strong and show solidarity through celebrating peoples cultures and festivals
and show equality…”
Open Your Eyes to Hate
"Instead of using hate,
replace that with love.“
Nigel Bromage
Read the statement above.
Discuss:
1. What does it mean?
https://www.facebook.com/OpenYourE
yestoHate/videos/456026451408842/
2. How do we replace hate
with love?
Reflection
Please pause for a moment to think of those who have lost their lives or
been injured in this horrific attack. We should also recognise the work of
those battling to keep us safe. Our emergency services are at the forefront
of the fight against terrorism and we should thank them for their dedication
on our behalf. Their contribution to our collective safety is immense.
‘Cllr Tristan Chatfield and Cllr Brigid Jones’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/13865002
If you are upset by the news, it's important to know that you are not the only
one and it's OK to have those feelings.
You can rely on Newsround to tell you the important facts about a story - but
some things you hear might be scary or make you feel worried.
What to do if you're upset by the news
Sometimes things that happen in the world can make us sad, anxious or
confused.
It's important to remember that upsetting stories are in the news because
they are rare - they don't happen very often.
But what can we do when the news makes us feel this way?
Share your worries
If the news has upset you, talk to an adult you trust about it. It's important
to share what is troubling you.
You might want to talk to someone at home, or you could speak to a teacher
at school.
It could be something that your classmates are thinking about too, so your
teacher might decide to have a discussion in class about it so you can all
understand things better.
It's normal to feel upset
It's important to remember that being sad, worried or angry about awful things
that happen in the world around you is okay and perfectly normal.
You won't be the only one who feels that way.
Adults get sad and confused too, so there is nothing wrong with feeling like this.
Remember, it's rare
Don't forget - terrible things are on the news because they are rare and do not
happen very often.
Although people are spending a lot of time talking about it, it is still very unlikely
that events like this will affect you or your family.
The most important thing is that if you are feeling upset, don't keep what's
troubling you about the news to yourself.
Talking to an adult about what in the news is worrying you can help you to
understand what is upsetting you, and help those feelings of sadness, anger or
confusion to go away.
http://www.npcc.police.uk/NPCCBusinessAreas/WeaponAttacksStaySafe.aspx
Teacher Note: Follow up…
• It can take time for people to process these types of events. For
this reason it is worth offering opportunities for follow up
discussions if they are felt to be needed, for example by providing
a question box for pupils to leave questions that may occur to them
over time and signposting sources of support.
• A terrorist incident, especially one that feels ‘local’ or one to which
we feel a ‘connection’, can have lasting impact on individuals and
communities. Schools, through their PSHE education programme
and their wider curriculum can provide a forum to support
community cohesion and perhaps, even if only in a small way, help to
limit the damage inflicted by such an event.
Useful links for discussion with children
and young people
• https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jan/13/how-do-i-talk-to-childrenabout-distressing-news-stories?CMP=twt_gu
• http://equalitiesprimary.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/sofa-for-london.html
• https://www.pshe-association.org.uk/news/supporting-pupils-after-yesterdaysterrorist-0
• https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/your-feelings/anxiety-stress-panic/worriesabout-theworld/?utm_source=twitter_nspcc&utm_medium=nspccsocialmedia&utm_campaig
n=owntwitter_tweet
• https://www.winstonswish.org.uk/responding-children-young-people-affectedmedia-coverage-incident-manchester/
• http://www.npcc.police.uk/NPCCBusinessAreas/WeaponAttacksStaySafe.aspx
Additional activities
So many questions…
Why would
anyone hurt
others?
Why do people
blame religion, it
has got nothing to
do with extremism?
Why do people try and divide
us?
Why would you kill innocent
people?
How do we unite as a country after such an
event?
I wonder how the
families of the
deceased are
feeling?
Why is there evil
and suffering in the
world?
Will they attack again?
Reflective writing task
Explore your feelings and thoughts through reflective writing.
Questions to help explore initial feelings:
Feelings could be explored by asking the class the following questions:
How do we feel about what has happened? Are these feelings appropriate – is it
‘okay’ to feel like this? Do we need to ‘put on hold’ or challenge any of our
immediate feelings?
For example, feeling empathy for any casualties and their families or anger
about the actions or behaviour of the perpetrators may be entirely appropriate.
We may feel the impulse to blame someone; the following questions can help
explore this:
Are these events causing us (or encouraging us) to feel differently about a
group of people or community? Are we in danger of ‘generalising’ the actions of a
few to a larger group or community? Is there any actual connection between
what has happened and these communities and if there is, is it meaningful?
Possible questions:
What is humanity?
What are our values?
Why should we unite?