Practical personal safety education for schools and organisations
Be Safe helps people recognise risk, make better decisions under pressure, and escape to safety. We do not teach fighting. We teach awareness, choice, and disengagement.
A different approach to personal safety
Most personal safety training focuses on physical response. Be Safe starts earlier -- with awareness, positioning, and the decision to disengage before a situation escalates.
Our programmes are built around a simple principle: escape is success. Everything we teach is designed to work under real stress, when adrenaline removes complexity and fine motor control. That means no elaborate techniques, no reliance on strength or size, and no assumption that confrontation is the answer.
We focus on what remains effective when it matters most -- and we deliver it in a calm, structured, professional manner appropriate to every setting.
Awareness
Recognising risk early and understanding when a situation is changing.
Decision-making
Making clear choices under pressure -- when to move, when to disengage, when to seek help.
Escape
Creating space and getting to safety. The objective is always to leave, not to stay and engage.
Escape to Gain Safety
Escape to Gain Safety is Be Safe's flagship personal safety programme. It is designed to deal with non-committed attacks using simple actions that work under stress.
The objective is clear and consistent throughout: create space, disengage, and escape to safety.
The programme avoids complex techniques, physical dominance, or escalation. Instead, it reinforces the principle that escape is success. It has been delivered internationally and has formed part of student wellbeing provision in UK schools since 2019.
What participants learn:
- Recognise early warning signs and unsafe situations
- Use movement and positioning to create space
- Break contact without escalating the situation
- Make clear decisions under pressure
- Prioritise escape over engagement
Delivery is calm, structured, and appropriate to the setting and age group.
Who we work with
Schools
Personal safety education for students aged 5 to 18, adapted to age group and setting. Programmes support student wellbeing, safeguarding, and PSHE provision. Delivered annually at schools including Downe House School since 2019.
Schools and colleges →Corporate and Workplace
Practical personal safety training for staff working in public-facing, higher-risk, or lone-working roles. Delivered as hands-on sessions or structured talks, adapted to the organisation.
Corporate training →Organisations
Be Safe works with charities, faith-based organisations, and groups supporting vulnerable or at-risk people. Programmes have been delivered internationally, including training church missionaries in Canada and supporting victims of human trafficking in the United States.
Get in touch →Other programmes
Knife Awareness and Decision Making
A structured talk focusing on awareness, choice, and decision-making in situations involving bladed weapons. Students learn what to look for, how situations escalate, and why avoidance and escape are always the priority. This programme does not involve physical techniques.
Suitable for: Secondary schoolsSituational Awareness
A simple, colour-coded system for understanding levels of attention and risk. Participants develop clear language around awareness and response, and learn to recognise when their environment is changing and when to disengage or seek help.
Suitable for: Schools and organisationsSafe Choices and Stranger Awareness
Designed specifically for primary school children. Focuses on understanding safe and unsafe situations, stranger awareness without fear-based messaging, and making good choices about when to seek help. Delivered in a calm, supportive manner using age-appropriate language.
Suitable for: Primary schools (ages 5 to 11)Trusted by schools and organisations
The team have been providing self-defence and awareness training at Downe House School since 2020. We believe that the tuition provided is crucial in this day and age, especially for young people. The sessions are engaging, practical, easy to understand, and delivered in a professional and friendly manner. We continue to bring them in regularly to teach across our year groups and would highly recommend them and the training they provide to other schools.
Head of Co-Curricular Activities, Downe House School, Berkshire
Independent girls' school
Get in touch
If you would like to discuss delivery within your school or organisation, please get in touch. We will work with you to explore the most appropriate option for your setting, timetable, and audience.
Contact us