'Nobody is beyond saving' - How people with real life gang experience are working in Leeds schools

SOS+ Second Chance seeks to show teenagers moved out of mainstream schools that they have other options, despite how some may already view them.

Iain Hadley, who oversees the charity’s contracts throughout Yorkshire, said: “SOS was to help people exit gangs and understand you’re not stuck in this, there’s an option, there’s a way out of this because the risk far outweighs the reward in reality.

"[We thought] there had to be a place where intervention could be done more effectively to stop people going down the same path. What support is being offered to their children, nieces and nephews, brothers or sisters who grow up in an environment where criminality is normal? It was recognising that need for earlier intervention and prevention.”

Around 60 per cent of the charity’s staff have experience of adversity, whether it be substance abuse, homelessness or gangs. It makes them ideally placed to get through to young people raised with a mistrust of the authorities.

While one strand of work in Leeds schools has focused on educating whole year groups about the potential repercussions of carrying knives, a second focuses on teenagers considered the hardest to reach.

Mr Hadley said: “A lot of those young people were involved in low level criminality and moved out of mainstream education because they were deemed as being quite problematic.”

The addition of Second Chance in the youth programme’s name is a reflection of the charity’s belief that there is more to a young person than where they are being educated.

“We embedded case workers within the West 14 and Southway marginalised learning facilities,” Mr Hadley said. “They work alongside academic staff dealing with kids who flared up for any reason. They started to unpick the challenges they’re facing.

"They were seen differently to academic staff because they’re there for a different reason, they’re there to engage young people.”

On one occasion, a pupil had brought a knife into West 14 and chose to confide in an SOS caseworker that he had started carrying the weapon for protection. It led to conversations about the potential consequences and the knife was surrendered for safe disposal.

Mr Hadley said: “One person shouldn’t be labelled because of one incident. Nobody is beyond saving. It’s just maybe giving them that time and space to listen.”

The ability to get those young people to open up also allows for discussions about their own aspirations and more positive paths that they could choose for themselves in the future.

“It’s about encouraging whatever their passion is,” Mr Hadley said. “Through that, you get that engagement and trust.

“You can then start to look at the broader things – how are things at home, how are things in general, where are you finding things difficult in school?

“Our staff will talk to them in a language that they understand. Our staff have been through that same journey and seen the end point, whether that be a prison sentence or somebody dying.

“It’s that relatability that gets that young person thinking this isn’t just somebody telling me what to do. You can’t tell somebody challenging, you’ve got to give somebody that option.”

While this is a quality that some teachers will share, the charity has found a real need for the intensive work it does.

“I’ve got the utmost respect for teachers,” Mr Hadley said. “They are there to teach, but this is pastoral care. It’s that firsthand experience, that cultural competence that makes the difference.”

Also in crime: Leeds school crime figures reveal council ward with highest offences​

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