To death when i was 11, in a feud that i think could have been stopped without violence. I dont think ill ever truly know why my brother was taken away so horrifically. Now, the government says it has plans to make schools safer. Ive spent the last couple of months in east london finding out what impact knives are having on childhood and life in the classroom. Me and my friends, we dont think about it. We just pick up a knife, put it in our bags and go. Its terrifying, and scary. Sirens this is east london. Here at this youth club, children are being taught what to do if they see a stabbing. This is the blade or the knife he got stabbed with. So would we take it out . All no. Why . He will then start to bleed out. Its like a plug. You see, like the plug in the bathroom. Once you take it out, it starts going down. So you shouldnt take it out, obviously. So lets say i put it like this, just a little bit of blood is coming out right now. But then if we take it out, a lot of blood comes out. So thats why you just leave it in, no matter what. In the last year, more than 800 sessions like these have been run in cities across the country. Ok, so if ive been hurt, and i still have a sharp object in me. I would call the ambulance, and then i would apply pressure. So where do i apply pressure . On top of the wound . All no. Around the wound. Around. Knife crime is at record levels, with over 10,000 offences recorded across england and wales in the last year. London has the highest number of crimes. Children like these are increasingly getting caught up in the violence. So you never stop applying pressure. Thats, like, very, very important. Because, if you do, blood will be lost. Injuries caused by sharp objects are rising twice as fast among ten to 19 year olds than in any other age group. If you have, like, a hole like this, and youre kind of pushing it together. These kids are 12 to 15. Im finding this hard to watch. You dont know whats going to happen. It could happen any day, any time, anywhere. Even though they are bleeding, we need to make sure that we regulate their body temperature. Those kids in there, the fact that they are 12, 13, ia year olds that are. Theyre young. They are at an age where they shouldnt have to think about death, or of knowing what stabbings are. They shouldnt need to know that. But this is the sad reality today for many young people, as i know only too well. My brother daniel was stabbed and killed near his home in nottingham. Daniel didnt carry a knife, but because someone else did, hes not with us anymore, and that hurts just as much as it did that night. Knife crime has cast a shadow over my life ever since. I want to understand why so many young people carry knives. Kian from the first aid session isjust12. Are you coming outside . And like me, hes already experienced the fallout of Violent Crime on his doorstep. There was a shooting, like, round the back where the gardens are. And there was a stabbing at the corner shop about three weeks ago. Its terrifying, and scary. Because i didnt know people were that cruel, to be doing that. It happened, like, near our house, so im like, it could happen to anyone, like, someone i know. Wait. Hes scared to go out because he feels, you know, something could happen to him. Im saying to him, you know, dont think like that, but it is. Its a reality. You know, the kids are getting younger, theyre doing things at younger ages, so. Its not nice that they have to see these kind of things, and live in it. I dont go out unless its, like, with my family. When i was younger, i used to play football with my neighbours. I like going out and not spending my time trapped inside. But kian and his two younger brothers do feel trapped inside. His parents, jermaine and gina, grew up in this part of hackney. Its not like how it was when we was younger. We could come outside any time we wanted, play, ride around. For the kids to see Something Like that so close to home. You kind of try and shelter them from things like that, but when its right there on your doorstep you cant get away from it. Theyre limited already to where they can go and how far they can go, but now its even more, like, you want to keep them at home. It diminishes their childhood. They dont get the same freedoms ofjust being a kid, being able to just go out and have fun, knowing that theyre safe. Daniels death had a massive impact on my childhood. Looking back, i now realise how important it is to listen to what the young people affected by knife crime are thinking and feeling kids right across the country. In my time in east london, ive spoken to dozens of kids whose lives have been affected by knives. When i was little, i always thought its like adults and like, you know, teenagers, but its actually not. Theres people in Primary School that are carrying knives. The age that people are getting exposed to this type of life is just getting younger and younger. Little kids that are probably age seven carry knives now. Its become a norm to carry one. Sadly, its something that has become quite ingrained in our lives now. Its something that i think we accept. Children as young as four have been found with knives in schools, according to new police figures, and its estimated that over 17,000 children between the ages of ten and 15 have carried a knife in the last year. To help me try and understand why, im meeting joseph. He was just 14 when he first carried a knife. Its just how we grew up and how we live. So, to us, we dont feel like were doing anything wrong, like, we just feel like its how it is. People just have it on them to have it on them, just in case. Its like. People have waterjust in case they will get thirsty. Joseph isnt his real name. Hes agreed to speak to me on the condition that he wont be identified, fearing that his life will be endangered. Me and my friends, we dont think about it. We just pick up a knife, put it in our bag and just