About Our Staff

Our Staff Training, Youth Trainers, sports coaches & Violence Interrupter’s®

The Safety Box ® training is extensive requiring all members of training staff to undertake both practical and theoretical learning.  Recruitment for both our youth outreach training staff and violence interrupters® is very specific. Our filtering system takes place very early in the recruitment process to ensure we are hiring the right individuals for the job.

We use this process to “validate” the youth trainers and violence interrupters as credible to ensure they can effectively engage with the high-risk participants. This process also weeds out those unsuitable for the role.

Once identified, recruited and trained on our 7 week in house program which includes heavy detailed safeguarding, trauma training and our theory of change, they employ high-risk conflict mediation techniques to mediate conflict, stop retaliations, pre-empt and stop violent incidents occurring.

Our Youth Trainers & sports Coaches

All The Safety Box youth trainers and sports coaches are each qualified, CRB checked, undergo safeguarding training are Certified First Aiders (FAW’s) and street-smart individuals with extensive experience working in gangs and with vulnerable young people. They are cognizant of the reality that many of the young people they work with face and are able to engage and earn trust quickly. This experience ensures that they have a real understanding of the issues surrounding young people. They deliver Alternative Curriculum, Motivational Workshops, Karate and Jujitsu Lessons, Self Defence programs, Enterprise and Financial Education, Conflict Resolution and Personal Social and Health Education.

Designated Safeguarding leads

The Safeguarding and Child Protection Lead for The Safety Box and our Martial Arts programs is located within the Safeguarding Team, managed by the Head of Safeguarding Nathaniel Peat and in absence Christopher Syrus.

Key features of the Designated Safeguarding Lead :

• To establish and maintain a strong and effective working relationship with YOI’s, YOS, Local Authorities, Secure Units, Colleges, Schools and community groups as key partners in contributing to safeguarding children and young people through an ability to understand the context as well as the culture of individual institutions

• To provide guidance and support to enable the said institutions to meet their safeguarding and child protection responsibilities in line with relevant legislation in addition to national statutory guidance from the Department for Education, Ofsted and recognised good practice.

• To be the first point of contact regarding safeguarding and act as a bridge between safeguarding education services and the wider network such as social services and the police.

• Our Violence Interrupters®

The Safety Box ® Violence Interrupters ® (VIs) are specifically recruited individuals that are identified as credible messengers with those active in serious street/gang related violence. Traditionally but not exclusively they are ex-gang members or individuals with violent offending in their past who are highly respected and listened to by their peers. They will be trusted by and able to build rapport with our client market. Our Violence Interrupters ® employ high-risk conflict mediation techniques to mediate conflict, stop retaliations, pre-empt and stop violent incidents occurring. Once a conflict with the potential to lead to violence or further violence as the case may be has been identified, the VI's will be deployed to mediate/interrupt the conflict. It is worth noting that due to the networks our VIs will have on the ground level it is expected that in many cases they will be the first to know of incidents that could lead to violence as they occur.