Welcome to the HSA Education Page

Education Is The Way Forward

HSA has an education team made up of Head Teachers and other experienced teachers who have created education packs which can be delivered to both Primary and Secondary schools nationally.  Central to the packs are the ideas of Truth v Lies, the role of the Media, Impact, Resilience and Social Justice and use direct personal experience as survivors of the Hillsborough Disaster.

Rainhill High School

During the week commencing July 1st 2024, two of our members delivered Assemblies to all year groups at Rainhill High School in Merseyside, and followed these up with a half day Inset session to all teachers and staff. Feedback from the school has been exceptionally positive. HSA is the ONLY organisation providing this type of package, which involves detailed course materials which can be tailored, as necessary,  to the specific location/context of a school and to any age group and which are delivered by survivors themselves. Below is an extract from the comments made by Rainhill High School following the sessions.

"This week we welcomed Steve and Dave from the Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance to deliver assemblies and staff training about the context and aftermath of the Hillsborough Disaster.

Many people in our wider school community and surrounding area have been, and continue to be, affected by the Hillsborough Disaster. It is therefore vitally important our students understand what occurred in 1989 and what happened in the aftermath of the tragedy.

The main aim of the assembly for students was to provide the opportunity, via a case study of the Hillsborough Disaster, for our pupils to explore the PHSE themes of Empathy, Social Justice and Mental Health. This will include:

•What they understand by Social Justice, especially in light of the immediate aftermath of the disaster and the subsequent 30-year campaign by the victims’ families, and the survivors for what they termed “Truth and Justice”.

•Develop our pupils’ ability to empathise with others by exploring the prejudices and common misconceptions surrounding the disaster, and the effects they have had upon the survivors and the victims’ families.

•Explore the issues around Mental Health with reference to the impact of the disaster on the Mental Health of Survivors, and the stigma attached to mental health issues by society.

The feedback from students and staff has been universally positive and we are extremely grateful to Steve, Dave and the entire education team at the HSA for their excellent assemblies and CPD sessions"

The sessions were successfully delivered to 1200 Pupils and staff training was provided to over 100 teachers and support staff.  Here are some of the quotations from pupils and staff from the sessions:

• "I never knew the details of actually what happened at Hillsborough but Steve and Dave taught us the truth" Year 7 student

• "My grandad was at Hillsborough and still has nightmares now about it. I think it is important that everyone understands what happened and how it affects people" Year 8 student

• "Brilliant session all round and staff feedback has been incredible, very powerful" Teacher

• "Can you pass on my thanks to Steve and Dave, their CPD session today was one of the best CPD sessions I've ever had. Such knowledgeable and thoughtful people" Teacher

Christ the King Catholic High School & Sixth Form Centre

In April 2024, Dave Hill from the HSA Education Team delivered an assembly on Hillsborough to pupils at Christ the King Catholic High School. This was warmly received by the school and below is an email received from one of the teachers showing their appreciation.

"Hi,

I’m a teacher from Christ the King school in Southport. We recently had David Hill come in and deliver some assemblies on Hillsborough, and I just wanted to express how beneficial we as a school found them to be.

Dave spoke about his own experiences, as well as the ramifications and the long fight for justice. The kids benefitted so much from it, I’ve never seen their eyes so glued to an assembly before! I think afterwards the kids really understood the message delivered, of fighting for justice and understanding the impact we can all have on people. 

I think if you were given the opportunity, (and I’m sure it’s something you’ve thought about before), expanding this to other schools would be amazing. 

Thanks for the amazing work you do, Dave was brilliant. As a scouser and a Liverpool fan, I found it very emotional. 

Jack. 

J.Fairclough
Teacher of History, Head of Bosco"