Schools in knife crime hotspots to get specialist training

Q: What is the government doing to help schools in knife crime hotspots?

The government is funding specialist training for up to 250 schools in knife crime hotspots. The programme is designed to help schools divert children away from serious violence through support such as mentoring and safer school routes.

Q: How much money is being invested in the school knife crime programme?

The government says £1.2 million will fund the measures. That money will support specialist training and related interventions aimed at improving pupil safety and preventing serious violence.

Q: Which schools will get the most intensive support?

Around 50 of the 250 schools will receive more intensive and tailored support. The government says this will be based on hotspot mapping and other tools to identify where help is most needed.

Q: How will the government identify knife crime hotspots near schools?

The Home Office has developed hyper-local mapping technology that can pinpoint knife-crime hotspots down to the nearest 10 square metres. Officials say it will help police identify where knife crime is highest, especially when children are travelling to school.

Q: Who is running the school safety partnership and when will it start?

The programme is being run by the Youth Endowment Fund and supported by the Department for Education, the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office. It will begin with early engagement this school year, followed by more intensive support in the next academic year.

Up to 250 schools in knife crime hotspots will receive specialist training in a bid to divert children from serious violence, the government has announced.

The government said £1.2m investment will help fund the measures which could include mentoring for high-risk students and chaperones on school routes.

It comes as the government is expected to set out more details of how it plans to meet its ambition to halve knife crime within a decade.

The Conservatives accused the government of a "massive cheek", saying they "created this mess in the first place with their police cuts", while the Liberal Democrats said "these measures alone won't be enough to end the plight" of knife crime.

Knife crime continued a downward trend in 2025, with offences down by 9% on the year prior and pre-Covid levels, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics in January.

While urban areas have long seen more instances of knife crime, some research suggests it has become more of a widespread issue over time.

The Safety In and Around Schools Partnership will train school leaders on the risk of knife crime and develop "local solutions to improve pupil safety and prevent serious violence".

More intensive and tailored support will be provided to around 50 of the 250 schools, the government said.

New hyper-local mapping technology, developed by the Home Office, will also apparently pinpoint knife-crime hotspots down to the nearest 10 sqm (107.6 sq ft).

It says this technology will allow police to identify where knife crime is highest, particularly when children are commuting to school, and will help determine which schools could benefit the most from help.

The partnership is being run by charity the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF), which works to prevent violence among young people, and is supported by the Department for Education, the Ministry of Justice and Home Office.

YEF told the BBC it will be delivered in phases beginning with "early engagement" this school year, before "more intensive support" in the coming academic year.

Children and their experiences will be at the core of the work, YEF said, with the view of helping schools to understand where and when pupils feel safe.

A specialist school self-assessment tool will also be used as part of the training programme, it added.

Jon Yates, YEF CEO and member of the government's Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime, said: "We know what works to prevent knife crime - a trusted adult, someone to talk to, social and emotional support, [and also] opportunities like sport.

"This programme - backed by the government - aims to bring that support to more of our school children, giving them the chance to live a life free from violence and keeping more young people safe from harm."

Justice Secretary David Lammy said the funding will help protect children and build "the safer streets every community deserves".

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused Labour of having "a massive cheek" making its announcement while cutting total police numbers.

He said: "In London, they even scrapped dedicated police officers in schools completely - and now they claim to be worried about the resulting school crime. They created this mess in the first place with their police cuts."

Philp said the Conservatives would "go further and be tougher" with "zero tolerance" for violence or serious disruption in schools.

Liberal Democrat justice spokeswoman Jess Brown-Fuller said: "Too many young lives have been lost to knife crime and schools have been crying out for further support to tackle it, but these measures alone won't be enough to end the plight.

"The government needs to focus on returning to proper community policing where people know their local officer, and ensure that right across the country young people have access to youth services."

The announcement comes as the first wave of youth clubs aimed at giving young people support with jobs and wellbeing are set to open across England.

Eight young futures hubs will open in areas with high anti-social behaviour, including Bristol, Nottingham and Leeds. Areas of high anti-social behaviour have been targeted for the first wave of the hubs, but they will be among 50 that will open across the country.