go, like, we dont. Do you just go in the kitchen and get one . It wouldnt be like a kitchen knife. It would be, like, a small flicky or. My friends, they carry, like, a big one, but. Whats a flicky . Its like a little one you can just flick up and. 0k, right. Yeah. Thats about it. Its easier to hide. I dont carry with the intention of, oh, im going to stab someone. Like, i carry with the intention to protect myself. Like, if someones trying to attack me, yeah, like, im going to have to, like, protect myself. It may be fear that drives young people to carry knives, but as i know from my own experience, knives, knife crime, can destroy families. Its the consequences of the actions of the people that are carrying the knives that just unfortunately go onto the family. Yeah, well, obviously. Theirfamily would be hurt. But then again, if something did happen to me, my family would be hurt. So yeah, you dont think like that. Death is, like, nothing, to be honest. Its normalised. So families getting hurt and that. Its not something people think about. It breaks my heart to hear joseph talking like this. It feels like theres no route out. Like its a lifestyle that a lot of young people feel like they have to lead in order to survive it, and thats. Its sad. Its even sad to know that people are just normalised by this sort of lifestyle. So what happens when these children go to school . Panorama asked one of the uks largest teaching unions, the nasuwt, to reach out to their 300,000 members and share their experiences of knives in schools. Over 1,200 responded, from mainly urban areas, and 728 of them said that knives had been found on children in their school in the last year. Leyton sixth form College Teaches 2,500 16 to 18 year olds from across north and east london. In the past, kids here have been intimidated and threatened with violence right at the college gate. And earlier this year, the area made National Headlines when a 14 year old boy was knocked off a moped and stabbed to death. At least two other teenagers have been stabbed nearby in the last three months. This could be like. This could be like, help me. Yeah. It could be, help me. Good. Really nice, guys. 0k, excellent. I want to also. Many of the students here have first hand experience of knife crime. This class is producing a short film about Youth Violence and girl gangs. Your people to then hold you back. The content is inspired by some of their own experiences. So lets start from the beginning of that scene. So. Rian is in herfinal year. I can see just how much this means to her. And then we have. Boom, right, stop. Just six weeks ago, one of her closest friends was stabbed and killed. She comes in, and that is the moment when we have the stab, 0k . Watching this is difficult. I know how much grief can affect you, and i cant help but think how these girls must be feeling. For rian, the drama isjust too close to real life. When we was doing the stabbing scene in slow motion, thats when i was, like, oh, my gosh. My friend is about to get buried. Yeah. Its. Its real life. Yeah. And thats what people dont seem to realise, its actually real life. As in, he was 18, he was supposed to be turning 19 next month. So he didnt get to go to uni. He was in his last year of college. Theres people 14, 16, 18 that are passing away. Ijust want people to wake up, to be honest. Aww. Youre so strong, its unreal. Of the teachers from the nasuwt that contacted us, 565 said that they think knife crime is having a damaging effect on the educational performance of their students. 768 said they believed that it was damaging young peoples mental health. The college does what it can to support young people dealing with the effects of knife crime. Counselling is available, and they also teach about personal safety, how to avoid crime, and react to any high profile incidents of violence. Theyve even held self defence classes to help their students feel safer. For security and myself to announce. Vice Principal Chris price is responsible for safety here, and to keep knives out of the classroom, he does something ive never experienced in my school years. I think its very successful. With his security team, he carries out routine random classroom searches. They use a knife wand a portable device which can detect metal objects hidden in bags or clothing. Im thinking about how the students are going to be feeling. If someone came into my classroom and was like, im going to search your bags, id be like, am i a criminal . What were going to ask you to do now is if you could take your possessions out your pockets and also get your bags on your desk and be prepared to empty those out. I feel really uncomfortable for them. Do you . Yeah, i dont know why. I think its because ive never experienced anything like it in a school or educational environment. Word gets out, 0h, we were searched today, and so i think anybody that would be foolish enough to bring anything with them which wasnt appropriate would think twice about it. Absolutely, yeah. That is very different to what i was used to in school. And i was quite conflicted with it. I was just standing there feeling, like, uncomfortable for them, yet they were giggling and laughing, and just easy going about it. We never have an issue, do we . No. A sulky face is about as much as you get in the way of noncompliance. But ive never had anybody thats actually said, im not going to go. Just under half of all schools and colleges in london are now using knife wands, and londons mayor wants more to do so. Teachers from the nasuwt who got in touch came from across the country. 