Mum of murdered Reading boy backs safety courses
Amanda Stephens lost her son Olly when he was the victim of knife crime in 2021
Last updated 24th Jun 2024
Amanda Stephens is calling on parents to sign-up to a set of free online parent information sessions being offered as part of the “Stay True to You” campaign to promote safety for young people.
Each session has been developed by the Thames Valley Violence Prevention Partnership with our partners The Ben Kinsella Trust, the leading anti-knife crime charity.
Amanda's son was just 13-years-old when he was ambushed in a park in Reading and stabbed to death.
Amanda has worked on this project and is a strong supporter of giving information and advice to parents. Amanda and her husband Stuart, have themselves spoken at school parents evenings and events to share their experiences, and they continue to campaign on matters concerning knife crime and online harms.
Amanda says:
"This (the course) for the parents was absolutely wonderful it's an online course its in the evening, very interactive, I learnt a lot and I felt comfortable that I could ask any questions I wanted to.
"As a parent it is really hard when you have a teenager not to know the difference between 'oh they're just being a teenager' to red flags."
Stay true to you
“Stay True to You” is focused on helping young people to have confidence in their own abilities to keep themselves and their friends out of harm’s way, able to make the right choices for themselves - but also, to know that if they need help that there are trusted adults there for them. The campaign launched in May, and has been informed by research with young people.
Course dates are here https://staytruetoyou.co.uk/upcoming-training-dates-parents/
General information about the campaign is here https://staytruetoyou.co.uk/parents/