She said teachers left with some really good ideas about what they can do to better support pupils.
“For example, a lot of people in the Bee the Difference in Manchester research talked about constantly having to tell new teachers about their situation.
“One of the things the incredible teachers – one in particular – in Southport has put in place is those young people can now be tracked if they want to through their school career [so] they don’t have to keep retelling their story, which has the potential to retraumatise them.”
She praised the “courageous” young people who shared their traumatic experiences and have “made a difference” for future survivors.
“They might be really small things but validating those young people’s experiences, making sure they are supported at the different stages – like anniversaries – just knowing they have heard that from lived experiences has been so important.”
Yasmine Lee, who has just qualified as a teacher, was 12 when she was injured in the arena bomb.
She was one of the survivors who mentored teachers in Southport and said she felt lucky regarding the support she had received at school as she lived in Manchester and her teachers were able to access training.
“It made my adjustment back to school easier but hearing that other people had awful experiences because they [lived] far away or their school didn’t have the resources is horrific,” she said.
Lee said she wanted to get involved in the project so if “something horrendous like that is to happen again that actually my lived experience can help somebody else in the future”.
She said: “I think it can be so unpredictable the way you are and how you feel.
“It is like a roller coaster. It isn’t like you have a bad week and then you are fine forever. It’s up and down.”