511 said security had been stepped up at their schools and colleges in the last 12 months. And 289 said they conduct some kind of search. Some of this seems extreme. But after the searches, chris wants to show me a video which goes some way to explaining why so many schools and colleges think searches like this are necessary. Indistinct shouting these young people are in their blazers at their school. At their school. With. With a kitchen knife. A kitchen knife and a screwdriver. You can see that from the bottom of our. Heart, yeah . Were ready, bruv and theyre speaking like that and they dont. They have no fear. No fear. Yet i dont even think they know what fear is yet. The video features boys who were pupils at a school not farfrom here. Videos like this are often uploaded by the young people who filmed them to social media, and it doesnt take long to do a search to find more like it. Some with young people bragging about violence. You got shanked up, you. filmed to share and glorify what theyre doing. Indistinct shouting in others, schoolchildren can clearly be seen engaging in extreme violence. 99 of the young people that come to us are decent and thoughtful, caring individuals. But you always have to protect against the idea that there might be one or two people who have a different sort of agenda. Security measures like the ones used at Leighton College are expensive. Here they are spending nearly £200,000 a year on security. Managed by a private company, they have between six to eight officers on duty at any time. Under health and safety law, schools and colleges are responsible for keeping their students safe. Now, after years of cuts, the government is promising more money for education, but there wont be any separate allocation for security. It will still have to be paid for out of overall budgets. Spending money on security is a real cost to the college. Some colleges havent been able to meet their targets, you know, have had to make compulsory redundancies, and so its not a happy position that we find ourselves in. Today, the principal and vice principals are meeting to assess the measures theyve got in place. So, ive spoken to neil. So, chris, i wonder if you could follow up with neil and mickjust about developing a dynamic lockdown procedure. All right. Nicola has ordered the catastrophic bleed kit. They were hoping to get support from the police, with a dedicated officer in college to improve safety and deal with any Crimes Involving students. We were guaranteed to have somebody with us this year that wasnt going to spend a great deal of time elsewhere. Even the schools where theyve got, you know, a much greater need to have a safer schools officer are struggling. And its not the polices fault. I mean, if youve got a 20 reduction in your budget, its. So ijust think we, perhaps, when were developing our policies further, cant rely on. No. I still think we should still keep asking for a certain level of support. Yeah. The government says it is considering introducing new security guidance for schools and colleges. Head teachers will have to look more closely at what measures they have in place. Measures like the ones being used here may have to be adopted in all schools and colleges across the country. Outside of school hours and beyond the school gates, the risk for some young people of getting involved with knives is high, and one of the Biggest Challenges comes from gangs. In the three years leading up to 2018, its estimated as many as 28,000 children in england and wales have become gang members. They can often get involved with drugs and can be exposed to physical violence. Do i need to search you . What will i find . Nothing. Are you sure . This Specialist School takes children from across london and the home counties. Many have been excluded from mainstream education. Some have been involved in gangs and Violent Crime. To protect the pupils here from further risk of violence, we are concealing theirs and the schools identity. 14 year old danny was permanently excluded from a mainstream school, but is being supported here to try and help him move away from a life where Serious Violence was very real. Before i came here, i was involved in a lot of stuff, like. It was when i was very young as well, like, just, like, year7, year8. And ijust got around, like, the bad people, like, the wrong crowd. Then i started doing stuff that i shouldnt have been doing at that age for. Thats what people like to call, like, loyalty and stuff like that. So would you say that doing that was putting you in some sort of. . Danger . Yeah. Theres always going to be someone that doesnt like you or you dont like them. And nine times out of ten, theyre always going to have something on them, so theres always that thought of, 0h, imagine if i see that person and i dont have my knife on me and they do. Whats going to happen . There are some issues out in the local community, and when they come here they need to know that those issues are left behind, this is a place for people to feel safe. Every pupil is searched when they come into school. Sometimes, with the wands, we have found knives on students, you know, and the really sad thing about it is when you talk to them about it, they feel they need to carry them for protection. Theres a feeling that if you dont have a knife, then, you know, youre facing being stabbed yourself and potentially killed. A lot of what im hearing echoes what ive heard elsewhere young people carrying knives because they think that it will keep them safe. Schoolboy danny was drawn into a life of selling drugs. You see the older generation, yeah . They influence it. They make things look like luxury to you if you do that stuff. Like, yeah, get involved in our gangs and that, it will be a blast, like, so much money, bare girls, you know what im saying, like . Drugs, yeah, smoking weed, like, all day, like. Its not just that they hide the bad stuff, like, they groom you to do all these things, but when youre actually doing it, youre like, hell, why am i here . Why am i doing this, like . Youll be missing your margin that will mean youre out. Youre out in manchester bagging up crack and youre like, why am i here . I should be playing games with my mum. Thats what