1. From MVP Mentor to class teacher

by MaryAnne Murphy, NQT Biology, Bishopbriggs Academy

From 2014-15, during my sixth year, I was an MVP mentor at Portobello High School, Edinburgh. I got involved primarily as a way to give back to the school community and was eager to try new things whilst deciding what to study at university. Throughout the school year we ran weekly sessions with small groups of around 10-12 pupils from S1. We would discuss various topics including bullying, sexism and gender roles, often aided by resources including videos. These sessions provided the younger pupils with the opportunity to learn about these topics in a safe environment where they could ask questions and share their opinions. I feel this was mainly possible because we weren’t teachers but other pupils. We were able to build positive relationships and be a friendly face for younger pupils around the school. It was a privilege for me to watch the young pupils grow in confidence over the course of the programme and develop their own moral compasses.

Through MVP pupils gain the ability to recognise situations where others, or themselves, may require help, and how to ask for that help. This provides them with the confidence to challenge inappropriate behaviour and language. I personally found the areas of the programme which discussed sexism and gender roles eye-opening. It provided pupils with a chance to not only recognise what these terms mean, but time to reflect on exactly how these did, or could, affect their lives. For example, discussions around consent created opportunities for pupils to consider their own safety and views on different situations. This also positively benefitted others safety as pupils and mentors passed on their knowledge in conversations with friends.

I found many of the conversations and discussions were things I wish I had learned, or had the opportunity to discuss, at a younger age. The programme provided me with the tools to view situations in a different lens, and shaped how I viewed and reacted to life experiences. I was able to challenge my own beliefs, and discuss these topics with my own friends and other mentors. It gave us a great platform to have informed discussions on topics which we may have wanted to before, but weren’t sure how to. I am still able to use these communication skills to discuss and consider situations today whether it is a story in the news or a scene in a film.

Throughout sixth year, and into our time after school, my fellow mentors and I would discuss topics and themes which we had touched on during MVP. I often reflect on my time with MVP in school and believe it was the best thing I participated in. The opportunity to work with, and teach, younger pupils nurtured my love of helping others and eventually influenced my decision to become a teacher. MVP has had a lasting impact on my views and ability to discuss sensitive and challenging topics.

MVP provides opportunities to educate and protect yourself, whilst equipping you with the knowledge and experiences to help others too. It sets up both mentors, and younger pupils with the knowledge they require to navigate the world. Across the whole school MVP created an ethos of caring for others which was reflected in the positive relationships built between teachers and mentors, and mentors and the younger pupils. It created an inclusive and positive atmosphere across the school as pupils gained a deeper understanding of social issues and many felt more confident in standing-up for themselves, and one another.

2. Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) and Police Scotland

By Scott Menmuir, Preventions Officer, Police Scotland with a responsibility for Children and Young People across Tayside.

“From a policing point of view, if we allow victim blaming, any person who becomes the victim of a crime is less likely to report it if they are blamed for what happened. This is particularly pertinent to sexual crimes – it is vital that we encourage survivors to report these to the police and seek support”

“I have also found the learning techniques very useful for me… I am now using the same techniques during my school inputs for other subjects, be it drugs, internet safety or hate crime”

Given my role in Police Scotland, Mentors in Violence Prevention should be a no-brainer. After years of policing in Tayside on the street, it regularly occurred to me that I was continually chasing my tail, reacting to things after they happened. Surely preventing something from happening was the way it should be, to prevent someone becoming the victim of a crime? I also realised that preventing someone from becoming a perpetrator could also be a focus.

From a police perspective, arresting and reactive work is something we do on a daily basis. Whilst there is a need for this, as we cannot influence everyone to take a positive path, prevention is surely the key. Primarily it means that we should have less people who become the victim of crime and, more importantly, by adopting MVP, we will change attitudes towards violence and gender which should influence our future generations. Whilst I am involved with numerous preventative programs, none of them should be used in isolation and MVP is undoubtedly part of the jigsaw and complements the others. A couple of the other programmes I am involved with include:

• No Knives Better Lives, which complements MVP by looking at bystander and public perception
• Safetaysiders, a primary 7 partnership program looking at personal safety for 11 and 12 year olds. Part of this looks at challenging negative behaviours and domestic abuse, again part of the MVP narrative

The senior management team within Police Scotland are well aware of the MVP program and see it as part of the preventions program for young people as prevention of crime is undoubtedly our main priority, rather than reacting.

Whilst I appreciate MVP has been developed by Education Scotland, it is important that the practitioners are not all teaching staff, but include partner agencies like Police Scotland. Through working with education, I have developed a great relationship with school staff and understand a small (very small) part of what their job entails. It has now come to the stage where the secondary schools in Tayside know that I am MVP trained and will come to me for training and advice. I am also part of the MVP planning teams in Angus, Dundee and Perth & Kinross.

There are numerous benefits for the young people around the attitudes and narratives behind MVP, but from a personal point of view I have also found the learning techniques very useful for me, in particular the “agree/unsure/disagree” method and the bystander material. In the schools where MVP has been adopted, the young people will come across these techniques and the words used during the MVP sessions. I am now using the same techniques during my school inputs for other subjects, be it drugs, internet safety or hate crime. By doing this, the young people become very accustomed to them, and will understand their meanings as second nature.  This is for primary and secondary schools and higher education.

One of the main changes in my own mind set which attracted me to MVP, has been a heightened awareness of victim blaming, particularly from the media. Embedded into the MVP programme, there is a section discussing victim blaming and I would say that I see new examples on this on a daily basis, in both conventional and social media. I am now in the habit of saving copies of these examples so that I can use up to date examples during the mentor training. From a policing point of view, if we allow victim blaming, any person who becomes the victim of a crime is less likely to report it if they are blamed for what happened. This is particularly pertinent to sexual crimes – it is vital that we encourage survivors to report these to the police and seek support.

Positive and healthy relationships among young people in schools is probably the main reason I am passionate about MVP. As mentor trainers, we are leaders and role models who can influence the young people to think positive thoughts and challenge harmful behaviour.