people dont realise. They dont think about whats going to happen after they only think about the good stuff. And then when did the moment come where you wanted to get out . The moment came when i got arrested for it, so. So the experience of being arrested, did itjust kind of. Bring it home . Yeah. How old was you then . I was 13. I think its very easy to sort of demonise these young people and, you know, sort of look at these gang members, but the reasons behind it are just so complex. You know, a lot of these children cos thats what they are are actually victims and have been exploited. At times, these boundaries and structures and the Family Support that most people take for granted are missing. The support services which were there to work with them have disappeared. They may have failed in school and being kicked out and then they get coerced or encouraged to get involved in knife crime. To help the children here, the school gives one to one support through mentorship, and although they have a much higher Staffing Ratio and more resources than a mainstream school, i can see that building relationships and giving them positive role models is key to keeping them in the classroom and away from the dangers outside. They are acutely aware of the risk that a permanent exclusion and being on the streets can bring. We do whatever we can to make sure that we keep the young people in school, and that can be a battle, trust me. I think the, you know, consequences of being permanently excluded from school can be devastating. Young people who are permanently excluded from schools are more likely to become members of gangs, theyre more likely to become victims. Children who are excluded from school are twice as likely to carry weapons like knives and children that carry knives are more likely to become victims. Schools are increasingly a safe haven for children caught up in this life. Are you glad that you came here . Yeah. Its made me mature a lot. In here, like, they all care, they all try to help you, like, get away from all that stuff, like. Where do you think youd be if you werent in school . I would probably get involved with that stuff i was before, but im not trying to go back to there. I hope you dont. Me too. I dont want to go back there. Im so relieved dannys getting the support he needs here. It seems that school has actually been his salvation. But, of course, kids cant be in school all day. Our fundamental ethos is about keeping them safe, but, you know, we have the young people for six hours a day and the streets and the areas have them for 18. For the young people ive met, stepping out of the safety of the school gates presents real danger. You dont know whats going to happen to you when you step out. Does it get quite tiring thinking that way . Sometimes you just want to walk out your house and feel free. Just want to feel free, like, to go certain places without having that thought in your head that, oh, this could happen, this could happen. Youre hearing about all the knife crime around, but you dont know where its going to be, so, like. And you could be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Seven weeks after her best friend was stabbed and killed, rian is trying to come to terms with her grief. Itjust really broke me. What really topped it off was the fact that when the police left the scene, they left the blood there. It was his family and his friends that had to clean the blood off the floor. I cant get my head wrapped around it, cos its not nice losing somebody to knife crime. Um. Itsjust sad, to be honest. Sorry. Um. Sorry. Its become really normal, to the point that whenever they hear another stabbing, they dont actually talk about it, theyjust say, this person has been stabbed to death. End of. Next. Like, this is another stabbing. End of. Next. Its terrifying listening to rian and the others ive met talking about knives. For increasing numbers of young people, children, knife crime has become normal, expected. Knives are changing childhood and changing schools. Today, teachers arentjust responsible for making sure their students get through exams they have to teach them how to stay safe, away from violence and away from knives. Music vladimirs blues by max richter hello there. The remnants of ex Tropical Storm gabrielle brought rainfor ex Tropical Storm gabrielle brought rain for some on thursday and also a rather humid feel. But looking ahead to friday, its going to be dry almost and it will feel much fresher. The remnants of an old weather front bringing cloud and some patchy rain into the far south of england and the Channel Islands in the morning but clearing. Lots of sunshine in the day, some showers in the north and west of scotland, where it will also be quite windy. Top temperatures down on where they have been, 16 21. Into saturday and the further south you are, dry, sunny and pretty warm but cloud and outbreaks in the north west of scotla nd outbreaks in the north west of scotland with some cloud in the Northern Ireland area as well. Cooler in the north and in the south east, up to around 23. On sunday this frontal system makes erratic progress south with some patchy rain. To the south of it, we could get to 25 but cooler and fresher across the north and quite windy in the north of scotland. This is bbc news. Welcome if you are watching here in the uk, on pbs in america, or around the globe. Im reged ahmad. Our top stories the top ten debate. Democrat president ial hopefuls take to the stage in houston. The Democratic Front runners have just concluded debating here in houston. And im laura trevelyan, in houston, where i will be watching the debate and getting some early reactions. We have a special report from syrias idlib province, where government and Russian Forces are targeting hospitals with airstrikes. Britains Prime Minister is forced to deny claims that he lied to the queen in order to get parliament suspended